For any large move, insurance is an absolute must. Even the most careful and competent moving company can accidentally lose boxes or damage a customer’s property from time to time. Luckily, Mayflower allows you to build your protection plan around your needs and your budget.
If you want to learn more about protection plans, check out our article on moving coverage.
Warning: there’s a little bit of math ahead.
Mayflower’s full-value coverage insures your shipment for $6 per pound. The cost of full-value coverage varies from shipment to shipment, but Mayflower’s base rate is $150 per load plus $0.55 per $100 of valuation cost.1
For example, if your shipment weighs 6,000 pounds and you declare its total value to be $40,000, your coverage rate would be calculated like this:
$40,000 / 100 = $400
$400 x $0.55 = $220
$150 + $220 = $370
So, for $370 of up-front cost, your shipment would be covered for up to $36,000 of loss and damage. It’s important to note that the full-value coverage only protects your $40,000 shipment for $36,000. This is because the shipment weighs 6,000 pounds and the coverage protects your shipment for $6 per pound. It’s calculated like this:
6,000 lbs. x $6 = $36,000
While this difference might seem like a problem, you may not actually need to worry about it. The supplemental coverage included in the various moving packages should make up that difference for most shipments.
Full-value coverage rarely covers anything that costs more than $100 per pound. For antiques, collectibles, and other belongings that would cost more than $100 per pound to repair or replace, you’ll want to get some additional coverage.
While full-value protection is a great way to insure department store furniture and everyday household goods, some shipments require additional protection. If your load includes especially valuable property, such as a one-of-a-kind painting or an antique instrument, you can fill out a high value inventory form and pay to give it additional coverage.
The rate for this additional coverage is $5.50 for every $1,000 of coverage you want to add. For example, if you have an antique vase that you want to insure for $6,000, you can do that by paying an extra $33 up front.
If you’re moving on a very tight budget, you can waive Mayflower’s full-value protection and go with the basic liability coverage that all moving companies offer for free.
This liability coverage only provides $0.60 of coverage per pound of your shipment. If your shipment only includes inexpensive and replaceable belongings, then basic liability coverage isn’t a terrible option—as long as you’re willing to accept the possibility of some loss.
But what if you were using the liability coverage and you shipped that $6,000 vase we talked about earlier? If the vase got lost or damaged in transit, you would only get reimbursed $0.60 for each pound it weighed. Even if the vase was particularly large and weighed nine pounds, you would get just $5.40, a tiny fraction of the vase’s worth!
