Summer is the most popular time to pack up and move to a new home, with nearly 45 percent of all moves happening between Memorial Day and Labor Day, according to U-Haul.
Three-fourths of all movers are do-it-yourselfers, using trucks from U-Haul or other moving companies. Whether it’s a truck you drive yourself or you hire a professional moving company, those vehicles can get in accidents, possibly damaging your belongings.
Your auto, homeowner’s or renter’s insurance cover rental trucks and when a moving company is hired. But they cover accidents and damaged property in different ways, and the insurance policy of the company you’re renting from may differ from yours.
Here are some insurance factors to consider before moving, with the caveat that it’s worthwhile to check with your insurer first to see what’s covered when you move:
Rental trucks
A rental truck company likely won’t cover you for physical damage you cause to the truck or bodily injury you suffer in an accident where you’re at fault.
This is a generality and you should check with the rental truck company to see what its basic insurance covers. It's also best to check with your auto insurance company to understand what, if anything, they may cover, especially because these rental trucks are commercial vehicles. If the rental company doesn’t offer insurance, you may want to find another company to rent from.
If the accident isn’t your fault, then the other driver’s insurance should pay for damage to the truck and for your bodily injuries if they’re deemed at fault.
Your personal auto insurance policy likely won’t cover a rental truck because they often exclude vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 9,000 pounds or more. It’s no different than if you had a boat or RV, which would require coverage on your personal auto policy.
If, however, you cause an accident in a U-Haul truck and it results in property damage or bodily injury to someone else, your car insurance may cover such claims. But it still won’t pay to repair damage you’ve caused to the U-Haul truck you rented.
Some personal auto insurance policies do provide liability coverage for driving rental trucks, so it’s worth checking with your insurance company to see if you’re covered.
Should you buy the rental company’s insurance?
One of the first things a rental car clerk will ask you when picking up a car is if you want to buy its optional insurance. If you’re paying with a credit card — which most rental car companies require — the rule of thumb is to not buy the extra insurance because many credit cards offer free insurance. Also, your personal auto policy extends to a rental car.
With a rental truck, however, credit card companies won’t pay for damages to it or even to a rented pick-up truck or passenger van. If anything, the credit card coverage may be secondary coverage to your personal car insurance policy.’
A rental truck company will also likely ask you if you want to buy extra insurance. This may be worth having, depending on the amount of risk you’re willing to accept.
U-Haul sells truck rental coverage that protects renters from being financially responsible for damage to its equipment. U-Haul says it’s essential because credit cards and car insurance don’t typically cover its rental equipment.
U-Haul’s “Safemove” package covers the truck and its belongings, but doesn’t provide liability coverage. It has a few optional purchases within it, such as a damage waiver to protect you if you accidentally back into a street sign because you’re not used to driving such a large vehicle. There’s no deductible for the coverage.
An option can also be purchased to cover personal belongings held outside of your home. Homeowner’s or renter’s insurance typically has limits of 10 percent of coverage limits. So if you have $50,000 in contents coverage on a home policy, up to $5,000 in belongings outside of the house, including in the rental truck, are covered.
U-Haul offers up to $25,000 in cargo coverage for a one-way rental and $15,000 for an in-town rental. There’s a $100 deductible and coverage is for actual cash value.
U-Haul also has a “Super Safemove” program that adds liability coverage, like full coverage on an auto policy. The liability coverage is primary coverage, with the first $1 million in liability covered by U-Haul and not your personal insurance.
What homeower’s and renter’s insurance covers
While there are exceptions, most homeowner’s and renter’s insurance policies will cover your furniture, jewelry and other belongings during a move if they’re stolen or damaged in a fire. The coverage applies even if you’ve left your home and are driving a rental truck for a week across the country to a new home you haven’t bought yet.
“Normally there’s a 30-day period from the time where you start moving where your policy will cover your personal property items during the move,” says Chris Hackett, director of personal lines policy at the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.