American Moving Companies in Batford

Expanded mover coverage
Depending on your risk tolerance, you may decide to upgrade your coverage. There are several options available to consumers.

You can ask the moving companies from which you are getting bids if they offer other valuation options. If your moving company is covering your belongings, it is not insurance. Moving companies are not allowed to sell insurance. Instead, you are paying for stated liability. In other words, you are setting the limits for your moving company’s liability if your belongings are damaged, lost or destroyed.

Some moving companies offer expanded valuations. Declared value allows you to set a per-pound amount for your belongings. For example, if you decide your belongings are worth $6 per pound and your total shipment is 10,000 pounds, you are placing a valuation of $60,000 on the total shipment. That would be the maximum you would receive if the entire shipment was destroyed or lost. Individual items would be replaced with like-kind: for instance, a two-year-old washing machine for a two-year-old washing machine. This is important to consider because items such as used clothing have little actual cash value.

You can also ask if the moving company offers lump sum value, also called the assessed value. The coverage is basically the same except the consumer sets the amount by value instead of weight. This is better if you have a lot of small, high-value items that don’t weigh much.

What is valuation?
Moving companies may offer several different levels of liability under their “valuation coverage.” Valuation coverage is the amount of liability that your moving company is willing to accept in the case that your belongings become damaged or lost during a move. Each level of liability determines how much the movers will reimburse you if your goods become lost or damaged while in their hands. All these liability options provide limited coverage. Please note that valuation coverage is not insurance. What most people think of as moving insurance is actually valuation coverage.