Jacques Bordeleau wrote:I was looking into it last year when I had to ship a years worth of work in one crate 2,000 miles via motorfreight. First my insurance agent told me a business policy would cover the shipping....wrong. I have lost only 2 pieces of glass in 30 years of shipping, so the shipping insurance wouldn't have been cheaper... at around $15,000 for 30 years worth (wild ballpark) ... my loss around $2,000 for comparison. I believe they call that 'self-insurance'.
I even photograph the packing process to support any arguments I may end up in with them, but doubt it will ever help much anyway. As if all that is not enough, they will only insure my glass up to $35 a pound I think is how they calculate their limitations (depends on freightlines), obviously not enough anyway.
I also attach a monitoring device called a "ShockWatch" that will turn red indicating 'rough handling' The idea is that it can help you make a claim stick! . I also emblazen my crates with large black and orange stenciled words "FRAGILE" and "GLASS" all over the place.... seems to work so far.
I never write down 'artwork' or 'art glass' as contents.... I always put something like "custom glass tile", or "fused glass cabinet panels"...that sort of thing, not ART!
The very best shipping insurance, for me, is a really solid wood crate, with minimum 2" styrofoam board all around. This crate must then be braced and steel banded to a pallete. This makes it easy for the carrier to handle, and also keeps other large freight AWAY from my crate!!!
Jacques
Similar situation for me. Not a years worth of work, but two crates, shipping over 2000 miles and over $50,000.00 of glass work as well as the booth. So many people do this all of the time, and I knew there must be loopholes to get what I needed. Claiming the contents as custom glass seems to be what I need to do. It's funny how you need to be careful what you call the contents in order to get coverage. I've never done this before so your advice regarding good packing and crates as being the best insurance is good to learn. Shock Watch sounds intrigueing as well. I'll check that out too. But I am trying to insure against the catastrophic event rather than one or two pieces that break from poor packing or rough handling. If the truck rolls, the crates get crushed or dropped, the warehouse burns down, crates are lost or stolen et cetera, that is the level of loss I can't afford to absorb and want to protect myself from. Every item in those crates was photograhed, but not the packing process (too late for that now
)...which is also great advice for any insured thing anybody has.
I can't make any comparison to building a crate as I'm not a carpenter, so don't trust that I could construct a good crate. What I did do is I bought these really nifty plastic crates (more good advice from the board). The base is a pallete as well, so it's a complete package. You load these buggers up on the pallete, attach the walls and the top (I'm going to shrink wrap the top and labels in place) and you're good to go. They can hold 1200 lbs and can stack without crushing. They were not cheap (not outrageous either, used ones are a bargain if they have any), but are collapsible or break down when empty and I will use and reuse without having to purchase or build new wooden palletes or crates every time I ship. Now let's hope I am fortunate enough to have to ship a few times a year.
I hope they are as bullet proof as your crates since I am counting on them for added protection for the work.
The insurance info I am currently getting (it seems subject to change with the weather) is that business insurance will not cover the shipping unless we attach an inland marine rider. Yes, the rider will be as much as the business insurance per year, but is good for the policy year, not per shipment. So I guess it depends on your level of risk aversion and how often you are shipping and the value of the freight. I am learning a lot, and like all insurance, if you have to file a claim, you better know what is and isn't covered. We are looking at a rider that will cover the contents with limitations (of course) less a deductible. I hope I never have to file a claim, and down the road perhaps I will rue the money that lined the insurance company's wallet, but having experienced catastrophe that would have financially ruined me if I hadn't had insurance, I prefer not to take the risk if I don't have to. That's not to say that "self insuring" is the wrong approach. It's just that I'm not willing to flirt with losing that much of an investment in one fell swoop...or any swoop, fell or not
This was a really long way to say, thanks to all for the input and information. Every response was appreciated and explored. You all gave me great things to consider and the right avenues to explore to get the answers I was needing.
If anyone is interested in these crates I got you can check them out at
http://www.boxx.com. I think they will be great. Time will tell.
, how is it you are the "Official" shipping company for a craft show that is exhibiting original work? Yellow responded to that by stating that we should claim that we are shipping materials for a trade show and then they would insure and ship...BUT If we file a claim and the materials damaged aren't what we said they were, they wont honor the claim. So why would I want to do that? I want insurance in case something catastrophic happens, not so I can file a claim that will be denied. 
because that's a fact.