What Does Valuation Coverage Cover?
When you work with a moving service, you automatically receive valuation coverage. This is not moving insurance, but rather a basic coverage that movers must supply. Valuation coverage is federally mandated and is meant to protect customers in case movers damage their belongings.
There are two types of valuation coverage:
- 1.Released value protection:
- Provided at no extra cost.
- Movers are liable for $0.60 per pound per item. For expensive items, this can leave some serious gaps in compensation.
- 2.Full value protection:
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- Movers can compensate you for the value of the item by paying for repairs, replacement or providing a cash settlement.
- Compensation for damaged items that have depreciated from their purchase value is limited to the actual cash value.
- You can declare items of extraordinary value to make sure they are protected. Items of extraordinary value are calculated as having a value of $100 or more per pound. (YOU MUST DECLARE THIS WITH YOUR MOVER PRIOR TO YOUR MOVE)
Consider how this type of coverage would apply to a lost or damaged tablet. A 12.9-inch iPad Pro weighs 1.5 pounds and retails for $1,099. Under typical released value coverage, movers would pay out under $1 for a damaged or lost iPad Pro.
Full value protection could compensate you fair market value but likely would fall short of the $1,099 cost to replace a broken tablet. Both valuation coverage options could leave you shouldering when replacing damaged items.
What Isn’t Covered by Valuation Coverage?
Valuation coverage does have limits and simply won’t cover some things. The items and incidents excluded by valuation coverage may include:
- Boxes packed by the owner rather than the mover
- Any perishable items or dangerous items that movers aren’t aware of
- Weather events that damage goods in transit such as a hurricane
- Unnoted items of extraordinary value
- Damage that happened too long ago for coverage, such as if you waited to file a complaint about damage during moving
Items of extraordinary value, such as electronics or jewelry, which would have virtually no covered value under released value coverage, would be covered under full value protection if you remembered to declare them. Unnoted items are subject to released value protection.
Can You Add Moving Insurance to Valuation Coverage?
You can ask the insurance agent you use for your homeowners or renters policy to see provide this coverage as part of your current policy.
Moving insurance through homeowners or renters policy can cover:
- All items, even items of extraordinary value
- Items damaged by natural disasters in transit
- Compensation up to the insurance policy’s face value stacked on top of the released value provided by the movers