Many ecommerce store owners don’t consider shipping insurance when they first start their businesses. After all, the major carriers have had years to perfect the art of delivery. If you’re not shipping many packages, odds are low that you’ll face shipping issues.
But as your sales volume increases, it’s just a matter of time before a package becomes one of the billion packages that are lost or stolen worldwide each year. To minimize your financial losses when shipping high volumes (or high-value products), you need shipping insurance.
What Is Shipping Insurance?
Shipping insurance is a service that provides coverage for lost, stolen, or damaged packages. When you buy shipping insurance, you pay a premium based on the value of the goods being shipped. In return, your insurance provider agrees to compensate you for any covered losses.
Shipping insurance may have some exclusions; for example, many policies don’t cover jewelry. However, many high-value products can benefit from insurance coverage. The items below are just a few examples:
- Electronics
- Designer fashion items
- High-end kitchen appliances
- Sports equipment
- Cosmetics or skin care products
How Can I Add Shipping Insurance on WooCommerce?
WooCommerce does not have built-in shipping insurance functionality. If you want to offer shipping insurance to shoppers, you’ll need to use a third-party plugin or develop your own solution.
Third-Party Plugin
The easiest way to add shipping insurance to your WooCommerce store is to add a plugin with insurance functionality. In the WooCommerce marketplace, there's not much for third-party plugins that integrate insurance into your checkout process, but WooCommerce and Norton Shopping Guarantee with Package Protection have teamed up to provide the only shipping insurance focused extension on the WooCommerce or WordPress.
For example, Norton Shopping Guarantee with Package Protection by EasyPost makes it easy to add shipping insurance to your WooCommerce website. The plugin is free to download and use. Once you’ve completed installation, customers will see an option to add shipping insurance during checkout for a small percentage of their order value.
Unlike other shipping insurance plugins, Norton Shopping Guarantee comes with additional benefits that protect shoppers:
- $1,000 Purchase Guarantee. If a customer doesn’t receive their product according to your terms of service, we’ll help resolve the issue or offer a refund.
- $100 Lowest Price Guarantee. If the price of a product gets lowered within 30 days of a shopper’s purchase, we’ll refund the difference up to $100.
- $10,000 Identity Theft Protection. If a customer’s personal information is stolen, we’ll provide up to $10,000 worth of identity recovery services.
Third-party plugins come with serious benefits, but they might not be right for every WooCommerce store. Explore the following pros and cons to see if a plugin is right for your business.
Pros of third-party plugins:
- Easy to implement. These plugins are designed to be user-friendly and easy to install, so you don’t have to dedicate development resources to them.
- Time-saving. Using a pre-built plugin is faster than developing a custom solution from scratch.
- Feature-rich. Many third-party plugins offer a wide range of features, including automatic insurance calculation, customizable insurance options, and streamlined claims management.
Cons of third-party plugins:
- Potentially costly. While many plugins offer free versions, more advanced functionality often comes with a price tag—and if you have a limited budget, the cost can be significant. (For a robust, no-cost shipping insurance plugin option, check out Norton Shopping Guarantee.)
- Limited customization. While third-party plugins offer some flexibility, they may not always meet all of your specific requirements.
If a shipping insurance plugin doesn’t sound like the right option for your store, you’ll need to go the custom development route.
Custom Development
If you prefer a custom solution, you can work with a developer to create your own plugin or integrate shipping insurance into your WooCommerce store using custom code (like this user did). This approach provides flexibility in tailoring the insurance options to your exact needs, but beware—developing your own solution can be time-consuming and costly.
Pros of custom development:
- Tailored. Custom development allows you to create a solution that fits your business needs, giving you full control over the features, functionality, and user experience.
- Owned by you. With a custom solution, you own the code and intellectual property rights, giving you independence and control over your technology stack.
Cons of custom development:
- Potentially costly. Custom development usually requires a significant investment of time and resources, and development costs can be higher compared to purchasing a third-party plugin.
- Technical expertise required. Developing a custom solution requires technical expertise in web development and WooCommerce. If you’re not a coder yourself, you might need to hire experienced developers or work with an agency.
Benefits of Providing Shipping Insurance to Customers
Wondering whether shipping insurance is really worth it? If you’re shipping high volumes or high-value products, it definitely is. Shipping insurance offers several important benefits for ecommerce stores:
- Protection of valuable shipments. Shipping insurance safeguards valuable merchandise against loss, damage, or theft during (and even after) transit, ensuring that you don’t suffer financial losses due to unforeseen circumstances.
- Higher conversion rates. Boosting your site’s conversion rate doesn’t have to cost a fortune—just give shoppers the option to add insurance to their orders. When customers know their orders are protected by shipping insurance, they feel more confident making a purchase.
- Enhanced customer satisfaction. If things go wrong during shipping, insurance makes it easy for your store to resolve the issue, thus maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.
- Reduced financial risk. Instead of bearing the full cost of replacing or refunding lost or damaged items, you can rely on insurance to recover the value of these goods.
- Competitive advantage. Offering shipping insurance sets your stores apart from competitors who don't provide this protection. It’s a compelling selling point for customers who prioritize the safety and security of their purchases.
Protect Your Customers With Shipping Insurance
As you ship packages across the country—and even across the world—they could face multiple hazards: rough handling, bad weather, porch pirates, and more. Shipping insurance is the best way to avoid the potential consequences of these issues.
Contrary to popular belief, shipping insurance doesn’t have to cost your business an arm and a leg. In fact, with a WooCommerce solution like Norton Shopping Guarantee, you can offer shipping insurance at no cost to you—customers are the ones who pay a small premium.
Download the app in the WooCommerce store today or get in touch with our ecommerce experts to learn more.
