What to confirm on tracking, insurance and claims

You've just sent off a parcel with a courier and now you're wondering: if something goes wrong, what actually happens? Who pays for it? How do you know the package is on its way? These questions matter far more than they seem at first—a broken item, a lost document, or a delayed delivery can cascade into real problems for your business or personal life.

Before you book a courier, you need to understand what happens *after* you hand over your package. Most people focus on price and speed, but the three pillars that protect you—tracking transparency, insurance cover, and how claims are handled—separate a courier you can trust from one that leaves you exposed.

Tracking: What you should see and when

Any reputable courier will give you a tracking reference the moment they collect your parcel. But "we have a tracking number" is not the same as "you can see where your parcel is."

Ask the courier directly: can you track your parcel in real time, or only at key milestones? Real-time tracking means you can see collection confirmation, when it left a depot, when it's out for delivery, and final handover—ideally with timestamps and sometimes location data. Milestone tracking tells you the parcel arrived at a distribution centre or is out for delivery, but nothing in between.

For urgent or high-value items, real-time visibility is not a luxury; it's your early warning system. If a package hasn't moved in six hours when it should have been delivered, you want to know immediately, not when you ring up three days later.

Also ask: do they notify you (SMS, email, or app notification) at each stage, or do you have to log in and check? Proactive notifications matter because they catch problems before your recipient starts chasing you. And crucially, ask how long tracking data is kept. If you need to investigate a claim two weeks later, can you still see the full journey, or has the record been deleted?

Insurance and claims: where the contract really matters

This is where many people discover they're not as protected as they thought. Couriers operate under different liability frameworks, and the default assumption is often "we're not liable for damage or loss beyond a small amount."

Before booking, ask the courier three things. First: what is their standard liability cap? Some couriers cover loss up to a modest amount per parcel (say R500 or R1000) unless you pay extra. Others offer higher cover. You need to know the baseline.

Second: what's the cost of additional insurance if your parcel is worth more? Is it a percentage of the declared value, a flat fee, or calculated another way? If you regularly send items worth several thousand rand, the cost of upping your cover might be negligible compared to the risk.

Third: what counts as claimable damage or loss, and what doesn't? For instance, many couriers won't cover items in poor packaging, cash or jewellery, or goods they deem "fragile" without specialist packaging. Understanding these exclusions now stops you arguing with them later.

Also ask about the claims process itself. How quickly must you report a problem—24 hours, 48 hours, a week? What evidence do you need to provide? Do they cover the cost if they're liable, or will they deduct a "service fee"? And what's their average turnaround time to settle a valid claim? A courier that takes two months to pay out a claim might technically be liable, but that doesn't help your cash flow.

Declare the value of what you're sending. This sounds obvious, but undervaluing a parcel to save on insurance is a false economy—if it's damaged, your claim will be rejected or capped at what you declared. Be honest about what's inside and what it's worth.

Moving forward

When you're comparing couriers, these questions reveal which ones are transparent and which ones are vague. A courier who can walk you through their tracking system, explain their insurance tiers clearly, and describe their claims process in detail is showing you they've thought about customer protection. One that glosses over it or tells you "we'll sort it out if there's a problem" is a yellow flag.

On Strove, verified couriers list their coverage, reliability ratings, and what past customers have experienced with tracking and claims. That track record, combined with your own questions, gives you the confidence to book.