GLOSSARY
Insured Mail
By Justin Winter · Updated August 28, 2026
A USPS extra service that reimburses the sender up to a declared value if a piece is lost, damaged, or has contents missing.
Insurance covers the physical contents of a mailpiece against loss or damage in transit, up to the value declared and paid for. It is separate from, and not a substitute for, Certified Mail or Registered Mail: insurance protects the value of what is inside, while those two services prove a piece was mailed and record its handling.
For a typed document, the thing worth protecting is usually evidence that it arrived, not its replacement cost — which is why letter-mailing services built around Certified Mail rather than declared-value insurance.
See also
- Certified Mail — A USPS extra service that adds a dated mailing receipt and delivery tracking to a letter, with the delivery record kept by USPS.
- Registered Mail — USPS’s highest-security service: each piece is individually tracked and signed for through every transfer, and can be insured for high-value contents.
- Restricted Delivery — A USPS extra service that limits delivery to the addressee, or to someone the addressee has authorised in writing.
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