Prioritize and Simplify Shipping Claim Filing

Unfortunately, a real area of weakness in shipping departments is in filing claims for damaged or lost freight. Many businesses do not have a robust process for managing the process, which can be tedious and confusing. 

What is a freight claim?

A freight claim (aka cargo claim) is an application a shipper or consignee makes to a carrier for restitution on lost or damaged freight. There are four types of claims: Loss, Damage, Shortage, and Concealed Damage. 

Although specific requirements and filing time frames vary from carrier to carrier, the basic elements all claims should include are:

• Shipment specification 
• Description of loss or damage
• The monetary total being claimed
• A clear declaration that repayment is expected  

So why should claims be prioritized?

Statistics show that 2% of all shipments in the U.S. are either lost or damaged. That adds up to A LOT of lost revenue. Although there are valid reasons why shippers do not take advantage of filing a claim, it is crucial to understand that even small value claims can quickly add up. Perhaps a $50 claim is not worth the effort in filing a claim, however, add up ten such claims and you’re out $500.

Why should claims be prioritized?

You should prioritize the task so money is not lost. And carriers do not make the process easy. Carriers may be required by law to offer a claims process and justify any denied claims, but that doesn’t mean they are required to make the task as simple as a few minutes of clicking on a website. So missing a claim's submission date happens a lot. Another issue preventing shippers from filing, is that it can often take a few hours to file, and some shipping teams just cannot afford the time. 

Issues that hinder shippers from filing include:

• Strict submission dates that vary per carrier, making it easy to miss out on getting a claim submitted in time. 
• No management system to stay on top of claims made.
• Low resources in the shipping & administrative departments.

How to Find Carrier Invoice Discrepancies

How to simplify shipping claims

If you are currently not using a Transportation Management System (TMS), or are using a system that does not offer features to assist with freight claims, it is HIGHLY advised that you demo a TMS system that can help you go after your money!

FreightPOP’s TMS can vastly improve your ability to file claims. 

Key features related to filing claims include:

• A single system to organize and manage claims with at-a-glance views 
• Automatic reminders to help ensure deadlines are not missed
• Carrier reporting to enable assessment on more than just cost - Can compare carrier performance in delivering in certain areas or handling certain types of freight
• An evaluation tool to help avoid issues and improve loss/damage percentages  
  

At FreightPOP we believe that successful claims management begins with centralized management. This is why we built the tools shippers need to file claims in our TMS. Our system also has invoice auditing functions that help identify rating errors, duplicate charges, incorrect fees, and incorrect freight classifications.  

For a free demo of how powerful our TMS features are, please click here. 

To access our guide on how to get the best rates from carriers, please see below.