Almost Everything You Need to Know About Movers’ Liability Coverage

It’s best to educate yourself and understand your limit of liability for your office relocation, technology relocation, or any move for that matter.

The customer will be offered options for obtaining valuation or insurance coverage during the relocation of their goods. Below you will find the options that a professional office mover like Suddath Workplace Solutions can offer based on the limitation of liability you determine you want for your goods.

1. Full Value Protection

This option makes the mover liable for the replacement value of items in your entire shipment. If any article is lost, destroyed or damaged, the mover will do one of the following:

Repair it
Replace with a similar item
Make a cash settlement

This type of valuation coverage requires a detailed inventory of all the items that are being relocated. Make sure to ask your provider what their full value protection policy entails and make sure you get them to put it in writing so all parties are aware of the risk and coverage terms. Keep in mind that this type of valuation coverage does not provide coverage for loss or damage due to an Act of God*, mold, inherent vice or consequential damages.

2. Declared Value/Valuation Coverage

Declared value is offered at no additional charge and covers up to a certain threshold for loss or damage. Typically this type of valuation coverage reimburses anywhere from 30 to 60 cents per pound, per article.

The upside to declared value is it being free; however keep in mind you may be relocating items such as mobile devices, laptops and external hard drives, which will mostly be a total loss if damaged during the office relocation or technology relocation. Heavier items could also be expensive to replace if full value protection is not taken. Additionally, immeasurable assets, like data, business interruption, or “mechanical derangement” (devices that don’t work properly after the office relocation, but don’t appear broken), are not typically covered.

3. All Risk – Third Party Insurance

This type of insurance policy which while providing the broadest form of insurance coverage, generally excludes losses due to delay, inherent vice, loss of market, etc. Such policies do not name the perils covered, it only list the exclusions; all unnamed risk are automatically covered. It provides a much broader form of coverage than valuation and it also covers Acts of God* which is specifically excluded from valuation coverage.

*Note: an Act of God is a natural event (e.g. hurricane, tidal wave) operating beyond the control of a party to a contract excusing his/her performance; also, a tort defense, a type of superseding (intervening) cause.

Choosing an option

Whatever you choose as a coverage option for your office relocation or technology relocation, it’s important to get the level of coverage explained to you and get it in writing. This is particularly important with full value protection, as the prices of that option can vary by office mover. Ultimately, companies and business owners should go into an office relocation aware of the limitations of released value, especially when it comes to intangible and invaluable assets like business continuity.

Interested in talking to a highly experienced officer mover? We’d love to hear from you.