4 Ways To Protect Your Valuable Possessions During A Move
Posted on: 22 May 2015
When you're moving -- especially a long distance -- it's easy to wonder what will happen if disaster strikes. What if the moving company's van crashes? What if your new house is set ablaze? Do you have insurance coverage?
1. Make Sure Your Moving Company Is Licensed and Bonded
Don't select just any moving company. Make sure your moving company is licensed to move you between your two homes and that they have an insurance bond that will cover any issues you encounter. Non-licensed moving companies may be less expensive, but it also means you'll have less recourse should your items become damaged or lost. And make sure that the company is licensed to cross state lines, as not all moving companies are.
2. Ask for Your Moving Company to Provide Packing Services
If you have the resources, invest in a packing service. Through a packing service, the movers will pack everything for you in standardized boxes with packing materials. If you don't employ a packing service, your possessions might not be covered if they are damaged. If something is packed incorrectly, it could be considered negligence. If you don't want to pay for a packing service, you can at least reduce the risk of damage by using the mover's packing materials -- cardboard boxes, packing tape and filler.
3. Get Moving Insurance
What insures your property when it's being moved between two houses? Your homeowner's insurance or even auto insurance might cover possessions while they are moving, but they might not -- the only way to find out is to check with your insurance agent. The safest thing to do is to specifically get moving insurance. Make sure you get enough coverage to cover the replacement value of all your items, because you never know what can happen.
4. Make Sure You Move Your Home Insurance
Likewise, you need to make sure that your home insurance is going to transfer over to your new property. And if you're going from a rented home to an owned home, or the opposite, remember that you need to change your insurance; homeowner's insurance is completely different from renter's insurance. Otherwise, if something happens in your new home right after your move, you might not be covered!
With a combination of careful planning and insurance, you should be able to protect yourself from the worst issues that you can encounter with a move. A professional household moving company like Bekins Van Lines Inc can often help you by offering you moving insurance directly through the company and advising you on the safest ways to move your possessions.
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