Moving Insurance


Understanding
Moving Insurance

Whether you’re moving with Crown Movers, another company or doing it yourself, the most important thing is protecting your items and your home. We’re all human and have experienced that things might not always go as planned. Understanding moving protection is complicated, but necessary.

If it’s your first time moving, differentiating between the movers responsibility and your own can seem to be confusing. Similar to sending a package through the mail, moving also consists of different kinds of protection and insurance for your items.

This page contains all useful information to help you understand moving insurance and how to protect your items.

heavy boxes montreal

Get Insurance for Your Move

A good mover will have valid insurance to cover if their employees get hurt and compensate for loss or damage that may occur. Don’t hesitate to ask for the name of their insurance company. Remember, that the moving company’s liability is usually limited to a maximum amount per kilo of goods moved, but you can always get additional insurance.

A common misconception is that a moving company is responsible for any and all damages that occur during a service. Unfortunately, this is where most people run into issues. Hiring a reputable company means they offer a quality service, as well as compensation when things don’t go as planned. It’s important to be sure you know what is covered and what isn’t as well as understanding how to get insurance for your move.

Under transportation law, the mover is not responsible for carrying goods of extraordinary value, such as works of art, expensive furniture, jewellery and so on. It is up to the client to declare the value of these items before requesting the service. For more moving advice from the government of Canada please be sure to click the link below and Learn More.
Learn More
residential moving services

Moving Insurance & Liability

01

Released Value Protection

Compensation from moving companies is generally the mover's liability which is $0.60 per pound per item.
02

Home Insurance Coverage

Contact your insurance provider to clarify your overall coverage for your goods during your move and while in transit.
03

Additional Third-Party Insurance

If you are not insured with a home insurance provider, make sure to request third party insurance from your movers.
04

Liability & Packing Standards

Movers are not always liable. Be sure to know exactly what is covered and how to protect your items.

Released Value Protection

Released Value Protection (R.V.P) is the basic coverage for moving your household effects and is included in the cost of your move. We suggest not moving with any company that does not offer R.V.P also known as mover’s liability insurance.

As explained by Canadian Association of Movers:
“Under released valuation, the mover’s liability is limited to $0.60 per pound ($1.32 per kg) per article for household goods under provincial conditions of carriage regulations. This would mean that a table weighing 100 lb. that is being shipped and which is damaged beyond repair would result in a cash settlement of $60 (100 lb. x $0.60 per lb.) even if the actual replacement cost of the table were $1,000. Released valuation limits your claim to a maximum amount which is based on the total weight of your shipment (including the weight of cartons). For example, in the unlikely event of a total loss, let’s say by fire, your maximum protection would be $0.60 per pound multiplied by the weight of your entire shipment If your shipment weighed 5,000 lbs., the maximum settlement would be $3,000 (5,000 lbs. x $0.60 per lb. = $3,000).”

If you choose not to purchase Replacement Value Protection through Crown Movers or a Third-Party Insurance, then Released Valuation is used.

Moving Insurance Options

Alternatively to Released Value Protection, you can add aditional protection by contacting your Home Insurance or adding additional insurance for your moving serivce.
making a list of items to pack

Contact your
Home Insurance

Before requesting additional insurance, check with your insurance agent to find out if you have alternate insurance on your household possessions that provides a complete, all risk protection during loading, unloading, transportation and storage. Occasionally, added insurance can be purchased from your insurer. The premium is usually higher than purchasing additional coverage from the movers or from a third party insurer. So be sure to explore all options.

Request
Additional Coverage

If you do not carry protection with your home insurance, Crown Movers will guide you through the process of acquiring third-party insurance. A Third-Party Insurer will offer replacement value protection for your items during your moving service. The cost of third-party insurance ranges from 1% to 5% of the total valuation depending on the insurance company and their policy. Insuring items valued at $5,000 would cost about 150$ at a 3% rate.
Woman wrapping a mattress

Liability & Packing Protocal

The following includes details as to what falls under the clients responsability and when the movers will be held liable.  It's important to be properly prepared and to follow packing and preparation protocals. 
  • Floors, staircases & landings: Although movers use proper technique to ensure the safety of your home, it is always important to be sure that your home is protected by an insurance provider. Request added protection by having the movers lay cardboard or floor runners to protect your floors. This process does take time and material and can be costly, but can also save a headache from an unprotected floor being scratched. Unless it's requested in advance, movers are not liable for any damages to unprotected floors. In order to receive any form of compensation, the floors must be protected.
  • Fragile Items: Be sure to ask for packing tips to pack or protect fragile items (i.e., glass, crystal, glass/mirrored furniture, etc) These are moved at "owner's risk"—the movers are not liable for damages to these items unless they are packed at our standards by the Crown Movers team.

