Insurance
Moving houses?
ARE YOU COVERED BY INSURANCE?
We found that many Australians when moving are under the impression that their property is covered by their home and contents insurance policy, or that the removalist’s own insurance should cover any damage.
Unfortunately, this is not the situation in either case.
Some household policies may cover the contents for restricted defined perils during transit or storage, but generally, they do not cover loss or damage resulting from an unforeseen accidental incident or arising out of loading/unloading from a vehicle.
As for the removalist’s own insurance covering damage, this is simply impossible, as no policy is designed to cover the goods of a third party, unless a full policy document is prepared and accepted by the insurer, and agreed to by the person taking the insurance policy.
So beware when somebody is claiming that they are fully insured, especially if you are talking to a small or a budget operator. In most circumstances at best, your removalist would have commercial Carriers Liability and Public Liability policies.
These policies are designed for the protection of the Removal Company against their legal liability to pay compensation for loss or damage to goods in the event the Company has been deemed negligent.
If the Company is not negligent or the loss or damage was outside the control of the Company, these policies would not respond to any claim for loss or damage to your goods.
Moreover, any claims paid under this basis are limited to the items’ indemnity or depreciated value, taking into consideration allowances for usage, age, wear and tear.
However, this is not a reason to worry. Robina Removals, being a fully accredited AFRA member, under the Financial Services Reform ACT (FSRA) can arrange the correct Customer Goods and Transit and Storage insurance under their licence.
Why should you consider taking out Customer Goods in Transit and Storage insurance?
Despite all the care and expertise in the world, accidents can happen. Moving houses involves many circumstances that are outside of removalists’ control, which may contribute to a loss or damage. Such events would not be covered by the removalist’s own insurance.
To avoid any prolonged disputes with negligent third parties and for your peace of mind, we strongly recommend that you insure your valuable household goods under Customer Goods in Transit and Storage insurance.
Our policy is very flexible and you can tailor it to your specific circumstances and have the cost-effective insurance cover to protect your goods during transit or storage against an unexpected loss.
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What are the insurance cover options?
There are many options with regard to cover and you should be able to choose the best option for you. For example, you can obtain a Full cover option which includes all risk of loss or damage to the insured goods or a Restricted cover option which insures loss or damage to goods resulting from specifically nominated perils, i.e. fire, explosion, lightening or flood, and overturning of the conveying vehicle. Most customers generally select the full cover option as this is the broadest cover, whereas if the client selects the restricted cover option, any claims for loss or damage must be caused by one of the nominated perils.
In addition to the risk covers options, you can also select a basis of settlement option. These are Replacement cost (in the event of a total loss, subject to the policy terms and conditions, this covers the full replacement cost of the items) or Market value option –in the event of a total loss, this option covers the replacement cost of the items, less a reasonable allowance for age, condition, wear and tear and depreciation.
You can also insure your goods for a lump sum declared value or have this value itemized, i.e. have values for specific items. Itemized value will be noticeably cheaper but will require a bit more effort on your side.
There are many other policy variables that can be arranged to specifically meet the your needs. For more information please see the Product Disclosure Statement and a Financial Services Guide.
Be aware that not all removalists are AFRA members. AFRA is a self-regulating body of removals experts that helps represent the removals industry.
AFRA accredits only those removalists who have the necessary equipment, vehicles, premises and staff training needed to complete a professional move.
How much will it cost to insure your goods?
There are no standard premiums as each risk is individually assessed.
Considerations in determining a premium include:
Premiums generally range from $10 to $60 per $1,000 for moving goods, with an additional 30 cents to 80 cents per $1,000 for storage per week.
Once you have decided on the type of cover most suitable for your needs and provide us with Insurance Declaration, we will get back to you with an accurate quote.