FreightInsure says lost freight doubles in December

FreightInsure says lost-freight claims more than double in December for Australian retailers. Its analysis of two years of transit-claims data points to missing consignments, rather than damaged goods, as the main peak-season risk.

Lost freight accounts for 12% of transit claims through most of the year but rises to 24% in December, according to the underwriting agency. Damage claims, by contrast, increase to only 1.1 times their normal monthly average during the same period.

The figures suggest the holiday-period rise in claims is driven less by parcels arriving broken and more by consignments failing to arrive at all. FreightInsure says 69% of the increase in December transit claims relates to freight that never reached its destination.

Claims pattern

The data covers two years of transit claims across 2024 and 2025. Claims were assigned to the month the freight was dispatched rather than the month the claim was filed to better reflect when incidents occurred.

According to the analysis, high shipping volumes alone do not explain the December shift. Months such as May and August also operate near capacity, yet the share of lost-freight claims remains steady at 12%.

FreightInsure links the December rise to weaker traceability across freight networks. It says overloaded depots, temporary seasonal staff and pressure from pre-Christmas delivery deadlines reduce the priority given to scanning consignments, making missing items harder to track.

"Most businesses only ever see their own freight," said Jonathan Bass, Executive Director, Commercial, FreightInsure. "Send a thousand consignments a year, lose two of them in December, and it reads as bad luck. Because our cover sits inside booking systems across the market, we watch the same December pattern repeat across thousands of businesses at once."

January impact

The effects of lost freight often emerge after the holiday period has ended. FreightInsure's data shows 44% of lost-freight claims are lodged more than 30 days after dispatch, pushing much of the operational impact into January.

That lag can leave retailers handling customer complaints, refunds and replacement shipments after staffing levels have already fallen back from the seasonal rush. It may also complicate warehouse and service operations, particularly for businesses that rely on temporary labour in December.

"December is not the finish line," Bass said. "Freight you sent before Christmas can still turn into a problem in the third week of January. Almost nobody rosters for that."

Insurance gap

FreightInsure says the median December transit claim is AUD $472. That places many claims below the excess on traditional transit insurance policies, which typically ranges from $500 to $1,000.

For retailers, that means a large share of losses may not be recoverable through standard cover. If businesses instead seek compensation from carriers, payouts are often capped below the wholesale value of the goods and depend on proving carrier fault.

The findings highlight a financial gap for eCommerce and retail operators during the busiest delivery period of the year. Lower-value but frequent losses can accumulate quickly, especially when merchants must absorb the cost of refunds or replacements while also managing customer service pressures.

FreightInsure provides per-consignment transit insurance through carrier, broker and transport-platform booking systems. Retailers can add zero-excess cover when a consignment is booked, with cover of up to AUD $100,000 per consignment for domestic freight in Australia and New Zealand.

The business operates as a specialist transit-insurance underwriting agency in Australia and New Zealand. It says its position inside booking systems gives it a broad view of freight-loss patterns across the market.

The data points to a peak-season problem that may be less visible than damaged stock on arrival but more disruptive once customer complaints begin to surface. In FreightInsure's analysis, the central December issue is not higher parcel volume alone but freight that disappears from the network without a clear scan trail.