  • Home Assembled Furnitue: Some items have what is called "inherent vice" which means that they are intended to be assembled and left in one place for their useful life, such as fiberboard furniture. furniture from IKEA and other built in home furniture pieces fall into this category. You may request to have them moved with or without being disassembled, but moving companies are not liable for damages to these items as they are not intended to be transported, or stacked and can be damaged easily.

  • Special Care Items: Paintings, Sports Equipment, electronics, musical instruments, works of art, any items made of natural stone (marble, granite, etc.), ceramic, porcelain, glass or mirror, grandfather clocks or other large, fragile items such as sculptures or chandeliers unless documented and packed in specialized boxes/crates. If you choose to not have them crated or wraped and boxed by the professionals, the moving or transportation company will not be held liable for damages.

  • TVs, Monitors & Appliances: Any articles that are not properly protected or boxed/crated are not the responsibility of the movers. This is to say that if TV's are not in boxes with their styrophome protectors, if appliances are not encased in bubble wrap / padding or blankets, the moving company will not be held liable for damages to the items. Movers blankets are used, but they are not adequate forms of protection of considered proper material. You can request proper material and have these items wrapped professional to quality you for compensation if damages do occur. 

  • Mattresses & Sofas: Mattresses and sofas are to be protected in plastic covers. If the sofas, love seats or chairs are leather, they are to be wrapped in moving blankets. If damages or dirt occurs without adequate protection, the moves are not held liable.

  • Plants, pets, or anything living: The environment inside the cargo hold of the moving truck is not suitable for transporting living things. If plants are to be moved by the movers, the condition of plants cannot be guaranteed. Movers are not liable for transportation of living things in their cargo hold.

  • High Value Items: Sums of money, securities, articles of extraordinary value such as gold, silver, or precious stones. Items of high value such as these should never be placed on a moving truck as they are not the movers responsibitlity.

  • Elevators: Crown Movers is not responsible for added charges when reserving an elevator. It is the clients responsability to reservce their elevator and have an agreement set in place for liabilty for damages. Crown Movers cannot be held liable for protecting or padding the elevator walls. Items are to be moved through freight elevaotrs that are padded for protection. Majority of buildings do not allow moving companies to handle touch ups to freight elevators and as such the client is responsible for requesting insurance in case an accident does occur.

The Movers Are Not Liable

  • Any damage resulting from the interference, assistance or negligance from the owners / other(s) will result in the moving company no longer being liable for any damage.

  • Damages to any item or resulting from any item loaded to or from a vehicle/container/warehouse/storage unit not owned, leased, or otherwise contracted by Crown Movers.

  • Any damages resulting from the transport of restricted items including liquids, combustibles, corrosives, perishable food, soil, pets, plants or guns.

  • Any damages where the crew has pointed out to the customer are likely to occur and the customer accepts that risk. An example of this would be moving an oversized couch through a narrow stairway/hallway/doorway where the couch must touch the walls/railings/stairs to fit through the passage. Another example is when a hoist is necessary. Crown Movers offers hoisting services for items to large to fit through the entraces but does not assume responsibility for any damages that may accur to the building or to the items itself. Hoists are extreme difficult and are to be performed with at the owners risk.

  • Damages to the home unless documented on the work order before the moving crew leaving home. It is the customer’s responsibility to inspect the home and bring any damages to the crew’s attention before they leave the site. The company may, at its discretion, accept responsibility for damages after the fact. Legally, a company is not liable or held responsible for any damage claims once the service is completed and the team has left the owners property. 
 
crossmenu