Insurance is a critical component of every facet of our daily life. Insurance is similar in many ways to servicing your motor vehicle, changing the battery in your smoke alarm, or having your teeth checked annually. Yes. We can get away without doing them, but, when the brown stuff hits the fan, we then know that we should have done them.
Similarly to the insurance you pay on your house & contents, it is to be hoped that there is no need to call on your policy. The likelihood of damage, provided a professional and competent removal company is used, should be very low indeed. However, there is always the possibility of something unforeseen occurring.
INSURANCE CLASSES
Insurance falls into two main categories, transit insurance and comprehensive insurance.
- Transit Insurance. This class of insurance is generally included in the insurance of the carrying vehicle (truck), and covers your goods in the event of rollover, fire or complete destruction of the carrying vehicle. As the insurance is included basically on the carrying vehicle, removal companies generally do not charge for this.
- Comprehensive Insurance. This class of insurance covers your goods from the point of uplift (inside your residence), to the point of delivery (inside your new residence), and covers accidental or malicious damage. As this class of insurance is not covered in any other form, removal companies will generally charge a premium based on a percentage of the value of the insured goods. As the policy states, your goods are covered for “accidental or malicious” damage. This virtually covers every area, with the exception of electrical derangement.
PLACING INSURANCE
When applying for comprehensive insurance, reputable removal companies will request that you fill out an inventory of goods to be insured, and assign an approximate value to each. When assigning this value, it is your responsibility to ensure that, as far as possible, this is a true value.
In the event of a claim, the insurer will request, in the first instance, two quotes. The first will be to repair the damaged goods. The second will be to replace the damaged goods. In most cases the insurer will choose the cheaper option, basing their payout figure on the quotes received.
Therefore it is critical that the values you assign in your inventory are relevant as, should they be low, the payout will reflect this figure, and if they are high the insurer will use the value as given in the relevant quotation.
CLARIFY
As with all insurance, this area can represent a minefield to the client. Always be prepared to ask the hard questions of your chosen removalist, and ensure that the answers given are true and factual.
Due to a number of external factors, insurance has become considerably more expensive since the GFC (2008). This has resulted in quite large increases in premiums, with large increases in excesses also occurring.
Responsibility to clarify who is responsible for any excess, and the size of any excess, is your responsibility.
Once again, if you are unsure, ask.
Still have questions? Head over to our contact page and let us help you today.