Shipping guns

[GH-16]

Originally Posted by John Allen

It is my understanding that if you ship a gun through USPS and do not declare it they will not honor any damage or loss claims. That has been told to me by several postmasters. I always tell them what I am shipping for that reason.

I realize you're a dealer and in a different boat as far as insurance is concerned where an Eastern type of policy may not be applicable to you.

I haven't taken out extra insurance from a shipper in a long time now due to having private insurance that covers shipping loss. This eliminates the need for declaring what's in the package or needing to file a claim for loss with the shipper. I imagine the caveat would be that the insurance company will probably want me to exhaust all efforts with the shipper to find a lost gun/package before they will pay-up.

Personally, I would rather deal with my insurance company than any of the shippers run around purposeful designed policies to wiggle out of a claim, plus I get the benefit of having the gun insured while it's at the gunsmith's location or while I'm traveling domestically, Internationally & at gun shows.

[B. Dudley]

Originally Posted by Paul Ehlers

I realize you're a dealer and in a different boat as far as insurance is concerned where an Eastern type of policy may not be applicable to you.

I haven't taken out extra insurance from a shipper in a long time now due to having private insurance that covers shipping loss. This eliminates the need for declaring what's in the package or needing to file a claim for loss with the shipper. I imagine the caveat would be that the insurance company will probably want me to exhaust all efforts with the shipper to find a lost gun/package before they will pay-up.

Personally, I would rather deal with my insurance company than any of the shippers run around purposeful designed policies to wiggle out of a claim, plus I get the benefit of having the gun insured while it's at the gunsmith's location or while I'm traveling domestically, Internationally & at gun shows.

It has been impossible for me, personally, to find a commercial firearms business insurance policy that will cover shipping losses as part of the policy. Every company I have ever talked to has told me the same thing. Just purchase insurance through the carrier. Actually, being in NY and operating my business from my home, it was near impossible to get a company to insure my business. But I finally found one. And it is NOT cheap. It even causes issues on my personal side with my homeowners insurance too. It is a nightmare. But even when talking with the larger national firearms insurance companies, same answer on the shipping coverage. NO.
I really envy the personal collector that can get this kind of coverage on their guns for reasonable rates.