Whether you’re moving your family locally or across state lines, moving insurance is the smart way to protect your family’s treasured property.
Understanding Your Existing Insurance Policies
Homeowners and Renters Policies
Most homeowners and renters policies cover your belongings while your personal property is inside your residence.
Some policies may cover property while it’s in transit and in storage facilities.
But chances are, damage done to personal property that occurs during the packing or moving process will not be covered.
Moving Insurance For Your Car
If you plan to use your family vehicle(s) to transport your belongings, consider that your auto insurance policy usually covers:
- Damage to your vehicle(s)
- Damage to other drivers’ vehicles
- Personal injury
- Injury of your passengers
- Injury to other drivers
- Injury to other drivers’ passengers
Your policy likely does not cover damage to any personal property you are transporting.
Moving Insurance for DIY Your Residential Move
To save money, you might choose to handle the entire move yourself, without the help of a professional moving company.
This means you won’t have the benefits of a moving company’s coverage (more on that in a moment) if your belongings are damaged or broken.
Moving Insurance for Personal Property
To make sure you’re protected, always consult your trusted insurance professional. Discuss the trip transit, special perils, and floater options.
- Trip Transit Insurance – protect your personal property against theft, disappearance, or fire while in transit.
- Special Perils Contents Insurance – protect against breakage of all non-fragile items.
- Floater Insurance – protect high-value items such as jewelry, collectibles, china, vases, fine art, etc.
Rental Truck Coverage
Additionally, you will probably choose to rent a truck or trailer from a company like Uhaul.
This is another reason to review your car insurance policy, which likely won’t transfer to a non-owned moving van.
This is where optional collision damage waiver coverage comes into play. Buy it!
Benefits of Hiring Professional Movers
Professional moving companies usually provide some protection for your belongings.
Understanding Your Moving Company’s Protections
It’s important to realize that the type of liability coverage your moving company offers for damage or breakage is not technically insurance. This means it isn’t subject to any state’s insurance laws.
However, federal law states that all interstate moving companies must offer two types of liability coverage.
- Full Value Protection – coverage that makes the moving company liable for the replacement value of the belongings in your shipment.
- Released Value Protection – coverage that provides minimal protection of $0.60 per pound of property in your shipment.
Always Read the Fine Print in Your Moving Agreement
As you read over the fine print of your moving agreement,
- Determine what kind and how much protection your moving company is offering for property loss and damage.
- Double Check that the value of your possessions is accurately represented by the contract.
- Ensure that the coverage being offered by the moving company includes damage to both your residences.
- Make a Note of any time-limits for filing claims with your mover, consider the time you’ll need to unpack and fully assess damages.
Moving Insurance for a Professional Move
Similar to a DIY move, when using a professional moving company, consult your trusted insurance professional to discuss the trip transit, special perils, and floater options.
Other things to consider are…
Car Insurance Verification
When shipping a family vehicle, always ask the auto shipping company for their insurance certificate! They are legally required to have one.
Also, check with your auto insurance company to ensure your coverage is the same while the automobile is being shipped.
Some insurance providers require you to provide them with advanced notification.
Storage Insurance
Remember, your moving insurance covers your property in transit, and your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance covers property inside your residence.
If you plan to leave your property in storage, temporarily or long term, invest in storage insurance.
