Insured letter
Insured letter or parcel (French: Valeur déclarée = Universal Postal Union language) denotes a special form of dispatch in the postal sector .
The sending of securities is permitted, limited to country-specific maximum values for class I and class II securities.
The postal company is liable for loss or damage in the amount of the damage up to the amount stated in the value , as long as the maximum values have been observed.
In addition to the normal fee for the letter or the parcel, a value fee must also be paid that depends on the amount of the specified value, a kind of insurance premium .
history
Shipments of value were only accepted with the greatest caution and only to a small extent by the Thurn und Taxis post offices , which were under the patronage of the emperor, before the moving posts were set up. Messenger could easily be attacked and therefore offered little security.
Since the existence of the traveling posts, mail items were distinguished as letter mail , which was carried with the riding post, and driving mail, which was carried with the traveling mail. The driving mail items included everything that exceeded the normal letter weight and items of value.
With the Prussian Postal Act of 1852, a postal obligation for coin and paper money, unminted gold and silver, jewels and precious items was expressly made regardless of weight. The postal law of the North German Confederation of 1867 lifted the obligation to post. As early as 1808, after being taken over by the state, Bavaria made all letters, parcels up to 15 pounds Munich weight and hard cash compulsory.
Initially, the letters with money and monetary value had to be brought to the post office openly. The postman determined the value and sealed the letter. All packages had to be sealed. The obligation to state the value of the shipment is linked to the guarantee and is reflected in the postage charges. In Prussia in 1712 a value was known. The full value did not have to be given. In the event of loss, only the specified value was replaced. The compensation was later derived from the general Prussian land law. It was similar in Bavaria and Württemberg , where full compensation was paid. The fee regulations determined the conditions, so from 1824 on everything in Prussia was to be regarded as an item of value that exceeded the equivalent of 10 thalers. The full value had to be stated and the corresponding tax paid for it.
In Prussia and Bavaria in 1848, in Württemberg in 1851, the postal administrations began to leave the value indication back to the postal customers and to conclude an insurance contract for the value. In Prussia the insurance fee, in Bavaria the guarantee tax and in Württemberg the value postage were charged and added to the transport fee. Now full reimbursement was only paid for declared value consignments, while a maximum rate was set for parcels.
Value letter agreement
At the Universal Postal Congress in Bern (1874) the exchange of insured letters in international postal traffic was proposed. When Congress in Paris in 1878 , the agreement was concluded. The Universal Postal Congress in Vienna in 1891 added the value box agreement to the insured letter. Both were constantly expanded, with the commercial value or duty and insurance being the subject of the improvements. Gradually, more and more countries joined the agreement.
Seals
When a postal parcel is sealed , it is tied up and all intersection points of the parcel cord are sealed. For this purpose, special sealing wax is heated, dripped onto the junction and the varnish is stamped with the help of a special sealing stamp. The resulting relief pattern must be intact and must remain so until the parcel arrives at the recipient.
Germany
At the Deutsche Bundespost , insured letters over 500 DM and parcels from 3000 DM were also sealed with sealing wax. The maximum amount here was 100,000 DM.
At Deutsche Post AG , the maximum value for insured letters sent abroad ( international value ) in class I securities was EUR 25,000 , for class II securities it was EUR 500 (taking into account the value of the destination countries). However, Wert International was not possible in all countries of the world. Depending on the destination country, the letter or the package had to be sealed.
Since July 2010, labeling as insured letter and sealing is no longer desired, the item is only labeled as registered mail and is permitted up to a maximum value of 5,000 euros . The international value letter can be sent worldwide since July 1, 2010, cash sending is excluded.
Insured letters are not accepted in all post offices . For insured letters within Germany, however, labels can be bought on the Internet with which the letters can be posted in any post office or thrown into a letterbox . This is not possible for insured letters sent abroad.
The value charge for Wert International is (as of July 2010) in addition to postage for the letter 2.05 euros and a further 1.50 euros for every 100 euros or part thereof .
As a pilot project, the national value letter was limited in time to November 2010 and, according to the Federal Network Agency, was extended by one year to November 1, 2011. In contradiction to the Federal Network Agency, Deutsche Post AG reported on its website that the national insured letter was discontinued on November 19, 2010. Value stamps that have already been purchased can be used up or returned until March 31, 2011.
On July 1, 2014, Deutsche Post AG reintroduced the “national value letter”.
Switzerland
There are no explicit insured letters in Switzerland. Reference is made to the limits of liability for regular letter products (limits of liability: Registered CHF 500, A Mail Plus CHF 100, Postpac International Economy CHF 250, Postpac International Priority CHF 1000).
Austria
Insured letters are an insurance option for registered mail in Austria. The costs are € 2.30 for registered mail and 1% up to € 1,500, € 36 from € 1,501 to € 3,600 and again 1% from € 3,601.
literature
-
Handheld dictionary of postal services
- 2nd Edition;
- Value, shipments with high; P. 785.
- Insured letter and box agreements; Pp. 785-786.
- Items of value; Pp. 787-792.
- Value insurance for parcels sent abroad; P. 792.
- 2nd Edition;
- Werner Steven, international tariffs for letter and parcel post - 1875–1900 , self-published, Braunschweig 1986
See also
Web links
- International value letter from Deutsche Post
- International parcel from DHL
- National value letter from Deutsche Post
credentials
- ↑ Deutsche Post AG, International Letter Mail: Important information for design and posting, status: 01/2015, mat. No. 675-602-164 ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 4.5 MB)
- ↑ www.bundesnetzagentur.de
- ↑ Deutsche Post website for national insured letters ( memento of the original dated December 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ General Terms and Conditions Letter National valid from July 1, 2014
- ↑ Swiss Post: Sending valuable and valuable items safely. Retrieved March 8, 2020 .
- ^ Tariffs - Post AG. Retrieved March 8, 2020 .
