Am I Covered? Liability Insurance for Moving Trucks

Am I Covered? Liability Insurance for Moving Trucks

Is there anything more stressful than moving? Besides relocating your possessions to a new and possibly unfamiliar environment, you may be putting more than the condition of your items. This is none more apparent than renting a moving truck to handle your possessions—you may have insurance, but does it cover your belongings when in transit? Come to think of it, does this insurance cover your expenses if you were involved in an accident? Actually, what IS covered when renting a moving truck.

In this article, we’ll shed some light on this topic so that you and your family are protected so that you can settle into your new home without worry-free… well, almost worry-free!

Am I Covered?

Not all insurers are created equal. Because of the variations of coverage, the only way to truly know if your home and auto insurance policies actually cover your move is by speaking with your insurance agent or broker. Typically, most personal insurance policies won’t cover damage to the moving truck itself, even though some policies may cover you while you drive rental cars.

Size Matters

Suppose your insurance policy does cover rental trucks. One item to be aware of is the size of the truck—while most moving trucks rented out to consumers (via Uhaul and other companies) tend to be between 10 to 25 feet, the length could be a mitigating factor on your insurance responsibility.

While your current insurance companies may not offer insurance, your credit card company may offer you some protection. Again, not all credit card companies are the same, so it helps to be proactive and see all the options available to you.

Insurance Options

If you are not covered by your existing insurance policy and/or your credit company offers no protection for moving trucks, you can look into a few options:

• Personal Effects Insurance: By taking out this policy, you can insure that your possessions are covered in the event that they’re damaged in a collision, stolen, or other scenarios particular to your policy.
• Supplemental Liability Insurance: For a specified amount of coverage (typically around $1 million), this type of coverage can protect you if it is determined that you’re held responsibility for damages to someone else’s vehicle or property.

What’s interesting is that these policies provide coverage that an auto insurance policy doesn’t account for. For instance, if your purse or iPad is stolen from a rental car, most auto insurance policies won’t cover you for reimbursement. These policies, in comparison, do cover your possessions and welfare.

Insurance from the Moving Company

Moving companies realize how their property is at stake when renting to consumers. In turn, they offer a few different types of moving truck rental protections you can purchase:
Here’s a breakdown of the four typical types of moving truck rental protection:

• Collisions/Damage Waivers:Also called Collisions Damage Waivers (CDW), the Damage Waiver (DW), Personal Damage Waiver (PDW) or Limited Damage Waiver (LDW), these plans are called waivers because the moving company agrees to not file a claim against you if their truck. Each waiver varies in cost and coverage, so researching the rental’s waivers before picking up the moving truck is in your best interest.

• Supplement Liability Insurance: This is similar to the type you can purchase yourself except it is offered by the moving company.

• Personal Accident and Cargo Insurance: This plan offers coverage for injuries or accidental death while in the rented moving truck. It may extend to other drivers or family members riding in the vehicle. It can also help protect against items damaged by certain listed causes. However, this coverage doesn’t cover damages from shifting cargo, theft or burglary.

• Auto Tow Protection: If you are moving using a rented trailer, this plan helps protect the trailer from damages while in transit. This coverage also applies to vehicles towed by either a car dolly or a car trailer. Auto Tow Protection helps protect against a wide variety of potential damage, including fire, flood, hail, windstorm, vehicles overturning, collision, and much more (depending on the carrier). Typically, a deductible is required, so asking prior to agreeing to the contract can determine how much you are liable for in the event of an accident.

For all of the policies listed and before renting the truck, be sure to read the fine print of the rental company’s offered policies.

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If you’re confused on what type of coverage you actually have under your insurance, don’t feel ashamed. It can be downright confusing for most DIY-enthusiasts. That’s why we recommend contacting the insurance advisors at RiskBlock  to ensure the stress of a move is only limited to remembering which box contains what!