Narrative Summary

I shipped a professionally graded, PSA 10 rare Pokémon card valued at $2,000 to an auction house via FedEx. The package disappeared at the Memphis sorting hub. I submitted my insurance claim along with the grading certificate and recent auction comps. FedEx denied the claim entirely. Their rejection letter stated that the package contained "currency, cash equivalents, or negotiable instruments," which are strictly prohibited from shipment and entirely excluded from liability coverage.

The Resolution Strategy

High-value trading cards and graded collectibles are frequently flagged by automated claims AI as "cash equivalents," falsely equating a piece of retail cardboard with bearer bonds or casino chips to avoid paying massive claims.

To beat this, the Authori claims platform drafted an appeal centered tightly on the definitions in FedEx Service Guide Section 16.

The appeal letter explicitly outlined the legal difference between a negotiable financial instrument (which holds inherent financial liquidity) and a retail collectible commodity (whose value fluctuates based on consumer demand). The letter argued that a graded trading card is a physical retail good, no different than a rare comic book or a signed photograph. By proving the item did not meet the legal definition of a restricted "cash equivalent," the exclusion was dropped. FedEx reversed the denial and paid the $2,000 claim.