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Online shopping has made it easy for everyone to get pretty much anything delivered right to their doors, often in two days or less.

Unfortunately, some people see those packages on your doorstep as an opportunity to score free stuff. And yes—I’ve had porch pirates steal from me as well and it’s infuriating and sad. People work hard, order something they need or love, and before they even get home it’s gone. It’s personal, invasive, and enraging. But there is insurance for that.

The typical renter’s insurance policy, (under personal property theft), and some homeowner’s insurance, (under dwelling), cover theft, including packages stolen from your doorstep, porch, or entrance. And some policies extend to protecting items stolen from your vehicle. However, depending on your deductible, going through the claims process isn’t always worth it. Let’s say your deductible is $500, and you order a robot vacuum that costs $450. You can file a claim for that, but you won’t receive a payment. However, if your package contains more valuable items like a $2,000 Hydrow Rower for your gym, you could file a claim and receive $1,500 from your insurance company. But be wary of filing too many claims in a short period as that tells your insurance provider that you’re a high-risk client, which could result in your insurer straight-out canceling your policy. Ideally, you only want to file one claim on your policy in a five-year period.

But hey, before going through your insurance, it’s best to see if the seller or the delivery company will reimburse you for your stolen item. This is a maybe, maybe not situation- a huge gray area.

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Workers’ compensation defense attorney sought — California

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As a basic tenant of contract law, the seller is responsible for delivering a package to the buyer. “Delivery”, in this context, is not the same as “delivery” in the context of a parcel delivery service’s tracking.

Delivery for contractual purposes occurs when the buyer has actual possession, or constructive possession of the merchandise. Actual possession is easy: It’s in your hands. Constructive possession is more difficult. It means the merchandise is in your control. If you have a mailbox at The UPS Store, when the clerk at The UPS Store signs for your package, you have constructive possession. If a delivery driver hands your package to your apartment manager, you have constructive possession. If a delivery driver puts the package in a box that locks, you have constructive possession.

But if the delivery driver sets the package on your porch, you may or may not have constructive possession. If your porch is exposed to a busy street, and pedestrians walking by can just grab your package, you don’t have constructive possession. If you live in a gated community, and the delivery driver had to use a gate code to access your house, you would have constructive possession of a package left on your porch.

Generally, if the package was stolen, the delivery company would be the negligent party, and the seller would need to pursue a claim with them for not actually delivering the package to you even though they called leaving it on your porch “delivery”. But on the other hand, if your package was ruined in the rain that didn’t come until 3am, you were negligent in leaving the package sitting there even though you had what could reasonably be considered constructive possession.

Who decides if you had constructive possession when it’s a gray area? That’s a good question.

The buyer should make a claim with the seller. The seller should make a claim with the delivery service they hired. If the delivery service agrees to take responsibility (and they sometimes do!), then the seller needs to make the buyer whole by either shipping a replacement free of charge or refunding the buyer’s money. If the delivery service doesn’t take responsibility, the seller can do a chargeback on their credit or debit card, and then the banks can review the facts, and decide whether or not you had constructive possession.

To avoid all this legalese, my advice is, if you're purchasing a higher-ticket item like a new phone or computer, consider an insurance plan through the seller or delivery service. Insuring a $300 package costs roughly $3 to $6, depending on the carrier (USPS, FedEx, UPS) and service.  Maximum declared value is $50,000 through UPS at 1.45 per $100 declared with special handling.

Now to my favorite part of this piece, those exploding packages!  We have all seen the videos where a “porch pirate” picks up what looks like an Amazon box and on their way out, it explodes. They get a dye on them — it looks like — and smoke, and sometimes it gets on their cars. Call me sentimental but I love poetic justice.

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysnnd13x3Ag

But beneath the laughs and hashtags, there is a legal powder keg. Because here’s the thing: if someone gets hurt—yes, even if they were stealing your package—you could be the one facing a civil liability suit and maybe a criminal one.

The civil side is expensive, and this intentional act may not be covered at all by your homeowner’s policy. And what if a third party—say, a delivery driver, a neighbor’s child, or your own dog-walker—gets caught in the blast? The liability expands exponentially. If the thief sues, comparative negligence might reduce your liability —but it won’t eliminate it. Courts have long held that criminal conduct by a victim doesn’t absolve intentional or reckless acts by a defendant. Belief it or not- even a thief is entitled to protection from deliberate harm- as property rights don’t trump human safety. This is non-negotiable as good intentions – or viral ambitions - won’t save you when a jury hears that your “funny security measure” caused real harm.

The criminal side is worse. Stealing junk off people’s porches is not a capital crime in the US. The thief is not putting anyone’s life in danger. But the amateur rigging of a package bomb absolutely is risking people’s lives. Battery doesn’t require a punch- just an intentional act. Add chemicals or dye and we’ve got assault. Should the porch pirate drop dead of a heart attack when it explodes, the homeowner just committed murder (which would likely be downgraded to voluntary manslaughter since murder wasn’t the primary goal).  One can argue the exploding package/dye was simply a form of self-defense or the consequence of trespassing. But you will lose, every time, as the “they deserved it” defense won’t fly. It never has. The legal system has seen this movie before and “setting a lesson” is indistinguishable from “setting a trap.” In Katko v. Briney (Iowa 1971), a homeowner rigged a shotgun to fire when someone entered an abandoned farmhouse. The trespasser, who was stealing antiques, nearly lost his leg. The jury sided with the thief. The court was clear You can use reasonable force to defend your home, but you cannot set a trap designed to harm someone you’re not there to confront (and as an aside: exploding packages are considered a booby trap in California under Penal Code 16310). That logic has echoed through every state since. In People v. Ceballos (Cal. 1974), a homeowner mounted a trap gun in his garage that fired at a teen trying to open the door. He too was convicted. The courts have zero patience for revenge.

In short, defend your home and your packages, absolutely. But be smart about it because the second your method crosses the line from deterrence to danger, the story flips. A video camera is advisable. Better yet just buy insurance for that package!

Jorge Alexandria, writer, is the Vice President of Workers' Compensation Claims for the J. Morey Company, an Ori-gen company, and former Director for the U.S. Labor Department, 18th Compensation District. He is also an Army combat medic veteran who received a Master's degree in Public Administration. He can be reached at Riskletter@mail.com

The J. Morey Company handles business insurances, workers' compensation, personal lines, and employee group benefits.

Lonce Lamonte, journalist, www.adjustercom.com, adjustercom

lonce@adjustercom.com www.adjustercom.com