Hongkong Post ceases accepting insured mail containing goods starting from 1 January 2026. For details, please click here.

Insurance service offers a means of covering loss, partial loss or damage, beyond that covered by the registration service, for sums up to HK$46,000. The service is not universal, but it extends to many destinations. However, some destinations accept only insured parcels and in many destinations compensation limits lower than the maximum of HK$46,000 are in force.

Provided that the appropriate service is available to the destination concerned, either letters or parcels may be insured. Insured mail items are not always sent by all the routes open to ordinary mail and may therefore take longer in transit.

Service FeaturesOpen/collapse

The service comes with the following features:

Destination Please refer to "Latest Postal Information" on Hongkong Post website
Item no. feature Varies according to the mail type
Mail class Varies according to the mail type
Delivery speed Varies according to different destination destinations or territories, please refer to "Latest Postal Information" on Hongkong Post website
Mail tracking Track-and-trace is available for selective destinations. Please visit hongkongpost.hk for details of these destinations
Signature service Yes
Certificate of Posting For posting registered items, registration of barcode label should be used and properly indicated on the Certificate of Posting when the item was posted over the counter. For posting parcel items, multi-part address pack (Pos 652) should be used. A Certificate of Posting can be download from EC-Ship Online Portal within six months from the date of posting.

ChargesOpen/collapse

The insurance fee for a letter is $2.5 for each $500, or part of $500, of the declared value, up to a maximum of $46,000 and must be prepaid in addition to the normal postage and registration fee. The insurance fee for a parcel is the same as that for a letter and must be prepaid in addition to the normal postage, but a registration fee is not charged.

How to use the serviceOpen/collapse

An insured item may not be addressed in pencil or bear an address composed of initials, neither may it bear any erasure or correction in the address at the time of posting.

Size and Weight LimitsOpen/collapse

Letter

Weight 2kg or below
Size Same as the size of air/surface mail letters

Parcel

Weight 10 - 30 kg (depending on the destination)
SizeMaximum: Length : 1.5m (XP) / 1.05m (P)
Girth + Length : 3m (XP) / 2m (P) / 2.75m
(including USA & Puerto Rico)
Minimum
(Same as letters):
[Cylindrical]
Length + 2 x Diameter : 304mm; Greatest Dimension may not be less than 210mm
[Non-cylindrical] 90mm x 140mm

* For size and weight limits of the mail items, please click here to check: Post Office Guide >> Limits of Weight and Size

Where to post the itemsOpen/collapse

Insured letters and parcels may be posted at any post office (except for Mobile Post Offices). Items intended for insurance must be presented at the counter of a post office and a certificate of posting should be obtained for them. If an article tendered for insurance does not, in the opinion of Hongkong Post staff to whom it is tendered, fulfil the prescribed conditions as to packing and sealing, it is his duty to refuse to insure it. Nevertheless, the onus of properly enclosing, packing and sealing the packet lies upon the sender and Hongkong Post assumes no liability for loss or damage arising from defects which may not be observed at the time of posting.

Frequently Asked QuestionsOpen/collapse

  1. Do I have a certificate of posting after sending an insured letter?
  2. What is the requirement of sealing the envelope?
  3. How to lodge enquiry and compensation?
 
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