What is Moving Insurance?

What Does Moving Insurance Cover?

Moving insurance helps protect your belongings in case they’re lost or damaged during your move. It’s important to know what level of protection is built in, and what additional coverage you may need to purchase separately.

Released Value Protection

This is the basic level of liability coverage required by federal law for interstate moves, and it’s what Unique Movers provides by default. It comes at no extra cost and reimburses you at $0.60 per pound per item. For example, if a 100 lb. dresser is damaged, compensation would be $60. This type of coverage is meant to provide a minimum level of protection, not to cover the full value of your belongings.

Full Value Protection

If you want broader protection, you’ll usually need to purchase insurance separately. Full value coverage typically reimburses the current market value of a damaged item or covers repairs or replacement.

Since Unique Movers does not offer full value protection, we recommend purchasing a third-party moving insurance policy if you want this type of coverage. Policies often start around $100–$300 and can be tailored for high-value or fragile items.

Whose Responsibility is Moving Insurance?

Movers are legally required to offer a basic level of protection, but anything beyond that is up to the customer to request or purchase.

Here’s where the gray area comes in: while movers carry their own general liability and cargo insurance, this covers certain conditions like damage caused by vehicle accidents or gross negligence. It doesn’t cover every possible scenario. For example, if you pack your own fragile item poorly and it breaks in the box, that likely falls outside the mover’s responsibility.

To be fully protected, you may want to purchase full value protection through a third-party moving insurance policy. It’s your right as a customer to choose whether you want that added peace of mind. We can help you understand your options, but the decision to secure extra coverage is entirely up to you.

Is Additional Moving Insurance Worth It?

If you’re moving anything you care about (which you likely are), some level of coverage is absolutely worth it. Even with the most careful team, accidents can happen on the road, in elevators, or during loading/unloading.

Cost-wise, basic released value protection is included in the move at no extra charge, but it’s limited. For full value protection, third-party moving insurance policies will vary in cost depending on coverage limits and deductible amounts, but often start at around $100–$300 for typical household moves.

Having coverage in place adds an extra layer of protection and peace of mind, especially for long-distance or winter moves in Minnesota.

What Kind of Insurance Does Unique Movers Carry?

At Unique Movers, your peace of mind is built into every move. We carry general liability and cargo insurance, which means your belongings are protected while they’re on the truck and in our care. We’re also licensed and insured to meet or exceed state and federal requirements.

Specifically, Unique Movers offers Released Value Protection, which is an industry-wide standard that covers $0.60 per pound per item of damaged goods. For example, if we damage a 100 lb. dresser, we could compensate you $60.

While we handle every item with care, always using proper equipment and professional techniques, we still encourage customers with fragile or high-value items to explore enhanced protection.