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Okay, our move date is just around the corner. One item still on my To-Do list is to research moving insurance. I believe that our current homeowner's policy covers our property during transit, but only if damage occurs due to fire, rain, wind, etc. The moving company we're using provides basic liability coverage at a "whopping" .60 cents/pound. They also offer additional in-transit valuation plans, priced with either a $0, $250, or $500 deductible. The minimum they require is $60,000 coverage (priced at $511, $333, and $223, respectively).
My question is.........does it make sense to buy the extra insurance? If they drop our TV and break it, the basic liability they provide gives us pennies. Well, not really....but it's certainly not enough to buy a new TV. (Um...I think I just answered my own question.)
To all of you other interstate transplants out there....Did most of you purchase extra insurance??? If so, how much coverage did you buy??? I don't want to have to think / worry about damage, theft, etc during the move....but I also don't want to spend $$$ if I don't need to. (This move is already costing us enough, as it is!) Thanks!!!
Okay, our move date is just around the corner. One item still on my To-Do list is to research moving insurance. I believe that our current homeowner's policy covers our property during transit, but only if damage occurs due to fire, rain, wind, etc. The moving company we're using provides basic liability coverage at a "whopping" .60 cents/pound. They also offer additional in-transit valuation plans, priced with either a $0, $250, or $500 deductible. The minimum they require is $60,000 coverage (priced at $511, $333, and $223, respectively).
My question is.........does it make sense to buy the extra insurance? If they drop our TV and break it, the basic liability they provide gives us pennies. Well, not really....but it's certainly not enough to buy a new TV. (Um...I think I just answered my own question.)
To all of you other interstate transplants out there....Did most of you purchase extra insurance??? If so, how much coverage did you buy??? I don't want to have to think / worry about damage, theft, etc during the move....but I also don't want to spend $$$ if I don't need to. (This move is already costing us enough, as it is!) Thanks!!!
When we moved we bought the extra insurance ($30k) with a $250 deductible (it was that or no deductible) for $170. They wouldn't have to break much to rack up $250 dollars in damage so to us it just made sense.
Of course the move went smooth and we didn't have to use the insurance at all. But my parents who moved a few months before did not opt for the insurance and had quite a few items broken (marble table top, dishes, and a few other items). As you pointed out, the pennies per pound standard coverage didn't come anywhere near covering the damage.
Moving is stressful (and costly). Having to think about spending an undefined amount of money to cover possible damages was just one more thing to worry about. So for $170 bucks we bought our way out of that stress. If they broke all our stuff - the most we'd be out was a maximum of 420 dollars ($250 + $170).
The forums at this website should have some helpful info:
Moderator cut: url removed
My biggest concern would be (1) that they really pay you replacement value for your stuff and (2) you can actually collect.
I didn't get insurance when I moved - I went with a highly recommended mover and everything arrived intact. I didn't have any priceless antiques or anything really valuable though. My computer and pricey small electronics went in the car with me (the things I really care about!).
Last edited by autumngal; 05-29-2008 at 05:34 PM..
what stuff from what house we were moving. Some of our houses has highly valuable stuff and yes, we definently got extra insurance. And the other house had stuff I really was not worried if got knicked or dented, or major damage.
So it depends on you and your stuff really,
When we moved we bought the additional insurance, replacement coverage, no deductible for $500-ish. They lost over $2000 worth of our stuff. We claimed it and received a check less than 2 weeks later for the exact amount. They also sent a company out to repair the furniture scratches that occurred during the move. We are very happy we took out the additional insurance!
Read the Moving Scam website and do your homework. When they show up to load your goods shadow the lead, often the driver, and challenge him on anything you don't agree with. It's your stuff! Gotta look out for yourself. For example, they'll use some very generic and vague "codes" to note the current condition of your belongings. If there's one itty bitty stain on a mattress they'll likely try to label the entire mattress as "soiled, all". What that means is when it is delivered if it's completely soiled they covered their own asses and at that point you cannot really refute their original documentation since you'd have already signed off on it. Also, make your own worksheet of the actual contents of each box. If they don't pack it they mark it as a "box". So if box #147 of #180 gets lost and you don't have your own record you'll have no idea what was actually in the box. Related, I'm not sure how that works for any "insurance".
But it's your stuff! It's the first time I gave some random person all of my worldly belongings for a week. *Very* nerve racking!
My stuff showed up with only a handful of extremely minor dings and scratches, all to my wood furniture, of course. Certainly less than if I'd moved it myself. Only a few dings aren't easily repairable by myself. I opted for the $250 deductable which I'm assuming doesn't even scratch the surface of my... drum roll please ...! dings and what not.
Good luck with these moving companies, basically a group of ex cons that drive smoke eat and drink together on the road. Some crews get picked up at truck stops!!
That said better to just sell everything you cannot take in your car and start new!!
Guess we've been lucky - we've moved several times with the Air Force and have had no problems. We've even had, for the most part, nice packers and competent drivers! Hopefully with our move to Raleigh in less than a month, we will experience that good luck one more time.
We've never had nor needed mover's insurance. Oh and by the way, the actual Air Force does not move us, but they hire contracted packers and movers in the area.
Oh I forgot to mention, we DO always videotape our stuff in our house before it all gets packed, including UNBROKEN china, working computers, TVs, washers, dryers, etc...just in case there is a problem we can prove that it used to work, or used to be in one piece, etc...you get the point.
My biggest concern would be (1) that they really pay you replacement value for your stuff and (2) you can actually collect.
I didn't get insurance when I moved - I went with a highly recommended mover and everything arrived intact. I didn't have any priceless antiques or anything really valuable though. My computer and pricey small electronics went in the car with me (the things I really care about!).
Thanks for the link, but I'm not terribly concerned about the moving company that we hired scamming us. We've used this company 3-4 times in the past without issue. I trust them, as a company. My main concern is that my past moves were all local moves.....and like someone else pointed out in this post, we're handing over our possessions for several days, which is scary. I just want to protect my goods in case something gets broken or lost.
While part of me is trying to save a buck, the other part knows darn well that I'll be kicking myself if THEY DO drop our TV and then hand me a check for some $30 or $40 odd dollars (at their .60/cents per pound rate). I just needed help/suggestions on the doing the cost-benefit analysis to determine a) if I should buy it at all, and b) how much I should spend, what deductible, etc.
BTW, we're renting a mini-van for our trip to NC, so we can transport our valuables, fragile items, and things that I just don't want the movers to mess with. We're mainly hiring them to move our furniture and boxes (and boxes!) of "stuff".
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