What kind of coverage should I get from my mover...part 3
Posted 03-09-2009 at 04:19 PM by Scott Luther
I will preface this like the previous posts, movers don't sell insurance. Only insurance agents sell insurance. Movers sell "valuation".
The only other type of coverage you can get from a mover is “full replacement coverage” or “full value protection”. Some companies call them slightly different things but they are the same animal. Basically what you are doing with this is you are buying a value ceiling or a value umbrella over your entire goods. Some movers make you buy a minimum of $6.00/lb. That is not per article. That refers to the minimum you could purchase over your entire shipment. For example, if your entire shipment weighs 10,000 lbs, you would have to be covered to $60,000 of coverage. In other words your claim could not exceed $60,000. If the mover dropped a TV, it would be irrelevant how much it weighed (for the most part, I’ll get more into this later). As long as the TV doesn’t cost more than $60,000 to repair, replace or reimburse you for it, you would be covered to that amount for that item or any 10 or 100 items that got damaged. Again, your claim can’t exceed the amount of $60,000. That also means that if your truck got totaled on the highway and there was total loss to your shipment, you would receive a check for $60,000. Most movers offer deductible options for this type of coverage to make it more cost effective if that is what you are looking for. Obviously deductibles work exactly the way you know they do. If you have a $500 deductible, the first $500 is coming out of your pocket. Choose wisely.
The one caveat to full replacement is the most any mover will pay you for any one item is $100/lb per article. In most cases, that is more than enough coverage. The TV that got dropped…if it weighed 100 lbs, the maximum claim the mover would repair, replace or reimburse would be (100 x 100) $10,000. Obviously any TV could be replaced for less than that. Therefore it wouldn’t be recognized as a “high value” item. Any item worth more than $100/lb per article is considered “high value” and must be put on a “high value inventory” list. Any mover who offers full replacement coverage has to give you a “high value inventory” form prior to loading. Any item you put on this list, you are filing as an exception to the $100/lb per article rule. For example a Hummel figurine could only weigh ½ pound but could be worth well more than $100. Theoretically anything on the HV list could be worth the maximum amount of your valuation, for example $60,000. Just in case you’re moving the “Mona Lisa” or something like that. You don’t need appraisals to put anything on the HV list so when in doubt, put it on the list. It is a moot point if it doesn’t get damaged.
To summarize, I wouldn’t begin to tell anyone what type of coverage they should get. It is different for everyone. It all depends on your tolerance for risk. If someone is just starting out and they have a lot of hand-me-down furniture, maybe they prefer to save as much money as possible on the move and go with .60/lb. If you are a family of five moving after 20 years of marriage and you have amassed a lifetime worth of memories and niceties, you might want the full replacement coverage and any cost. Maybe you are a mature single person with an art collection, or Hummel collection that really needs that full coverage. Or maybe you are a young family with many small children and you live in the house of child-proof plastic and don’t need full replacement. The point I’m trying to make is it is different for everyone. I was asked by a client once ‘are you going to break $950 dollars worth of my stuff?’. That is what the valuation would have cost him. $950! He made a valid point. No. We weren’t going to have that much damage on his move. (And we didn’t damage anything by the way). He said then, if I go with the .60/lb per article and you only damage $200 worth of stuff, I just saved $750. He is correct, but my answer is no one ever means to damage anything. It is always an accident. Who knows what is going to get damaged, by who and when? Everyone is always careful with everything for the most part. He wanted to go with .60/lb per article because he knew we were going to be very careful and trusted us to have minimal damage. (He was a repeat customer). His wife on the other hand, insisted no matter what, she wanted full replacement on her stuff! I’m not going to tell you who won that arguement, (if you are a married man, you could guess
) but I can definitely see both sides. It is just your tolerance for risk.
But at least now you are all informed and can make the decisions on your own.
The only other type of coverage you can get from a mover is “full replacement coverage” or “full value protection”. Some companies call them slightly different things but they are the same animal. Basically what you are doing with this is you are buying a value ceiling or a value umbrella over your entire goods. Some movers make you buy a minimum of $6.00/lb. That is not per article. That refers to the minimum you could purchase over your entire shipment. For example, if your entire shipment weighs 10,000 lbs, you would have to be covered to $60,000 of coverage. In other words your claim could not exceed $60,000. If the mover dropped a TV, it would be irrelevant how much it weighed (for the most part, I’ll get more into this later). As long as the TV doesn’t cost more than $60,000 to repair, replace or reimburse you for it, you would be covered to that amount for that item or any 10 or 100 items that got damaged. Again, your claim can’t exceed the amount of $60,000. That also means that if your truck got totaled on the highway and there was total loss to your shipment, you would receive a check for $60,000. Most movers offer deductible options for this type of coverage to make it more cost effective if that is what you are looking for. Obviously deductibles work exactly the way you know they do. If you have a $500 deductible, the first $500 is coming out of your pocket. Choose wisely.
The one caveat to full replacement is the most any mover will pay you for any one item is $100/lb per article. In most cases, that is more than enough coverage. The TV that got dropped…if it weighed 100 lbs, the maximum claim the mover would repair, replace or reimburse would be (100 x 100) $10,000. Obviously any TV could be replaced for less than that. Therefore it wouldn’t be recognized as a “high value” item. Any item worth more than $100/lb per article is considered “high value” and must be put on a “high value inventory” list. Any mover who offers full replacement coverage has to give you a “high value inventory” form prior to loading. Any item you put on this list, you are filing as an exception to the $100/lb per article rule. For example a Hummel figurine could only weigh ½ pound but could be worth well more than $100. Theoretically anything on the HV list could be worth the maximum amount of your valuation, for example $60,000. Just in case you’re moving the “Mona Lisa” or something like that. You don’t need appraisals to put anything on the HV list so when in doubt, put it on the list. It is a moot point if it doesn’t get damaged.
To summarize, I wouldn’t begin to tell anyone what type of coverage they should get. It is different for everyone. It all depends on your tolerance for risk. If someone is just starting out and they have a lot of hand-me-down furniture, maybe they prefer to save as much money as possible on the move and go with .60/lb. If you are a family of five moving after 20 years of marriage and you have amassed a lifetime worth of memories and niceties, you might want the full replacement coverage and any cost. Maybe you are a mature single person with an art collection, or Hummel collection that really needs that full coverage. Or maybe you are a young family with many small children and you live in the house of child-proof plastic and don’t need full replacement. The point I’m trying to make is it is different for everyone. I was asked by a client once ‘are you going to break $950 dollars worth of my stuff?’. That is what the valuation would have cost him. $950! He made a valid point. No. We weren’t going to have that much damage on his move. (And we didn’t damage anything by the way). He said then, if I go with the .60/lb per article and you only damage $200 worth of stuff, I just saved $750. He is correct, but my answer is no one ever means to damage anything. It is always an accident. Who knows what is going to get damaged, by who and when? Everyone is always careful with everything for the most part. He wanted to go with .60/lb per article because he knew we were going to be very careful and trusted us to have minimal damage. (He was a repeat customer). His wife on the other hand, insisted no matter what, she wanted full replacement on her stuff! I’m not going to tell you who won that arguement, (if you are a married man, you could guess
) but I can definitely see both sides. It is just your tolerance for risk. But at least now you are all informed and can make the decisions on your own.
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