Question about shipping firearms/insurance
 

I am getting ready to ship my pistol off to Simpson's in Illinois for appraisal etc.. I am wondering about shipping and in particular about insurance on the shipment.

Those who have seen my thread/s on my Luger know that it may well be a very valuable gun. If it were lost/stolen/run over by an 18 wheeler I would be out seriously if I don't have insurance...BUT...will the idea of having, say, $10,000.00 in insurance on the shipment put up a red flag to someone inside UPS/FedEx/USPS? I am thinking particularly of a would-be thief, but any other red flag as well. $10K may well be quite a bit over the actual value and it certainly is a lot for such a small package.

Any experiences or advice?? If it can be done, I could call my regular insurance agent and bind some type of coverage for the period it's out of my hands, but I don't know if that's even an option.

Shipping insurance
 

If you send your gun by Registered Mail, you can purchase insurance up to $20,000.00 at very reasonable rates from the Post Office. Registered packages can not be sealed with plastic tape as rubber ink stamps are applied to all seams. You need to seal your package with old fashioned brown paper tape. Regards

One needs an 01 license to ship thru USPS.

See Post office form 1508 which is required to be submitted when shipping the pistol..

You first need Simpson's FFL and then you can ship to them. I would ship overnight via FedEx or UPS and arrange it so it arrives Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Don't ship on a Friday or a holiday weekend.

Usually I do not worry about insurance, for the reasons stated above and rumours of how they don't like to pay out for large amounts; although I have had other folks tell me they have been paid.

Shipping overnight allows you to track it on line and gives it little chance of being left behind; as NDA (next day air) is handeled seperately.

Cost will be around $50-$60 without insurance.
Ed

It's an awkward situation because USPS does not ship handguns without 01 FFL (unless it's a pre-1899 antique). FedEx Next Day Air should work. I know the feeling of shipping expansive guns without insurance..... buying issurance is buying peace in mind, but may come with hassle at service acception, so usually I skipped that (and crossed my fingers, felt bad for that night). Ironically, I bought insurance a few times for the guns that I returned.

A common mistake shipping acceptance lady making is forgetting checking the "signature required" box in computer, even if you checked it on paper. Make sure it appears on your receipt. Otherwise, item worth thousands could be dumped at a front door without confirmation.

There is a sticky in the Discussion Section written by Ron Smith, on Shipping Firearms via USPS. It's an interesting read!!!