Moving Insurance vs Valuation: What Actually Covers You

Movers do not sell insurance. What they offer is valuation, which is the mover’s own liability for your goods under federal rules, and it pays in one of two ways: released value at 60 cents per pound per article, or full value protection, which is the default unless you waive it in writing. A 50 lb television lost under released value pays $30. A 200 lb sofa pays $120.

That gap between what things weigh and what they cost is the whole subject, so here is how each layer works and where the edges are.

Valuation is liability, not insurance

Under 49 CFR 375.201 a mover that accepts your goods is liable for household goods “lost, damaged, destroyed, or otherwise not delivered to the final destination in an amount equal to the replacement value,” unless you waive that in writing, in which case its liability drops to the released rate. The mover must disclose the limits of its liability to you before the move.

Insurance is different in kind. It is a contract with an insurer, paid by premium, and it pays whether or not the mover was at fault. A valuation charge on your estimate is not a premium, and the mover is not an insurer; it is simply pricing how much of the risk it keeps.

Released value: 60 cents per pound per article

Released value costs nothing extra and pays by weight, item by item, whatever the item cost.

Article	Weight	Released value pays
Television	50 lb	$30
Laptop	10 lb	$6
Dresser	100 lb	$60
Dining table	150 lb	$90
Sofa	200 lb	$120

Each line is 60 cents multiplied by the weight. “Per article” means each item is settled separately, so a $6 laptop claim does not borrow from an undamaged sofa. Released value is the right choice only when what you are shipping is genuinely worth about that per pound, which is true for some student and first-apartment moves and almost no full households. Because the waiver must be in writing, a mover cannot quietly default you into it.

Full value protection: the default, and its moving parts

Full value protection applies unless you sign the waiver. Its parts are:

• Declared value. You declare a total value for the shipment, and the valuation charge is calculated from it. Declare it low and you have capped your own recovery.
• Deductibles. Many movers offer deductible options that lower the charge in exchange for you carrying the first part of any loss. The deductible is a number on the estimate, so read it as carefully as the price.
• Settlement at the mover’s option. Under Appendix A to Part 375 the mover may repair the article “to the extent necessary to restore it to the same condition as when it was received,” or pay for those repairs, or replace it “with an article of like, kind and quality,” or pay the cost to replace it. You do not get to choose which.
• Articles of extraordinary value. Under 49 CFR 375.203 an article worth more than $100 per pound (jewelry, silverware, china, furs, antiques and oriental rugs are the examples the rules give) must be declared to the mover in writing, or the mover may limit its liability for that item to $100 per pound. Declared in writing, you are entitled to recovery up to the declared value.

The $100-per-pound line is easy to cross without noticing. A 10 lb laptop only has to be worth more than $1,000 (10 lb × $100) to cross it, and a 4 lb watch more than $400. Put every item like that on the high-value inventory before pickup, and keep a photographed copy. What to expect in fees for crating and specialty handling is in hidden moving costs.

Two other rules shape what the mover keeps. Under 375.203 the mover need not assume liability for perishable, dangerous or hazardous articles you packed without its knowledge, and its liability for the contents of boxes you packed yourself is narrower than for boxes its crew packed, which is one reason packing fragile items properly matters beyond the obvious.

Third-party insurance, and the policy you already have

Third-party moving insurance is a separate product, sold by insurers rather than movers, and it is the only way to be paid regardless of the mover’s liability. It matters most for goods the mover excludes, for a declared value you set below replacement cost, and for the deductible you chose to carry.

Your homeowner’s or renter’s policy may or may not help. Some policies extend a limited amount of personal-property coverage away from the home, some exclude goods in the care of a carrier, and the limit is often lower than the contents limit at home. Check your policy rather than assume it, and get the answer from the insurer in writing before the move rather than after the claim.

The claims process and its deadlines

The mover’s valuation is only as good as the claim you can file, and the timetable is set by regulation.

Step	Rule	Where it comes from
Note damage on the delivery receipt	The receipt may say goods were “received in apparent good condition except as noted,” but may not contain language releasing the mover from liability	49 CFR 375.701
File a written claim	It must identify the shipment, assert liability for the loss, damage or delay, and claim “a specified or determinable amount of money”	49 CFR 370.3(b)
Deadline to file	9 months from delivery, or from the date the shipment should have been delivered if it was lost entirely	Appendix A to Part 375
Mover acknowledges	Within 30 days of receiving the claim, unless it has already paid or declined in writing	49 CFR 370.5
Mover decides	Pays, declines or makes a firm compromise offer within 120 days; if it cannot, a written status update every 60 days	49 CFR 370.9

Two practical points follow. Nine months sounds long, but the claim needs weights, values and photographs, so unpack and inspect within the first weeks rather than the last. And if the mover declines or offers too little, interstate movers must offer a neutral arbitration program for loss and damage disputes; ask for its summary before you book, which the six checks in how to check a moving company cover, and confirm whose program applies if you booked through a broker, which is explained in moving broker vs carrier. Where each of these rules sits in the regulatory map is in who regulates moving companies.