Does Homeowners Insurance Cover You on Moving Day?

For many homeowners, summertime means the weather’s warm and the kids are between school years. In other words, it’s a great time to move.

But before you start packing, it’s important to know that your homeowners insurance may only offer limited coverage for damage, loss, or theft of your property that occurs in transit. The good news: if you’re using movers, you can likely purchase additional insurance to mitigate your risk.

Here, we’ll explain the limits of homeowners insurance coverage on moving day. Then, we’ll explore how separate moving insurance can help you satisfy your needs.

Homeowners Insurance Won’t Cover Breakage While Moving

If you’ve ever moved before, you can probably picture this scenario: you’re watching your hired movers load your TV into their truck. Then, one of them loses their grip – and drops your TV on the ground.

Unfortunately, your homeowners insurance likely won’t cover this kind of damage, even if it occurs at your home. That’s because property breakage – the most common risk on moving day – isn’t a covered event in most insurance policies.

However, your homeowners insurance can still help you mitigate certain moving day risks. We’ll look at three in the next section.

Homeowners Insurance May Cover Certain Moving Day Perils

While most perils often covered by insurance policies aren’t common on moving day, keep these three in mind:

1. Theft: A mover might steal something from your home – or from a packed box while in transit.
2. Fire: Your movers’ truck could catch fire on the road with your property in tow.
3. Damage caused by a vehicle: Your movers could get in an accident while transporting your valuables.

If you encounter one of these named perils, your personal property coverage may help cover your losses – depending on the affected property’s value and location.

For example, let’s say a mover steals your tablet from your living room while you’re taking a call in the kitchen. Because the theft occurred in your home, standard personal property coverage may cover you for the loss.

But what if the theft happens outside your home? In that case, you may have less coverage. That applies to fire and vehicle-caused damage, too.

High-value property (e.g., jewelry, furs, or silverware) may require separate coverage entirely. In general, a homeowners policy can cover these items up to $2,500 in value – and only in case of theft. To increase your limit, you may need to purchase scheduled personal property coverage.

Something else to note: check how your insurance policy compensates you for property damage. Replacement cost value (RCV) coverage, as the name suggests, offers payment equal to the cost of replacing damaged or stolen property with a new equivalent. 

“Actual cost value” (ACV), on the other hand, offers payment equal to your property’s depreciated value. If your stolen tablet was an older model, you’ll likely be reimbursed for just a fraction of its full replacement cost.

Ahead of moving day, make sure to assess your property’s value so you can determine whether you have enough coverage.

Movers Can Offer Moving Insurance to Mitigate Risk 

When it comes to moving day risks, your homeowners insurance has limitations. But that doesn’t mean you can’t expand your coverage. If you’re working with a professional moving company, it’s federally required for them to provide moving insurance. If movers damage your property, moving insurance can help cover the cost of replacement.

Moving companies typically offer two types of moving insurance:

1. Released-value coverage: Generally offered for free, this coverage type can cover most items damaged in movers’ custody. Movers will usually reimburse the cost of damaged items at a rate of 60 cents per pound.
2. Full-value coverage: This coverage type isn’t free – it costs roughly one to two percent of your handled property’s value. Your coverage limit will typically equal the total value of the property in question.

Released-value coverage may work if you’re only transporting low-value items. But if you’re moving even a few expensive items, it may be worth purchasing full-value coverage to better mitigate your risk.

Also note that neither coverage type will cover jewelry or other high-value property. And full-value coverage may not cover property worth more than $100 per pound.

Before you move, make sure to discuss moving insurance with your moving company so you can adequately cover your belongings.

Talk to an Agent to Assess Your Risk Before Moving Day

Moving day is almost always hectic. And with so many belongings in transit, damage often happens. But with the right insurance policy, you can keep a stressful day from turning into a nightmare.

Not sure what kind of coverage you need? WE can help. Our independent agents can walk you through your homeowners insurance policy and help you consider additional coverage. Drop us a line – We'd love to chat.

The information contained in this page is provided for general informational purposes only and may not be applicable to all situations. We Insure makes no guarantees of results from the use of this information.