Moving insurance: what the mover covers, what your policy covers, what neither does

Valuation is the mover's promise, not a policy

On an interstate move the mover is liable for your goods under one of two plans. Released value costs nothing and pays 60 cents per pound per article. Full value protection is the default unless you waive it in writing; the mover repairs, replaces with like kind, or pays the current value, up to the value you declared for the whole shipment.

Full value protection has a price. Ask for it at each deductible level, and get the plan, the declared value, and the charge on the estimate and the bill of lading.

Third-party moving insurance

A separate policy from an insurance company. It can sit on top of released value or replace the need for full value protection, depending on what it covers. Some movers sell it; if yours does, ask for the policy or certificate in writing at the time you buy it, with the insurer's name on it.

Read three lines before you pay: what it excludes for boxes you packed yourself, what it pays for items over $100 a pound, and how a claim is made. Cover you cannot claim on is not cover.

Your homeowner's or renter's policy

Some policies cover belongings while they are moved, some only while they are in a home, and many cap goods in transit or exclude breakage. Ask your insurer by email, so the answer is in writing, before you waive full value protection.

Storage is its own question. Goods in a mover's warehouse between homes are covered by the mover's terms for storage in transit, which can differ from the move itself.

The certificate your building asks for

A certificate of insurance shows the mover carries liability cover for damage to the building: the elevator, the lobby, the floors. It does not cover your furniture. Ask the mover to send it to the building manager with the building named as certificate holder a few days before the move.

Moves inside one state, Canada and the UK

In-state moves follow state rules and the mover's tariff, and released-value rates differ by state. In Canada, ask the mover for its liability per pound or per item in writing. In the UK, removal firms usually quote a goods-in-transit limit and sell extended cover; read the self-pack exclusion before you choose.