The valuation of goods being hauled in any relocation of a person, family, or business from Dallas to another location – or from anywhere to anywhere – is heavily regulated by the federal government.
It is true, generally, that your moving company is legally liable for any loss of or harm to your belongings at any time during the haul. It’s also liable for loss and damage while its crews are handling your possessions in fulfillment of any other Dallas moving services for which you contracted. Such services should be identified on the bill of lading: packing, unpacking, disassembly and reassembly, for example.
There are, however, limits to your moving company’s liability. Those limits are determined by the federal Surface Transportation Board’s Released Rates Order. You can review a current copy of it here.
The essential thing is, know what options are open to you for the safety of your belongings. And know your Dallas moving company. Just because a mover asserts that his firm is “fully insured and bonded” is no inarguable warranty that your belongings themselves are automatically covered. On the same score, your local mover being affiliated with a major national van line is no guarantee that you’re protected either. In both cases, you could find it necessary to acquire added third-party liability insurance. Your mover could offer to sell it to you, but he has no legal obligation to sell it to you. Ask questions when you first discuss your needs in order to learn just what your course of action should be.
Keep this in mind when you’re looking into your options here in Dallas: Two different measures of moving-company liability are relevant to interstate moves – Full Replacement-Value Protection and Waiver of Full Replacement-Value Protection, or Released Value.
If you opt for a Waiver of Full Replacement-Value Protection, or Released Value, you will, of course, be getting minimal liability protection. But you won’t pay anything for it. What this level of protection does is limit your mover’s liability to no more than 60 cents per pound, per article. Certainly, that wouldn’t give you enough of a reimbursement to replace any item valued at more than 60 cents per pound! Goods like stereo equipment, gym equipment, computer hardware, and computer software are thus considerably more at risk. That’s something to think about before you [[commit in writing to|contract with]150 any mover!
You may, though, have one more option: your present homeowner’s policy. Re-examine it and talk with your insurance agent to discover if there’s anything in it about coverage of possessions during a relocation. If so, you could find the minimum level of mover liability coverage – Released Value – sufficient.
Just make sure you’re onboard with what degree of protection your moving company is including in his quote: Full Protection or Released Value. That way, there won’t be any surprises with your move – or at least no[[ne that you haven’t considered!
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