When you are moving from your current residence to a new residence you are naturally concerned that your belongings arrive safely and in the same condition they were in before being loaded on the moving van.
Protecting your belongings starts with appropriate packing of items that need to be packed into boxes and appropriate protection of items that are not packed into boxes.
If you are doing your own packing, it is important that you use the correct boxes and interior packing material including a sufficient amount of paper. Please see helpful packing tips on our website – www.goldeneaglemoving.com
You can choose to have a moving company pack everything into cartons or you can have the mover do part of the packing and you can do the rest. You can have the mover pack fragile items only, or just the kitchen, or whatever works best for you. The important thing is to choose a mover who has a proven quality reputation, who will provide experienced and trustworthy packers.
Professional moving companies such as United Van Lines and Mayflower Transit use air-ride moving vans that are fully equipped with thick furniture pads. Professional movers fully wrap furniture items from head to toe with furniture pads and also load the moving van tightly so that there is no movement during transit.
If your items that require packing are packed properly into boxes and your furniture items are loaded properly on the moving van, it is unlikely that you will experience damage during your move. Accidents can happen, however, so it is important to consider the level of coverage that you have for your move.
It is also important to understand how valuation coverage relates to items that are packed in boxes by the moving company and items that are packed in boxes by the customer. If the moving company packs a box, everything inside the box is covered. If someone else packs a box, breakage inside the box is not covered unless there is clear evidence that the box was mishandled by the movers. For this reason, it can be a wise decision to have the moving company pack your most valuable possessions.
Moving companies generally provide two types of coverage for your move:
1.Full Value Protection Option
2.Minimum Liability Option
Full Value Protection Option:
Full Value Protection Option is the most comprehensive plan available for protection of your belongings. When you select this option, articles that are lost, damaged, or destroyed will, at the moving company’s option, be either repaired, replaced with articles of like kind and quality, or a cash settlement will be made for the repairs or replacement of the articles at their current market value, regardless of the age of the lost or damaged articles. However, the moving company’s obligation to settle your claim is capped at the amount of coverage you select.
Under this option the minimum amount of coverage you must agree to is determined by the estimated weight of your belongings times $6.00 per pound. For example, if your shipment is estimated to weight 10,000 lbs., the minimum amount of coverage you must agree to is $60,000. You can choose a higher amount of coverage but you cannot choose a lower amount if you wish to have your belongings covered by Full Value Protection.
Full Value Protection is not included in the basic cost of your move but is available at an additional charge.
Minimum Liability Option:
If you elect to not have your belongings covered by the Full Value Protection Option, there is coverage included in the cost of your move at no additional charge. This coverage, however, limits the moving company’s liability to a maximum of $.60 per pound per article. For example, if a refrigerator weighs 300 lbs., the maximum liability of the moving company is $180.00.
You may choose to separately purchase insurance from an insurance company but employees of moving companies are not insurance agents and do not sell insurance. The coverage provided by moving companies is called valuation. Valuation, while similar to insurance, is not the same as it merely protects you from the acts or omissions of the moving company.
On cross-country moves the only two options generally available from the moving company are the two options listed above. For moves within the same state or local moves, most moving companies offer Full Value Protection with no deductible, a $250 deductible or a $500 deductible. These options are less expensive but do not provide total protection since the deductible will be applied to any claim. Deductible options are generally not available on cross-country moves.
