Strictly, no. FedEx offers declared value, which raises the carrier's liability limit against loss or damage; it is not an insurance policy and the fedex.com declared value page states so in as many words. The distinction matters when a claim is denied, because there is no insurance carrier to escalate to — the payer's recourse is with FedEx itself under the Service Guide.
Declared value raises the payout ceiling; it does not create an insurance policy.
Every US FedEx package rides with $100 of declared-value coverage built into the base label, per the FedEx Service Guide 2026 cited on our own shipping coverage page and read on 2026-08-11. Nothing extra to pay, nothing extra to declare.
| Service | Included | Maximum declared value |
|---|---|---|
| FedEx Ground and Home Delivery | $100 | Up to $50,000 in $100 increments |
| FedEx Express (First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, 2Day, 2Day AM, Express Saver) | $100 | Up to $50,000 in $100 increments |
| FedEx SameDay | $100 | Lower cap set inside the service; see Service Guide |
| FedEx Envelope, Pak and Small Box | $100 | Lower cap set inside the service; see Service Guide |
The high-value jewelry program is a separate offering with a $100,000 domestic ceiling and $25,000 to select international destinations, subject to registration and specific packing rules.
The FedEx Service Guide caps a set of categories at $1,000 of declared value regardless of the amount a shipper writes on the airbill. Glassware, chinaware, antiques and artwork commonly fall inside the cap; the exact list is inside the Guide and worth reading before shipping a $4,000 vase and expecting a $4,000 claim. A parcel that fits one of the sublimit categories is where a third-party broker policy pays a payout carrier coverage will not.
FedEx also excludes categories outright — firearms, currency and tobacco among them. No amount of declared value covers a shipment that should not have been tendered in the first place.
The fedex.com declared value page names them: actual loss or damage, FedEx negligence as the cause, and proper packaging. Any one of those failing is where claims stall. The Service Guide also caps the payout at “your shipment's repair cost, its depreciated value, or its replacement cost — whichever is less,” so declaring the sticker price on a five-year-old laptop does not pay out the sticker price.
Regulated parcel insurance from a broker underwriter — Shipsurance, InsureShip or Parcel Insurance Plan — covers categories FedEx caps or excludes, pays out at the declared value without the same negligence bar, and typically settles faster. That is what “shipping insurance” actually is on a FedEx parcel; declared value is the ceiling FedEx raises on its own liability, not the same product.
FedEx revises the Service Guide annually and mid-year. Confirm the current declared-value cap and category list for the exact service and lane before assuming the numbers above still apply.
No, and FedEx says so on its own declared value page: “Declared value is not shipping insurance.” What FedEx sells is declared value, which raises the carrier's per-package liability above the included baseline of $100 up to a service-specific ceiling.
The first $100 of value is included at no extra cost on US package services. Any shipment worth more than that has to declare the higher amount at label creation for the coverage to apply.
Up to $50,000 per package on FedEx Ground and Home Delivery, in $100 declared-value increments. Certain categories — jewelry through the high-value jewelry program — carry different ceilings and their own paperwork.
Firearms, currency, tobacco and a set of other excluded articles are outside the declared-value cover regardless of the amount declared. Antiques, artwork, glassware, chinaware and similar categories are typically capped at $1,000 of declared value, per the FedEx Service Guide.
A third-party parcel policy from a broker such as Shipsurance, InsureShip or Parcel Insurance Plan. Those are underwritten as regulated insurance, cover categories a carrier excludes and typically pay quicker than a carrier claim.