Shipping Protection at Checkout

Questions, answered

Do I need Shopify Plus to add shipping protection to checkout?

To put it inside the checkout steps themselves, yes — Shopify restricts those extension targets to Plus. On other plans we place the offer in the cart and cart drawer, and on the thank-you and order status pages, which still captures a large share of the opt-ins.

How does shipping protection technically work on Shopify?

It is a product. The extension adds a hidden protection variant to the order as a cart line when the buyer opts in, and removes it when they opt out. Shopify's own extension documentation uses exactly this pattern for a warranty add-on. The interesting engineering is in pricing it against a changing cart and keeping it in sync.

Should I self-insure or use Route or Corso?

Self-insuring means you keep every dollar of the premium and own the claims. With a typical claim rate that is very good margin, and it is the right answer for most stores shipping domestically. A provider makes more sense for high-value goods, heavy international volume, or when you simply do not want the operational load. We build either, and we will say which one we think fits your numbers.

Is shipping protection the same as insurance?

Not necessarily, and the distinction matters. Selling actual insurance can require licensing depending on where you operate, which is why most merchant-run programmes are worded as shipping or package protection with a stated remedy rather than a policy. Your counsel makes that call; we build to whatever they decide and keep the wording consistent everywhere it appears.

Can the protection be ticked by default?

You can, and we would push back. Pre-ticked boxes for an extra charge are prohibited under EU consumer law, several other markets are heading the same way, and buyers who find a fee they did not choose are the ones who charge back. A clear, well-placed opt-in with a real benefit converts well without the risk.

Can we sell extended warranties the same way?

Yes — a shipping warranty and an extended product warranty run on the same machinery, just a different product and a different trigger. Warranty offers usually sit on the individual cart line, priced by category and price band, so a $2,000 item and a $40 item do not get the same plan.

What happens to the protection fee on a refund or return?

That is a policy decision with a technical tail, and it is the part most implementations skip. We define how the protection line behaves on full refunds, partial refunds and returns, wire it into your refund flow, and make sure it reports separately so your finance team is not unpicking it from product revenue.