Freight damage claim: the letter template that gets paid

Short answer: a freight damage claim gets paid on evidence and deadlines, not on how angry your email is. The carrier's liability is capped, the notice windows are short, and claims die from two causes — no documentation at receiving, and letters filed late or vague. The routine: photograph before you sign, note damage on the delivery receipt, file written notice fast, then send a claim letter with every number and document the carrier's adjuster needs in one package.

The letter template below is annotated — every section explained, because knowing why each line is there is what keeps you from deleting the parts that matter.

First: at receiving, in the 10 minutes that decide the claim

The claim is won or lost at your dock, before anyone writes anything. Add this block to your receiving checklist:

1. Count and inspect before signing. The delivery receipt (the driver's paperwork) is a legal document. Signing it clean — "received in good order" — hands the carrier its best defense. If you must sign before inspection is possible, write "SUBJECT TO INSPECTION" next to your signature.
2. Note damage on the receipt, specifically. "3 cartons crushed, contents visible" — not "damaged." Vague notations are treated like no notation; specific ones lock the record.
3. Photograph immediately, before unpacking everything. The pallet as it stands, the damaged cartons from multiple angles, the shipping labels intact on the cartons (labels prove the shipment identity), inside-the-carton shots showing the goods and packing material. Photos after you've hauled everything inside are worth a fraction of on-the-dock photos.
4. Save the packaging. The carrier has the right to inspect the shipping materials — discarding crushed cartons can kill a claim. Set damaged cartons and contents aside, intact, until the claim resolves.
5. Count against the packing list before the driver leaves if you can. Shortages noted on the receipt are far easier to claim than shortages discovered Tuesday.

If your freight arrived via a forwarder's consolidation, the same rules apply but the liable party may be the forwarder's network rather than a named vessel carrier — this is one of the practical differences between forwarder freight and direct carrier freight covered in what a freight forwarder does.

The deadlines (verify — they vary by mode and contract)

Written notice and suit windows differ by transport mode, and your specific contract or bill of lading may modify them — treat these as the standard landscape to check against your paperwork, not universal law:

• Ocean (international): under COGSA — the US Carriage of Goods by Sea Act — written notice of non-visible damage should reach the carrier within three days of delivery, and lawsuits are time-barred after one year. Visible damage should be noted at delivery, per the routine above (COGSA, 46 U.S.C. § 30701 note — accessed October 2026).
• Air (international): under the Montreal Convention, written complaint about damage must reach the air carrier within 14 days of receiving the cargo (Montreal Convention 1999, Article 31 — accessed October 2026).
• Domestic truck: governed by the carrier's tariff and the bill of lading contract — claims windows of nine months for filing are common in US motor carrier contracts, with shorter notice expected. Read your BOL's terms; this is a verify-against-your-paperwork item, not a constant.

Two more clock facts that matter to small importers: liability caps exist regardless of deadlines (ocean carriers' default package limitation is famously low — $500 per package under COGSA, which is why cargo insurance exists for anything valuable), and who can file depends on who owned the goods when they were damaged — under FOB-style terms the risk transferred to you at origin, so you file; under DDP the seller may file. The risk-transfer logic is the whole subject of Incoterms for small business. If the seller owned the risk, your claim letter changes author — coordinate, don't double-file.

The annotated claim letter

Send this to the delivering carrier (or their claims department), certified or via a channel with proof of delivery, with every attachment itemized at the end. Bracketed notes are the annotations — strip them before sending.

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To: [Carrier's claims department — the address is on their website or your BOL; sending to a random customer-service inbox is how claims "never arrive"]

Re: Cargo claim — Pro/BL No. [the bill of lading or PRO number from your shipping documents. This is the claim's primary key. A letter without it is unmatchable]

Date of shipment: [origin date] · Date of delivery: [delivery date]

To the claims department:

I am filing a claim for loss and damage to the following shipment received at [delivery address]:

• Goods: [precise description — "stainless steel kitchen knife sets, 4-piece, model KN-402," not "merchandise." The adjuster prices what they can picture]
• Quantity affected: [e.g., "24 of 90 cartons; cartons 41–64"] — affected vs total, because partial claims need the split stated
• Nature of damage: [what happened to the goods — "cartons crushed on two faces; contents (knife sets) damaged beyond resale"; specific physical facts, no conclusions about fault]
• As noted on delivery receipt: [quote your notation — "3 cartons crushed, contents visible, noted at delivery by consignee 10:42 a.m."] — this ties your claim to the receiving record, the document the carrier cannot dispute

