The moving process is quite daunting on its own, even without worrying about the safety of your items. The more expensive your items are, the more you have to worry about it. Obviously, you need to take care of the items you care about the most by yourself. In fact, international movers Jeddah actually advises that you should move all extremely sensitive items on your own. Basically, if the item is irreplaceable, or close to it, you need to transport it by yourself. However, for all other items, moving insurance will do. You almost always want to purchase moving insurance of one form or another.
There are numerous reasons for it but the fact of the matter is that you are protected if anything unfortunate happens. And, as Murphy says, if something bad can happen, it will. Moving insurance will soften that blow, or eliminate it altogether. With that in mind, the question is:
Should you purchase moving insurance from a professional mover?
Professional moving companies will, in most cases, be able to provide insurance for your relocation. But do you really want to purchase insurance from them? Well, it depends on your ability to find a better deal and time you want to invest. Every moving company has affiliate insurance providers, who actually deal with insurance. You almost never actually purchase moving insurance from the moving company itself. Which is nothing bad.
You do need to check what kind of premiums do they offer, as well as any other conditions. Most of the time, this is pretty standard and works for “standard” moves. It all depends on the items being relocated. If they are your everyday items, then regular insurance is a perfectly viable mix of price and coverage.
If you want to tailor your moving insurance then you need to get into a negotiation. You can do this with the moving company itself, for your convenience, or you can go to the “source” and deal with them straight away. Or you can go to another insurance company and see what they have to offer. As with everything else in life, the more effort and research you do, the better the price you will get. Up to the minimum price, of course.
What kind of insurance do moving companies offer?
There are so many kinds of insurances and explaining them all is beyond the scope of this article. However, we will focus on two major kinds of moving insurance, which are:
- Full value protection
- Released value protection
The full value protection will have the insurance company reimbursing you for the actual full value of your items whether they suffer damage, get lost, or are destroyed. This is the “best” insurance you can get, as you will get full reimbursement. However, it is more costly than other types.
Released value protection is something that is “baked in” with the moving costs themselves. Basically, this is free insurance that only provides you with a token reimbursement value. Something like 60 cents per pound, usually. Now, sometimes this might be perfectly acceptable if you are transporting heavy items that are not that valuable. However, if you have items that are light but valuable, this insurance drops in utility quite a bit.
Costs
The costs involved in moving insurance vary greatly by region. The best thing you can do is to check how much will it cost before you commit to the move. Whether you are hiring movers and packers in Riyadh or buying insurance in Riyadh, you need to know how much will it cost in Riyadh.
Should I purchase insurance if I move all the stuff on my own?
You may already have insurance that might cover your belongings if you transport them yourself, but that is usually not the case. If you plan on transporting everything in your own vehicle, you will need additional moving insurance. And the same reason for having insurance applies here, as well.
As with every other type of insurance, most of the time you will not need it. But when you do, you will be really glad you had it. It is best not to risk anything. You should get some sort of insurance, just in case. It depends a lot on your route, weather conditions and so on. If all variables are perfect, then it is a lot less risk to go with minimal insurance. But if they aren’t then you might want to consider a better coverage.
Different types of insurance you can get
Moving insurance comes in many types. It is understandable if some of these sound confusing, we will try our best to explain them. It is always best to talk to your insurance provider at length if you have any confusion left. So, the main types of moving insurance are:
- Trip transit insurance
- Floater coverage
- Storage insurance
- Special perils contents coverage
Trip transit insurance covers your items in case of fire, theft or loss while they are in storage or transit. You can amend this policy to include the full value of your belongings, which is well above what your moving company will usually include.
Floater coverage is great for transporting anything that is really light and expensive, such as jewelry or art pieces. Adding a floater can give you the full protection that you might need. Storage insurance is quite varied. You need to carefully check what protection you actually have. Make sure to read the fine print.
Special perils contents coverage is a type of moving insurance that provides coverage of everything but fragile items. This means that you will save a bit on the policy but if anything that is really fragile, such as glass pieces, breaks, you will not be getting any reimbursement for it.
Additionally, if you are transporting your vehicle, there is something that you need to check for. Your shipping company needs to have an insurance certificate to be able to transport vehicles. You can get into a lot of trouble if any accident happens and they don’t have that certificate. Always be careful!
