Shipping protection is an optional paid add-on the customer can switch on in the cart, covering their order against damage, loss or theft. By the end of this you will have it configured. One thing to know before you start: it cannot be enabled by default. Shopify does not allow apps to add items to a customer's cart, so the customer has to opt in.
In this article:
Step 1: Enable the module
In the cart drawer editor, select
Shipping Protection.Select
Activate.
The disabled banner reads: "Shipping protection is not shown because it is disabled. Activate to show it in your cart. You can preview changes before saving."
Step 2: Set the title, description and price
Field | Default | Notes |
|
| Name of the product in the cart |
ℹ️ Shipping protection is a real Shopify product, because anything added to a cart has to be one. Atlas creates it in your store and it is not hidden, so you will see it in your product list alongside everything else you sell. Leave it there. Deleting it stops shipping protection working.
|
| The short explanation under the title |
| none | What you charge |
⚠️ The description is a promise. Whatever you write here is what customers will expect you to honour when a parcel goes missing. Write only what you will actually do, and keep a record of it.
Step 3: Choose an icon
Icon type offers two: Shield or Shipment with padlock.
Either works. The shield reads as protection generally; the padlock reads as security in transit specifically.
Step 4: Colours
Control | What it colours |
| The title text |
| The toggle |
Make the switch visibly a switch. Customers need to see at a glance whether protection is on or off, and an ambiguous toggle produces both accidental purchases and missed ones.
Why it cannot be on by default
The setting is labelled Cannot Be Toggled On by Default, with the explanation:
Shopify does not allow apps to pre-add items to the cart. Customers must manually opt in by clicking the toggle.
This is a Shopify platform rule, not an Atlas limitation, and no app can work around it. Any app claiming to add protection automatically is either doing something Shopify will eventually stop, or is not really adding it to the cart.
ℹ️ This is genuinely better for you. Pre-ticked paid add-ons generate chargebacks, refund requests and complaints, and in several markets they are prohibited outright. Opt-in protection that customers chose is protection they will not dispute.
Since you cannot pre-select it, the wording has to do the work. Say what it covers and what it costs, in one short line.
Setting a price
Price is a flat fee. It is the same on every order, whatever the cart is worth, and there is no percentage option.
ℹ️ That makes the fee easy to explain in one line, and it means a large order pays the same as a small one. If most of your orders cluster around a similar value this matters little. If they range widely, set the fee against your average rather than your largest.
Price it against what you will actually pay out. Protection is only profitable if the fee across all orders exceeds the cost of the claims you honour. If you have no idea what your loss rate is, start conservatively and watch it.
💡 Check your analytics after a few weeks. The Revenue breakdown chart splits cart revenue between Upsell and Shipping protection, so you can see exactly what protection is earning before you decide whether the price is right.
Honouring the promise
Decide these before you enable the module, because you will be asked:
What counts as a claim, and what evidence you need
How long a customer has to report a problem
Whether you replace or refund
Who pays return shipping on a damaged item
Write it down, and keep the cart description consistent with it. A customer who paid for protection and is refused has a much stronger complaint than one who never paid.