Shipping Coverage,
explained.
Your one-stop guide to what our shipping insurance covers, when delay coverage applies, and exactly what to do if something goes wrong with your order.
What's actually insured
Our shipping policy covers two separate things. First, physical loss and damage — if your order shows up damaged, wet, burned, or never shows up at all, that's covered. Second, Time-in-Transit (TNT) — if a package arrives late enough to trigger coverage, reimbursement may be available for reprints on pre-scheduled events. The sections below walk through both.
A prerequisite worth stating up front: everything on this page assumes your job made it through our production process on schedule. Coverage presumes print-ready files were submitted on time, files weren't changed mid-production, and proofs were approved promptly. Shipping insurance covers what happens after your order leaves our facility — it can't rescue a deadline missed because of production-side delays on your end.
When TNT is in effect
- Your shipment is going from one U.S. address to another.
- It's being delivered to a street address (P.O. Boxes aren't eligible).
- It's moving on one of UPS's eligible service levels — Ground, 3 Day Select, 2nd Day Air, or Next Day Air.
- UPS's Money-Back Guarantee is active for that service on the day we ship (UPS occasionally suspends it during peak periods).
- The package arrives later than the threshold shown in the chart below.
When TNT drops out
- Recipient unavailable or refuses delivery — if the address is empty, business is closed, or someone turns UPS away.
- Bad or incomplete address — wrong ZIP, missing suite or unit number.
- Natural disasters — earthquakes, floods, named storms, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, mudslides, monsoons, or fires caused by lightning.
- UPS network disruptions — if UPS's ground or air network is disrupted anywhere along the route (see Louisville note below).
- UPS IT or communication system failures.
- Government, customs, or security holds on a shipment.
- Strikes, riots, civil unrest, or labor disputes.
- You ask UPS to hold or reroute the package after pickup.
- UPS's Money-Back Guarantee is suspended on the day the package ships.
Service-level delay thresholds
A shipment isn't "late" for insurance purposes just because it missed the scheduled day. It has to exceed the threshold below. Most orders ship Ground, which is the row to focus on.
| UPS Service Level | Covered when delivery is… |
|---|---|
| UPS Ground | more than 1 full day after the UPS scheduled delivery date |
| UPS 3 Day Select | more than 3 days after pickup |
| UPS 2nd Day Air / 2nd Day Air A.M. | more than 2 days after pickup |
| UPS Next Day Air / Saver / Early | more than 1 day after pickup |
A note on counting days: for the air services and 3 Day Select, these thresholds count delivery days — not calendar days. Weekends and federal holidays don't tick the clock. A 2nd Day Air package picked up Thursday, for example, isn't considered late until Tuesday of the following week, because Saturday and Sunday don't count. Ground is calculated differently — it's based on the UPS scheduled delivery date, which UPS has already worked out using their own business-day logic.
Build in a buffer. Seriously.
Here's the quirk that catches people off guard: paying for Next Day Air Early (8 AM commit) or Next Day Air (10:30 AM commit) buys you a tighter UPS guarantee — but it does not buy you tighter insurance coverage. For insurance purposes, all three Next Day Air tiers are treated identically. A shipment isn't officially "late" until it arrives more than one full day after pickup, regardless of which commit time you paid for.
Translation: if you order Next Day Air Early for an 8 AM delivery on an event happening at noon that same day, and the package shows up at 3 PM — UPS missed their promise, but the insurance still considers it on time. No TNT claim. No reimbursement. You're holding the bag.
That buffer isn't just about hedging your bets — it's the only window we have to fix a problem. If a package runs late on day one of your buffer, we have a fighting chance to make it right: an overnight reprint, a second shipment, or in truly urgent situations an Air Cargo Replacement. (Heads up on Air Cargo: it has to be picked up at the destination airport — it does not deliver to a street address, so you'll need someone who can get to the airport.)
Cut the timing tight and there's nothing we — or the insurance policy — can do once the event has passed. The buffer is the fix. Please use it.
Ground delay coverage goes dark for 14 days before Christmas.
TNT delay coverage does not apply to any UPS Ground package picked up or scheduled for delivery during the 14 calendar days prior to December 25 — roughly December 11 through December 24.
Air services (Next Day, 2nd Day, 3 Day Select) are not affected by this blackout, and physical loss or damage coverage continues normally. The blackout only affects delay claims on Ground.
If UPS's hub goes down, delay coverage goes with it.
UPS's primary air hub is Worldport in Louisville, KY. When severe weather, a system outage, or any other incident disrupts UPS's transportation network — or their communication and IT systems — TNT delay coverage is voided for any shipment affected by that disruption. The same applies to any regional UPS network disruption along the route.
This doesn't affect physical damage or loss coverage. It only means a package delayed because of a network outage isn't eligible for a delay-based claim.
Routine storms are covered. Named disasters are not.
Our policy includes a supplemental that restores delay coverage for everyday weather — thunderstorms, rainstorms, and snowstorms — that would otherwise be excluded. Two things to remember:
- Named disasters stay excluded — hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes, floods, and wildfires from lightning are never covered, no matter what.
- Weather can pause coverage by ZIP code. If UPS Capital issues a Suspension Notice for a specific area due to adverse weather, TNT coverage pauses there until they lift it.
What's covered and how to file
Covered losses
- Physical damage to your printed materials during shipping.
- Water damage.
- Fire damage.
- Lost packages that never arrive at the destination.
- Reimbursement for late printed materials tied to a pre-scheduled event, subject to the delay thresholds above. The claimed materials must be made available for inspection by UPS Capital or their insurance agent.
The sooner we hear from you, the better. Before you do anything else:
- Take photos of all 6 sides of each damaged box, with the shipping label clearly readable in at least one shot.
- Photograph the damaged contents and any wet, torn, or stained packing material.
- Do not throw anything away. Keep all boxes, packing material, and the damaged goods intact for inspection — insurance may require a physical or photo inspection before a claim can settle.
- If damage was visible at delivery, have the UPS driver note it on the delivery receipt if possible.
- Report to us as soon as possible — and no later than 14 days from delivery.
Let us know as soon as you realize there's a problem. The earlier we hear, the more options we have — sometimes we can reprint, rush a replacement, or work out another solution before your deadline. The longer we wait, the fewer choices are on the table, and not every delay has a solvable fix. Contact us the moment a scheduled shipment isn't tracking the way it should.
If you're requesting a refund or the project was reprinted, please note: once an insurance claim is paid out, ownership of the originally claimed materials transfers to the insurance company. Don't discard or redistribute the original shipment without checking with us first — the insurer may want it.
When a refund is due to you, we'll issue it within 3 business days of receiving the claim settlement from the insurer.
This page is a plain-language reference for our customers and is not a substitute for the underlying insurance policy. Actual coverage is governed by the policy language and endorsements held by Short Run Printing. Coverage decisions rest with the insurer. If you have questions about a specific shipment or claim, contact us directly.