Amount claimed: $[amount]. [The number must be defensible: invoice cost of the damaged units, not retail. Carriers pay invoice cost or the liability cap, whichever is lower — claiming retail is how claims get discounted]

Attached:

1. Commercial invoice for the shipment [proves value]
2. Packing list [proves quantities]
3. Bill of lading / delivery receipt copy showing the damage notation [proves the receiving record]
4. Photographs: 14 photos showing pallet condition at delivery, damaged cartons, labels, contents, and packing material [the evidence core]
5. Repair or salvage documentation, if any [reduces the counteroffer "it's probably fine" — if units are scrap, say so; if partially salvageable, state the salvage value you'll accept as offset]

Please advise within 30 days of the date of this letter. I will make the damaged goods and packaging available for inspection upon request. [The inspection offer is good faith and keeps the clock honest; the 30-day ask is reasonable and creates a follow-up rhythm]

[Name, company, address, phone, email]

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Why this letter works: it leads with identifiers (the adjuster can file it in minutes), it anchors every fact to a document (notation on the receipt, invoice for value, photos for condition), it asks for a defensible number, and it offers cooperation. Claims adjusters process volume; the letters that get paid are the ones that are effortless to validate.

The follow-up rhythm and when to give up

• Weeks 1–2: confirm receipt of the claim in writing. No acknowledgment → call, then email a summary of the call.
• Weeks 3–6: expect an adjuster, possibly an inspection request. Cooperate fast — slow claimants look like weak claims.
• The counteroffer reality: carriers routinely offer less than claimed, sometimes invoking the liability cap. Your levers are the documentation package and, if the gap is meaningful, a second letter citing the specific liability rules for your mode and asking for the cap's application to be shown in their math.
• When to stop: if the claim is small, the cap bites hard (declared/limited value far below your real loss), and you've had one solid escalation cycle — weigh the hours against the dollars. This is the moment to check whether cargo insurance would have covered the gap, and to price it for next shipment. It's also the moment to note the carrier's claims behavior and feed it into your forwarder/mode choices going forward.
• When not to stop: if the amount is material and your paperwork is clean, press through the full window — the suit deadline is a year on ocean claims, and adjusters know which claimants keep records.

Prevention, briefly, because claims are a cost center

Ninety percent of claim pain is upstream: palletized and shrink-wrapped loads survive; loose cartons don't; photos at the factory before loading establish the goods left origin sound; and declared values that match reality keep insurance claims honest (the declared-value trap is covered in customs duties for small importers — same declared value flows through freight and customs). Claims recover costs; the receiving routine and load standards prevent them.

Common questions

How do I file a freight damage claim? Note the damage on the delivery receipt before signing, photograph everything at the dock, save the packaging, then send the carrier's claims department a written claim with the bill of lading/PRO number, goods description, quantity affected, damage description, the amount claimed at invoice cost, and the supporting documents — invoice, packing list, the notated receipt, and photos. Use the annotated template above; it's structured for how adjusters actually validate claims.

How long do I have to file a freight claim? It depends on transport mode and contract. Ocean shipments under COGSA carry a one-year suit limit with written notice expected within days of delivery; air under the Montreal Convention requires written complaint within 14 days; domestic truck follows the carrier's tariff, commonly nine months. Verify against your bill of lading — your contract can specify — and file notice immediately regardless, because early notice never hurts a claim.

What is a freight claim worth — retail or cost? Carriers pay invoice cost of the damaged goods, subject to their liability cap, not your retail price. Ocean carriers' default limitation is as low as $500 per package under COGSA unless a higher value was declared. Claim the invoice cost, attach the commercial invoice proving it, and understand that anything above the cap is what cargo insurance is for.

Who files the claim — me or my supplier? Whoever owned the goods when they were damaged, which depends on your shipping terms. Under FOB and similar terms risk transferred to you at origin, so you file; under DDP the seller retains risk and files. Check your Incoterms before writing the letter — double-filing from both sides, or filing when you lack standing, both delay payment.

What if I signed the delivery receipt without noting damage? All is not lost — you can still file, especially with photos taken immediately and a prompt written notice, and concealed damage has its own notice provisions in many contracts. But your position is weaker: the clean signature is the carrier's primary defense. This is why the receiving routine exists — note exceptions before signing, always, even when the driver is in a hurry.

Next step

Add the five-step receiving block above to your dock SOP this week, and put the claim letter template in a file you can reach. The day you need it, you'll have ten minutes at the door to use it — not an afternoon to reconstruct one.