The HopDrop Guarantee
The promise
Every parcel sent through HopDrop is covered by our self-funded protection programme. If your parcel is lost or damaged in transit between PIN-verified pickup and PIN-verified delivery, we pay you back, up to R5,000, within 3 business days of approval.
No premium to pay. No insurer to argue with. No insurance broker to phone. Just us.
The four-line version
- Send a parcel through HopDrop. Declare its real value when you book.
- If it's lost or damaged in transit, open a claim within 14 days of expected delivery.
- We investigate (photos, ratings, GPS) and decide within 7 business days.
- Approved claims pay out within 3 business days. Up to R5,000 per parcel.
1. What it is — and what it isn't
The HopDrop Guarantee is not insurance. HopDrop is not an FSCA-regulated insurer and the cover described here is not regulated under the Insurance Act 18 of 2017.
Instead, it's a self-funded service guarantee. We hold a small reserve from every delivery in a separate ledger; that reserve pays approved claims. If the reserve is ever insufficient (which has not happened), HopDrop is on the hook to top it up out of normal company funds.
Practical effect for you: same as insurance — file a claim, get paid out — without the regulatory and contractual machinery of an actual insurance product.
2. What's covered
Loss or damage to a Parcel during transit, between the moment a Courier verifies the Pickup PIN at collection and the moment the Recipient's Delivery PIN is verified at handover.
For relay deliveries (Parcel changes hands at a partner shop), cover is continuous across all legs — each leg has its own PIN-verified custody handoff.
3. What's NOT covered
The following are excluded entirely. Sending these via HopDrop violates our Terms of service (clause 5.2) and the Parcel is not protected at all:
- Firearms, ammunition, weapons
- Illegal drugs, Schedule 5+ medicines, prescription drugs without authorisation
- Live animals, plants, perishable food
- Hazardous chemicals, flammables, fireworks, compressed gas
- Cash, gift cards, vouchers, prepaid SIMs, cash-equivalents
- Counterfeit, stolen, or otherwise unlawfully-obtained goods
We also do not cover loss or damage caused by:
- Inadequate packaging by the Sender (e.g. fragile glass posted in a thin envelope)
- Pre-existing damage not visible at pickup that becomes apparent later
- Normal wear-and-tear of the contents (e.g. perishables spoiling within their natural shelf life)
- Acts of God, civil unrest, government seizure, pandemic-related delays
- Refusal of delivery by the Recipient (this is a delivery-failed event, not loss)
- Fraudulent claims or claims based on inaccurate declared values
4. Cover limits
4.1Maximum payout per Parcel: R5,000.
4.2Scaled to declared value: we pay the lesser of (a) the Parcel's declared value at booking and (b) R5,000. Declare your real value — under-declaring caps your own payout, over-declaring is fraud and voids cover.
4.3High-value items (declared value > R2,000): require KYC-verified Couriers (we won't match you with an un-verified Courier). Some categories (jewellery, expensive electronics) may require manual review at booking.
4.4Items we do not carry above their cap: jewellery is capped at R2,000 declared value at launch; electronics at R5,000. These caps may rise as we build claims history.
5. How to claim
- Open a dispute in the app — Profile → My deliveries → the affected delivery → "Open dispute". Or email claims@hopdrop.co.za with the delivery ID.
- Provide evidence:
- Photo of the Parcel as it was sent (if you have one)
- Photo of the damage (if applicable)
- Receipt or proof of declared value (for high-value claims)
- Any messages with the Courier
- HopDrop investigates.We pull the GPS trail, pickup & delivery photos, PIN-verification timestamps, Courier rating history, and any other relevant records. We may contact the Courier and the Recipient.
- Decision within 7 business days.We'll email you with the outcome and the reasoning.
- Approved? Paid within 3 business days via EFT to your in-app wallet (you can withdraw to your bank account from there) or, if you prefer, directly to the bank account you provide.
- Declined? The decision letter explains why. You have 14 days to escalate to mediation under our Terms of service clause 14.
6. Claim window
6.1You must open a claim within 14 calendar days of the expected delivery date shown in the app at booking.
6.2Claims opened after 14 days are not covered, except in exceptional circumstances (e.g. you were hospitalised) we'll consider on a case-by-case basis.
7. Once we've paid out
7.1When we pay a claim, we are subrogated to your rights against any third party responsible for the loss (e.g. the Courier, if their negligence caused it). You agree to cooperate reasonably with us recovering from those parties.
7.2If the Parcel is later recovered (e.g. it was misplaced, not stolen) and you accept it, we may ask you to return the payout less a reasonable handling fee.
8. The reserve, in numbers
8.1Reserve rate: 1.5% of the declared value of every booked delivery.
8.2Held separately: the reserve sits in a dedicated ledger inside HopDrop's accounts. Audited annually.
8.3Claim ratio target: we aim for total annual payouts under 80% of total reserve contributions. If the ratio rises above 100% sustainably, we will adjust pricing or category caps. We'll publish updates on this page when that happens.
9. If we change these terms
We may update the HopDrop Guarantee terms over time as we learn from real claims. For material changes (e.g. lowering the cap, adding new exclusions) we will:
- update the "Last updated" date at the top
- notify active senders via the app and / or email
- give 30 days' advance notice of any reduction in cover
In-flight deliveries are always covered under the version of these terms that was in effect when you booked.
10. Contact
Claims: claims@hopdrop.co.za
General support: support@hopdrop.co.za
Web: hopdrop.co.za