While hiring a moving company can make your move stress free and quick, it can also make you anxious about your valuables getting lost or damaged. You will not want your belongings to break or be lost. It often leads you to move your things personally rather than hiring a professional mover. But what if the moving company has moving insurance? If it does, you won’t think twice about hiring its services.
What is Moving Insurance?
Any insurance policy that provides coverage for the replacement cost of your belongings if they are lost or damaged during the move is called moving insurance. You purchase such insurance before the move.
Instead of moving insurance, moving companies offer what is called valuation. A valuation is the total value of your belongings you perceive. You can also say that it is the total amount you will get for replacing the belongings if they are lost. The moving company you hire will pay compensation if they lose or damage your valuables during the move.
Certified moving companies offer different valuation options. However, they may not provide coverage for high-value items. For them, you can obtain insurance from third-party insurance providers.
Different Types of Valuation
Most reputable moving companies offer the following coverage options for different moves.
1 ) Released Value Protection
It is the basic coverage option offered by many moving companies. Though you are not liable to pay extra for this, you must agree to get this coverage when signing the contract with the company. It covers only 60 cents per pound per item. It implies that if a 50-pound TV screen gets damaged during the move, the moving company will pay $30 for it, even if it has cost you thousands of dollars.
2) Full Value Protection
Although this type of coverage is far more comprehensive than released value protection, you need to pay a premium of 1% or 2% of the total value of the goods in the move. Additionally, various moving companies have some deductibles in the full-value protection policies.
On selecting the full value protection option, the moving company is liable to give the entire replacement value of the goods they are transporting, again with some limitations. As a consumer, you will declare the number of your goods per pound and then pay the premium for equivalent coverage.
The terms of the full-value protection policy differ from company to company. Depending on the state regulations, the minimum level of coverage on household goods can vary between $4 and $6 per pound. So if you move 10,000 pounds and declare $4 as the minimum value per pound of your goods, you will get $40,000 if everything gets damaged or lost during the move.
The moving company may fulfill this claim as:
- Repair the good
- Replace it with a replica of the same price
- Pay the cost of repairing in the current MRP of the good
However, every moving company has a right to limit its liability for high-value items, including things worth $100+ per pound, like antiques or artifacts. Therefore before the move, you must know whether your company covers high-value items. Or else the company won’t provide coverage for any item if it damages.
3) Third-Party Options
Now that your moving insurance (valuation) is not insurance, it is better to get additional coverage for your expensive belongings during the move. Don’t assume your homeowner’s insurance will cover your belongings, as it might not.
If the homeowner’s insurance policy breaks on moving to a new place, it will not cover any of your belongings. But if you maintain it and move locally, your home insurance policy might cover it.
You must check with your insurance provider to see if and what all the homeowner’s insurance policy covers. Most moving companies offer the above-given moving insurance options. Go through their policy before hiring one.
Are you planning to relocate to Las Vegas? You should contact Move on Moving. We have the best team of packers to get help in carefully packing your stuff and moving it to another place. We have been in the logistics industry for around 20 years.
