You are about to hire a moving company to handle all your precious personal belongings. It may be a short move across town or a long move across the country. Whichever it is, one thing you know for sure – accidents happen. If you live in the State of Texas you should be protected but to what extent.
In 2005, the Texas State Legislature passed a bill requiring all Movers within the state to be licensed. So in order to obtain a license the mover must file a proof of insurance the same as any licensed automobile driver. Also, just as with auto insurance, they are only required to carry a minimum amount of 60 cents per pound for loss or damage. So there are two things you need to determine before hiring that mover; the value of your belongings and does you mover carry enough insurance to cover it in the event of loss or damage, keeping in mind total loss of your belongings would be a very rare circumstance.
To put things in perspective, a normal household with an average load of 10,000 pounds would be covered for around $6,000. If your belongings included antiques and family heirlooms with a value of anything over that amount, you would want to arrange for additional coverage. A single piece might be worth more than the $6,000 the mover is carrying. To expand on this a little, a 200-pound dresser would be covered for $120 and a 70-pound flat screen TV would only be covered for $45.
Understand that movers are not insurance agents but provide insurance through third party carriers. A mover may discuss valuation rather than coverage. Don’t be fooled. So, if a mover advertises they are licensed and insured you will want to make sure for how much and if there is an additional charge for increased coverage. The last thing you will want to check is to see if your homeowner’s insurance will cover you during a move if you use a moving company. This could possibly save you the cost of additional coverage offered by the mover. Moving is hard enough, make it as worry-free on yourself as you can.