Start with the exclusions, because they are most of the answer. Postal rules pay actual documented value on a covered article, and they list the situations that cannot be paid at all: sentimental value alone, perishables that spoiled, abrasion damage to articles not properly wrapped, articles whose fragile nature prevented safe carriage, and prohibited or restricted items packaged so poorly they could never have arrived intact.
Coverage is defined as much by what it refuses as by what it pays.
Section 4.3 of DMM 609 is the part of the rulebook that decides arguments. The left column quotes it; the right column says what that means in a warehouse rather than a manual.
| Rule as written | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| "Evidence of insurance coverage not provided" | No label record, no mailing receipt, no case. This is the most avoidable denial on the list |
| "Loss, damage, or missing contents that occurred after delivery" | The delivery scan is a hard boundary. Porch theft sits on the far side of it |
| "Claim based solely on sentimental rather than actual value" | Worth has to be documented in dollars, not described in feeling |
| "Perishable contents frozen, melted, spoiled, or deteriorated" | Food, plants and anything temperature-dependent carry their own risk |
| "Damage by abrasion, scarring, or scraping to articles not properly wrapped" | Unwrapped surfaces that rub in transit are treated as a packing failure |
| "Fragile nature of article prevented its safe carriage" | Some things cannot be made survivable by any amount of tape |
| "Nonmailable items, prohibited items, or restricted items not prepared...or packaged in such a manner that it could not have reached its destination undamaged" | Restricted goods packed badly fail twice: at the rules and at the packing |
Read the list as a packing brief rather than as fine print. Four of the seven lines are about preparation, which means most of what decides a claim happens on a bench before the label goes on. Our restricted items page covers the categories that should not be in a parcel at all.
That last point is the one worth carrying away. Coverage raises a ceiling; it does not change what falls inside the room. The full fee chart, band by band, sits on our declared value page.
SMKlog sells optional shipping protection with eligible domestic parcel labels. It has its own exclusions and we would rather state them here than bury them.
Full text on the shipping protection rules page. We do not sell international labels, fulfillment or platform integrations, so everything above is about domestic parcels bought here as a guest.
Coverage decisions are easier when postage is in front of you, so here is a nearby route. A 12 by 10 by 6 in carton at 5 lb quoted through the SMKlog calculator on 2026-07-28.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Transit window |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | Ground Saver | $10.37 | No window returned |
| UPS | Ground | $11.24 | 1 business day |
| FedEx | Ground Economy | $11.42 | 2-3 business days |
| UPS | 3 Day Select | $15.22 | 1 business day |
| UPS | 2nd Day Air | $15.47 | 1 business day |
Short lanes come back cheap and fast, and the two premium rows quoted the same one business day as the standard ground service, which is what happens when a destination is close enough that everything moves on the same truck. Against postage this low, the declared-value question is really a question about the contents rather than about the shipping.
Frozen, melted, spoiled or deteriorated contents sit on the non-payable list outright. If a shipment depends on temperature, the answer is a faster service and better insulation rather than a bigger declared value.
Abrasion damage to articles not properly wrapped cannot be paid, which turns individual wrapping into part of the coverage rather than a nicety. The fragile packing guide covers what that looks like in practice.
Nonmailable, prohibited or restricted items badly prepared cannot be claimed. Check the restrictions list before buying a label if there is any doubt about what is going in the box.
Actual documented value on a covered article that was lost, damaged or arrived with contents missing while in postal care, up to the coverage the label carried. The base label on Ground Advantage, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express includes $100, and added coverage tops out at $5,000.
Postal rules list several situations as non-payable, including cases where evidence of coverage was not provided, loss or damage that occurred after delivery, claims resting solely on sentimental value, perishables that spoiled, abrasion damage to articles not properly wrapped, articles too fragile to be carried safely, and prohibited or restricted items packaged so they could not have arrived undamaged.
No. A higher declared value raises the ceiling on what could be paid, but it does not move anything from the non-payable list into the payable one. A spoiled perishable or a badly wrapped article stays outside the scope at any band.
Not by the postal claim route, because loss that occurred after delivery is on the non-payable list. Optional SMKlog shipping protection describes its coverage as packages lost, stolen or damaged after entering the carrier's mail stream, with approval depending on the policy, the documentation and the eligibility rules on our shipping protection page.