Should You Ask Your Courier Company For A Photo Inventory?

Most Atlanta courier services offer photo inventory, but not enough of their clients take advantage of it. Creating a photo inventory of your shipment is a great way to protect yourself in case you need to file a claim for lost, stolen, or damaged packages. The claims process can be tedious without proper documentation. Having a courier service create a photo inventory provides admissible evidence of the contents and condition of your packages prior to you releasing them into the custody of the delivery service.

You can try to create your own photo inventory and pay less money. But, there are legal issues with talking your own pictures. Counsel from the courier's insurance company can challenge the authenticity of the photographs you have taken. If you allow the delivery company to create the photographic evidence, then that legal challenge loses merit. Judges will not take kindly to a courier company challenging its own photographic evidence in a court proceeding.

Photo inventories are an extra service that will cost you more. However, if your shipments are particularly sensitive, important, or valuable, then the extra cost is well worth it. This is especially so if they are going to be travelling a long distance. The longer a package has to travel, the greater the chance that it will be damaged. Courier companies are, for the most part, good at what they do. If they damage shipments on a regular basis, then they would not stay in business for long. But accidents happen. The longer a shipment is in transit, the more it is exposed to conditions and situations that could result in an unfortunate mishap.

A photo inventory is a wise investment. You need to protect your shipments anyway you can, especially if they contain valuable items. Delivery insurance helps, but is not always enough. The insurance company doesn't want to pay out claims if it does not have to pay them. They will do everything they can to minimize the situations where this will happen. Having proper proof of what is contained in your shipment will expedite the claims process with an Atlanta courier service. Insurance companies hate going to court more than they hate paying claims. The insurance company will relent on proceeding with the claims if you can provide enough documentation to make it apparent that you will not lose a challenge in court. They would rather pay a claim then fight a losing battle in the courtroom and pay all the cost. They will lose their reputation too.