Brian runs a residential moving company in Tacoma with four box trucks and a crew of fifteen. Most jobs are local, a few go across the state, and every so often a customer has a grand piano or a gun safe that makes the whole crew nervous.
He called after a customer's antique dresser was crushed when a load shifted on a freeway on-ramp. The customer wanted to be paid, and Brian's auto carrier told him it was not their claim.
What he asked for
Why his commercial auto policy would not cover the dresser.
What the review found
Auto insurance covers the truck and the people it hits, not the cargo. His policy covered liability for accidents and damage to the trucks. Customers' belongings inside the truck are cargo, which requires a separate motor truck cargo or inland marine policy. He had neither.
State rules set cargo requirements. Household goods movers in Washington are regulated by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission, which sets requirements for cargo coverage and the valuation options movers must offer customers. Brian's paperwork described valuation options his insurance did not actually back.
Damage in homes was a general liability question. Scraped floors, dented door frames, and broken banisters happen during moves. That is general liability, and his limit was low with a large deductible.
Crew injuries and a lawsuit. Moving is heavy, injury-prone work. His crew was covered by L&I, but a crew member's injury had recently led to a third-party claim involving a building manager. He had no stop-gap employers liability.
What we put in place
We added a motor truck cargo policy covering customers' goods in transit and in temporary storage, with limits per truck that match his largest typical loads and a specific endorsement for high-value items like pianos and safes. We aligned his customer contracts' valuation language with the actual coverage, so what customers are offered is what the insurance pays.
We placed a general liability policy designed for movers, covering property damage at customers' homes and at buildings, with building managers named as additional insureds as their move-in rules require.
We added stop-gap employers liability to fill the gap between L&I benefits and lawsuits arising from crew injuries, and reviewed his L&I risk classification to confirm it matched the work.
Why it mattered
On a move to a new apartment building in Gig Harbor, a crew member lost his grip on a sofa, which fell and cracked a glass lobby door. The building's management company filed a claim. General liability paid it, the building was already listed as an additional insured, and Brian's crew was still welcome to book the service elevator.
If you run a moving company
- Auto insurance does not cover customers' belongings; cargo coverage does
- Match your valuation options to what your cargo policy actually pays
- Carry general liability for damage to homes and buildings
- Add stop-gap on top of L&I for lawsuits tied to crew injuries
Get a free policy review and we will check your coverage against your customer contracts.