Moving Truck Insurance

Underwriters split movers into local and interstate. An interstate household goods carrier needs its own federal authority and filings, and long trips mean more handling and more storage. Expect questions on the share of local versus interstate moves, average shipment size, whether you offer packing, and whether you use day labor or your own employees on crews. The answers shape the cargo form you get.

They also look at storage. A warehouse that holds customers' goods between pickup and delivery is a separate exposure, so markets ask about sprinklers, alarms, flood zone, vault crates versus open storage and how long goods usually stay. Military moves, corporate relocations and piano or specialty moves each have their own questions. If you rent space from someone else, send the lease and the landlord's insurance requirements.

An interstate household goods carrier may not operate until a cargo filing is accepted by FMCSA. That filing must pay individual shippers for their property that comes into the carrier's possession. The federal minimum is $5,000 for loss or damage on any one vehicle and $10,000 for losses at any one time and place. Those numbers are far below the value of most homes' contents.

The cargo filing uses its own forms: a BMC-32 endorsement and a BMC-34 certificate, separate from the BMC-91 that proves liability. For public liability, a for-hire mover running interstate with trucks rated 10,001 pounds or more needs at least $750,000. A fleet made up only of vans under 10,001 pounds has a $300,000 filing minimum. Your insurer files both with FMCSA on your behalf.

Moving claims are mostly small and frequent: scratched furniture, a dropped television, a broken mirror, a box missing at delivery. Larger losses come from a truck fire, a theft of a loaded truck parked overnight, water or mold in storage, and crew injuries on stairs. Damage to the customer's walls, floors and doorframes is a general liability claim, not cargo.

Check the cargo form for exclusions on mysterious disappearance, pairs and sets, items packed by the owner, jewelry and cash, and goods left in storage beyond a set number of days. If you sell full value protection to customers, make sure your cargo limit and deductible can actually carry the promise you made on the bill of lading. Ask for each exclusion in writing.

Send your revenue split between local and interstate, average shipment value, warehouse details, crew type and size, truck list, and three years of claims with how each was settled. A written inventory and claims process shows the underwriter you control the small losses that drive moving claims. If you use subcontracted crews or other movers to complete jobs, describe how you check their insurance.

Train crews on padding, shrink wrap and floor runners, and photograph high-value items at pickup. Most moving claims come down to whether you can prove the condition at pickup, so a good inventory is worth more than a lower deductible. Teach crews to note existing scratches, dents and loose joints on the inventory sheet and to have the customer sign it. That one habit turns many he-said, she-said claims into simple ones.