Courier insurance UK

scoobydoozler · 2023-08-08T19:55:58.030Z

Looking to pick up a pro 3 but seller has declared collection only unless I can find a courier that insures music equipment for the value of the synth.

Sent plenty of things before worth more than the pro 3 with various couriers and never had an issue but actually having a deeper dive it seems most don’t insure musical equipment for over £200.

Just wondering if anyone knows of any couriers that are reliable and would insure?

Kultschar · 2023-08-08T20:03:21.655Z

Someone recommended this place for guitars on another forum. Think its a company that uses normal couriers but have own additional insurance.

Note*. Ive not used them but did bookmark to research them for possible future use

Direct Courier Solutions

Guitar in a hard case

The link is for guitar but believe they do anything high end

ramcmdr · 2023-08-08T20:22:00.499Z

DPD Local, there are certain things they won’t cover like amplifiers but synths are fine - can be quite expensive though

homealone · 2023-08-08T20:46:58.999Z

How far away are they? Might be cheaper to get a train there and collect it yourself. That’s if the trains are even running…

scoobydoozler · 2023-08-09T05:20:53.304Z

ill check them out.

scoobydoozler · 2023-08-09T05:21:38.651Z

Yeah DPD are always and option but as you say, quite expensive. I guess needs must though

scoobydoozler · 2023-08-09T05:22:17.892Z

Probs are 3/4hr train journey. Good suggestion though

Claid · 2023-08-09T07:37:24.184Z

If the seller is willing to box, weigh and measure it, I recommend UPS as a courier. They collect and deliver, which is super useful, and it’s always next day delivery. Just make sure the seller takes a bunch of photos as they’re packing it ‘just in case’ something happens during transit and UPS claims insufficient packing. I recommend this for all couriers though, not just UPS.

boorch · 2023-08-09T07:43:54.504Z

i always used Royal Mail, stated it’s a musical instrument and declared its value. got presented the insurance amount based on that and shipping value never went past £20 (ofc this varies with size&weight)

muzka · 2023-08-09T07:50:39.185Z

I use Royal Mail and special delivery to insure stuff I send. I remember reading though there is some clause about musical instruments though I took it as traditional equipment such as guitars and not electronic synths etc.

The woman in the post office has never pointed anything out about not insuring music equipment but that could be because she doesn’t have a clue about their policies

G0n35y · 2023-08-09T08:15:24.316Z

Yep, Royal Mail/Parcelforce for me. I think @muzka you are right - I’m sure I did read a long time ago it was more classical instruments that weren’t covered and you’re typical Electron box or synth was fine.

Fin25 · 2023-08-09T11:30:49.423Z

It’s worth checking with Royal mail/parcel force before sending.

A Pro 3 has a keyboard on it, so may be considered a musical instrument. Also, it’ll be too big for Special Delivery, so will have to go via Parcel force if going via Royal Mail and I think they’re a little less generous in their policies than those for Special Delivery.

Although the policy is intended for shit like big old fragile stuff like acoustic guitars, if a company can get away without paying out, they’ll get away with it.

Stickhit · 2023-08-09T17:07:08.433Z

Parcel Force do not insure any musical instruments.

Mind you, when I threatened them with court action for refusing to pay out on an insured keyboard, which they had lost, they did pay out as I claimed their musical instrument exemption clause was way down in the small print and not stated where you actually select to insure your parcel.

scoobydoozler · 2023-08-09T18:38:18.318Z

Cool thanks guys! I’ll do some more digging around

Mumdad · 2024-03-22T17:45:03.477Z

Bump since I’ve spent the last few hours banging my head against this wall

Due to a saga with with an Iridium keyboard that has to be returned I’ve got to figure out the safest way to do it, with a signature required and cover that might actually mean something if the worst came to the worst. Normally I’d be less paranoid but the seller hasn’t given the impression of being very trustworthy so far.

As far as I’ve been able to figure out:

Parcelforce don’t cover musical instruments but presumably they pay out their standard cover of £150. Not enough really.

DPD would be my first choice normally but this is too big, they have a maximum length of 90cm domestically (but 1.75m internationally for some reason).

Evri can do it but they’re Evri. To be fair, I’ve had less trouble with them the past few years compared with the Hermes days but giving them something of this value still feels kind of wrong.

Tufnells come up via Interparcel but god knows what they’re like.

That seems to leave UPS as far as I can tell, on paper they cover musical instruments I think up to £1000. In practice I think you’d have a hard time making a successful claim anyway which makes me wonder if it’s even worth bothering considering how much insurance costs. And anecdotally, I’ve had several long-winded nightmares with them lately on the delivery side.

Anyone got any good insights or experiences here?

Gunark · 2024-03-22T22:05:04.000Z

I had an AJ2 sent to me in a flight case, the sender did it via Shiply, an independent courier job website, specifying what it was and that he wanted it insured. Came to £60 IIRC (was last year). That was after searching for a standard courier to no avail. I’d try that. https://www.shiply.com

Mumdad · 2024-03-22T22:14:12.578Z

Ah yes, I’ve used them in the distant past for something, thanks. It’s as much about what Paypal will accept as well though and I have a feeling they might not if it’s essentially a man in a van. I’m not sure if their stuff is fully tracked, requires a signature etc. which is what I need, but I’ll look into them more tomorrow!