In anticipation of your upcoming move, you may have questions about moving insurance.
Let’s start with the basics: What is moving insurance, and how does it work?
Even in the hands of the most professional moving companies, items can get damaged during the moving process—accidents happen regardless how careful the mover is.
This is why moving companies offer their customers moving insurance, which protects your belongings in the event that something is scratched, broken, or otherwise damaged during a move.
Customers are required to choose between two different types of insurance:
Free Standard Insurance
Replacement Value Insurance
Free Standard Insurance offers minimal coverage. This form of insurance is a legal relic from the past. Under this insurance, your furniture is covered at 30 cents per pound per item. This doesn’t amount to very much. For instance, this would provide about $30 of coverage in the case of a couch, and $150 coverage for an upright piano. However, this option may be taken if:
the customer has a homeowner’s policy which covers their goods for breakage during a move
most of the items being moved fall under the category of “exceptions” (see below) or
items are not expensive
Under any of these circumstances, you may not need additional insurance. In all other cases, we recommend taking Replacement Value Insurance.
Replacement Value Insurance (also known as “Extra Insurance”) covers items for the cost of replacing them with an identical (or very similar) item.
In the rare event that an item is damaged, our company determines whether a satisfactory repair can be made. If not, the customer fills out a claim and our insurance company, Travelers (one of only a few insurance companies with a reputation for fairness) processes the claim.
The cost of Replacement Value Insurance is $5 per $1,000 declared value, with a $500 deductible.
According to Traveler’s requirements, the amount submitted to be covered must “realistically” reflect the total worth of the goods the customer is shipping. For example, if your furniture is worth about $100,000, taking a policy of $20,000 would be considered underinsured.
Exceptions not covered by Replacement Value Insurance are:
Items packed by the customer (or otherwise not packed by the mover)
Items made of particle board, pressboard, or engineered wood, e.g. Ikea furniture
Electronic and mechanical devices that do not work, but show no external evidence of damage
Cash and items of extraordinary value (e.g. diamonds)
Plants
Still have questions about moving insurance? Give us a call!
Phone: (718) 665-5000
Email: info@brownstonebros.com