WONDERFUL UPDATE TO THIS POST: Watchdog Nation has learned that after this report appeared, the U.S. Postal Service reversed its original decision not to pay artist Matthew Wood for his artwork that was damaged in transit from New York’s Lincoln Center to North Texas. Afterward, Wood received a check for $2,900. “I was floored,” the artist said. Thank you, Postal Service.

[Now, the original story...]

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We assume that when we buy insurance on a precious item to be shipped such as artwork, that the painting or prints by the artist will be covered in the event of damage.

We assume wrong.

As the Dave Lieber column in the Sept. 18, 2009 Fort Worth Star-Telegram shows, assumptions in today’s world are risky business.

After artist Matthew Wood’s artwork was shown at Lincoln Center in New York, he shipped it back to North Texas through the U.S. Postal Service.

It arrived, destroyed.

Regina Carter shipped three pieces of art from her dying mother’s home in Las Vegas back to Hurst through United Parcel Service.

The box made it, empty.

Both Wood and Carter submitted insurance claims. Both were denied. Both believe they are getting the runaround.

Individually, they asked The Watchdog for help.

In Wood’s case, his signature piece of art, Pink Angels, was shown at The Gallery at Lincoln Center. Constructed out of vintage chrome-plated pigment paper a half-century old, the artwork is valued at $5,500, according to one appraisal.

In February, he shipped it to his parents’ home in Plano. The artwork is still in a Plano post office. Wood showed me photos, taken at the post office. I saw broken glass and ripped paper in a frame.

He insured the piece for $3,000 and submitted a claim.

The post office wrote back, “We need evidence of prior sale of said item.”

But since Wood was the artist and owner, there was no prior sale.

So he submitted a letter from Matthew Rankin, the Lincoln Center’s curator of special exhibitions, who valued the artwork at $5,500.

That didn’t impress the post office.

Tom Wood, Matthew’s father, recalls asking a postal employee how the Postal Service can deny the claim when the artwork was insured, sent and destroyed in transit.

She replied, “I could insure a rock for $3,000.”

Tom Wood said he found her remark insulting. He explained that the missing art was not a rock but an original piece of art that cannot be duplicated.

“A rock wasn’t insured,” he said.

The post office sent another letter: “Based on our investigation, your claim has been approved. However, it has been paid at a lesser amount than you requested.”

Instead of $3,000, Matthew Wood received a check for $100. He refused to cash it because he wants to fight.

“To pass it off like, ‘Oh, it’s nothing,’ that’s why it’s hard to overcome,” his father said. “No one listens to us. They don’t grasp the aesthetics or the value of this.”

I asked the post office for a response and received a curt reply.

Spokesman McKinney Boyd said Matthew Wood can appeal the decision to award him $100.

Boyd sent me the address for the appeal letter.

Wood said he was waiting to hear from The Watchdog before mailing the appeal.

Go ahead and mail it – and better send it certified!

Meanwhile, Regina Carter used United Parcel Service in June when she was in Las Vegas mailing back art from her mother’s valuable collection.

She didn’t use an authorized UPS store but rather an independent shipping outlet. That hurt her because UPS says its stores offer customers better boxes and packing expertise.

At the store she used, Carter said, there were no big boxes, so she had to construct one herself. It didn’t hold up.

According to tracking records, the box went to Phoenix, El Paso, Mesquite and Fort Worth.

“Empty carton was discarded,” a UPS report states. “Merchandise is missing. UPS will notify the sender.”

Carter got the news the day after her mother died.

“I had a big cry,” she said.

She valued the box’s contents at $1,500. UPS rejected her insurance claim.

The reason? Her packaging did not meet acceptable guidelines. The box was too flimsy, and the tape wasn’t strong enough.

Carter said she believes that the art was stolen and that UPS is using the packaging as an excuse not to pay.

UPS spokesman Dan McMackin said, “Honestly, sometimes homemade boxes will make it through. Sometimes they won’t. That’s why we ask customers to use corrugated boxes.”

The stronger boxes are available at office supply stores and elsewhere.

In UPS lingo, the shipment is a “fallout” because the contents fell out. “Once it fell out, we don’t know what happened to it,” McMackin said.

Under UPS rules, if the package is not prepared properly, an insurance claim doesn’t have to be paid, he said.

“There’s a certain onus on the customer.”

He added, “We regret what happened. Obviously, a package that falls out makes us just as unhappy as the consumer. Our job is to get it from point A to point B.”

Carter said, “I’m getting nowhere, and I’m heartbroken.”

Lesson here: Insurance is no guarantee that a shipping company will pay a claim. Best to make sure the packing is superbly done. Take photos of the package before you ship it, too. Don’t leave anything to chance.

Shipping art

Shippers are responsible for proper packing, including secure wrapping and inside cushioning.

Use a double-wall corrugated shipping container with a 275-pounds-per-inch burst strength.

Seal flaps with six strips of pressure-sensitive poly tape. The tape should be at least 2 inches wide.

When flaps meet in the center, apply three strips of tape to both the top and the bottom of the box.

At UPS, when a shipper declares a value in excess of $100, there is no insurance. Shippers desiring cargo insurance, all-risk insurance or another form of insurance should buy from a third party. For more information about shipping specifications, visit www.ups.com.

The U.S. Postal Service recommends getting an appraisal before shipping and packing items “solid as a rock.”

Sources: UPS and U.S. Postal Service