---
title: Prioritize and Simplify Shipping Claim Filing
description: Freight claims are an integral part of a shipper's business, with financial and strategic issues to consider. Having a solid claims process is vital.
---

[FreightPOP Blog ](https://blog.freightpop.com)

# [Prioritize and Simplify Shipping Claim Filing](https://blog.freightpop.com/prioritize-and-simplify-filing-shipping-claims)

 Written by [FreightPOP](https://blog.freightpop.com/author/freightpop) | Sep 30, 2019

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](https://info.freightpop.com/parcel-and-freight-auditing-pp-freightpop)

### **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](https://blog.freightpop.com/eliminate-the-need-for-freight-auditors) 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](https://freightpop.com/request-a-demo/). 

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

<https://blog.freightpop.com/dynamic-pop-up-on-demand-warehouses-for-e-commerce>

 

[View full post](https://blog.freightpop.com/prioritize-and-simplify-filing-shipping-claims)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "FreightPOP"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2021-04-13T15:15:10.789Z",
  "datePublished" : "2019-09-30T13:01:00Z",
  "headline" : "Prioritize and Simplify Shipping Claim Filing",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 512,
    "url" : "https://info.freightpop.com/hubfs/862516_14%20Images%20-%20F-POP_101520_1_101520-1.png",
    "width" : 1024
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://blog.freightpop.com/prioritize-and-simplify-filing-shipping-claims",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60.0,
      "url" : "https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2811194/FP%20logo%20hubspot.png",
      "width" : 261.27905
    },
    "name" : "FreightPOP Blog"
  }
}
```