Claims automation is not just revolutionising the insurance industry; it’s game-changing for e-commerce businesses too. 

E-commerce is the fastest-growing retail trend of the past decade. According to the Office for National Statistics, internet sales in December 2024 accounted for almost a third (29.3%) of total retail sales (up from 12.8% a decade earlier) with home delivery the fulfilment method of choice for 83% of online orders. 

However, the uptick in deliveries has also led to a rise in delivery issues, with more parcels lost or damaged in transit. Thankfully, claims automation has made it easier for many online retailers to recoup compensation from couriers. 

Here’s 5 signs that your e-commerce business would benefit from automated claims. 

You send more than 5,000 courier shipments per month

Delivery issues do not treat retailers equally. E-commerce businesses that have a high proportion of in-person sales, carry out their own deliveries or sell high-value items in low volume (i.e. a sofa retailer selling through showrooms and shipping 100 units per month) will encounter a lower number of delivery issues. 

But if you ship a high volume of lower-value items (i.e. less than £100 per unit), then delivery issues happen more frequently. In the UK, for example, there’s an issue with 6.5% of deliveries. If you send 5,000 courier shipments each month, with an average value of £25, that’s 325 undelivered parcels worth £8,125. That’s a sum worth claiming for. 

You don’t have a claims process in place 

Do you make claims on an ad-hoc basis? Do you even make claims at all? As soon as you hand over your goods to the courier, they are responsible for any losses, damages or delays to the parcel. That’s why almost every major courier offers £100 per shipment insurance as standard. 

But recouping this compensation is no walk in the park. From tight deadlines and confusing T&Cs to specific evidence and varying exclusions, each courier has a different process in place — but all of them are (purposefully) complex. As such, some e-commerce retailers don’t bother making claims for lost shipments, but would you accept this revenue drain if you could plug the gap in a few clicks? If you’ve never had a claim process, now is the time to start. 

“Before we discovered Claimit, we weren’t processing any claims. Everything changed when we came across their Shopify plugin, which allows us to easily manage claims with just a click of a button.” Rob Green, Co-Founder, COAT paints

Your logistics team tracks claims manually 

Making claims for lost or damaged shipments is time-consuming and arduous. First you need to track the losses, compiling information from customer complaints and logistics data. Next, you undergo the arduous claims processes, navigating each courier’s rules. Finally, you need to monitor each filed claim to ensure pay-out. 

Attempting to do this in-house is like doing your own taxes. It’s possible, but it’s slow, inconsistent and has a high margin for human error — so most companies outsource to specialists. Now, you can do the same with claims, with AI automation significantly reducing the effort involved and leading to faster claim resolutions. At Claimit, for instance, payouts arrive 40% quicker than when customers process claims manually.  

Your claim success rates are low 

Claim denied. After going through all the effort to track and submit a claim, a denied claim is more than just frustrating – it further impacts your bottom line by wasting your resources. 

On average, low claim success rates occur due to:

  • Missing documents – i.e. Proof of courier pickup or product value.
  • Missed deadlines – i.e. Parcelforce claims must be made within 30 days.
  • Excluded items – i.e. Couriers tend not to cover fragile, antique or perishable goods. 
  • Faulty packaging – i.e. Couriers claim that parcel damage resulted from improper or insufficient packaging. 
  • Incorrect values – i.e. An accidental typo in the product serial number. 

However, most of these issues derive from human error, which is a simple fix with AI automated claims. For instance, active nutrition brand Bulk cut its claims processing time by 80% and increased its claims success rates by over 300% after partnering with Claimit. 

You’re looking to optimise profitability in 2025 

In the wake of 2024’s uncertain economic conditions, many retailers are focusing on cost-optimisation and operational efficiency to drive profitability in 2025. Claims automation can be e-commerce retailer’s secret weapon. 

Amidst rising business costs, making efficiency savings along your product’s supply chain is increasingly difficult, so keeping hold of the revenue you already have is essential. Claims automation not only recoups your shipping costs, but quicker compensation payouts improve cash flow and the additional income enables you to provide hassle-free replacements to customers (retaining their business in both the short and long run). With Claimit able to recoup up to 15% of your annual shipping costs, automated claims could be the difference between turning a profit or loss come the end of the year.  

How much could claims automation save you in 2025? 

Automated claims frees up your team’s time and recoups lost revenue with minimal intervention. 

At Claimit, we take on the whole claims process from start to finish, enabling you to claim in bulk for lost shipments, easily keep track of your claims status and receive quicker payouts. 

By streamlining your entire claims process, we not only save 80% of your time, but can increase your success rate by 4x.

 
Book a demo and see how much we can save you.