[Cath18]

Hi all,

I've just spent a couple of hours trawling through past posts on shipping insurance and I'm still no clearer on the best way to go!

We're shipping our goods with White & Co. and their Standard Liability (i.e. itemised) insurance is at 3%. However, they also offer Limited Liability insurance so if a box gets lost that hasn't been covered by the Standard Liability cover they will offer up to £40 for the replacement of the goods in that box.

OH and I are therefore thinking that it is best to cover with SL the bigger more valuable items (sofa, bed etc.) but things like crockery which are cheaper to replace (and tbh we will be in the fortunate position of having his family around who would probably donate replacements anyway!) we would just leave to limited liability. I guess you would call it hedging our bets on the premium!

Now I've been reading loads of posts about cheaper insurers - Letton Percival being the most popular - but also about the "Average Clause" and cover for pairs and sets and mould & mildew etc.

White & Co. def don't cover for pairs and sets and mould & mildew (I assume would cover for an additional premium) but the small print that there is doesn't mention anything about an "Average Clause".

I'm wondering if we went with Letton Percival would we then have to itemise ALL the stuff we are shipping to avoid them saying we have undervalued the goods and only paying a percentage on anything we had listed and had to claim for? (or have I totally misunderstood this?!) :uhoh

I'm sooooo confused and my brain hurts - if anyone can advise best way of covering everything without paying over the odds premium then I would be really grateful!

Thanks, Cath :)

[Caroline and Dave]

We used Orbit Protect

http://www.orbitprotect.co.nz/Marine/


Our stuff is in storage which we had to pay extra for but they do include up to 60 days storage with the initial 2.2%. Until we get our goods we can't comment on their responce should we need to make a claim but they do not charge any extra taxes as UK firms do.

[cappuccino]

I was also confused about the insurance issues so called Letton Percival and had a very long chat with Brian Norton. He was very helpful and explained EVERYTHING and I felt so much better. It also worked out much cheaper to take LP insurance than the shipping company's own. Good luck.

[smitjo]

We have decided to go with our removal companies insurance as although they quoted us 3% I told them that I was going elsewhere for insurance. So....they told me that they would match the price that we had been offered. Managed to get the insuance for 1.5% for Standard Liability (any loss or damage to effects until delivery to chosen destination).

[Alan]

Smitjo, which company did you use that matched the insurance prices?

[smitjo]

Hi Alan,
We went with GB liners International (the Loughborough branch)
Hope this helps?

[broadsword08]

We went with L&P after extensive research. We used Pickfords for moving the gear.

We most certainly would not use Pickfords again however L&P were truly fabulous. We did make a claim and it was paid out in full and in a timely, pleasant and professional fashion.

A comment was made in a previous post that gave the impression that creating an inventory of all ones possessions was an needless and tiresome chore... not at all... it's absolutely vital so you can make sure everything turns up as well as a tool for making that insurance claim... just bang everything in an excel spreadsheet and you'll be surprised how quickly it comes together!

I would also urge you to take as many photos as possible of as much as you can including on packing day to show the way stuff was packed and loaded onto the truck.

I would also add that L&Ps insurance is not only cheaper... it is actually far far better than any SL insurance from a shipper... read the Ts and Cs and see for yourself... also do like cappucino suggests and call Brian at L&P... this is his bread and butter, he does it everyday... through the whole move he and our personal travel insurance agent were the only two people who gave me any confidence that they really knew what they were doing and that they had our best interests at heart!

Finally, I would not touch Limited Liability Insurance with a barge pole for anything... indeed any policy that the shippers offer no matter what they call it... because Pickfords were negligent and proven to be so we were able to claim on their LLI as well as via our own L&P insurance... we got the full amount (about 2.5k sterling) from L&P and with an accepted claim on LLI from PIckfords the full amount was 240 quid! Cost of most material goods is high here and choice is limited so make that FULL list, stick 15% on the sterling price of what you paid (for everything) and dont forget to factor in the insurance costs... remember you are insuring for replacement value at destination NOT the price you paid.

That 1.5% of insured value is very little in the long run.

[chocolate cake]

Check what the insurance covers, from personal experience it's worth getting cover to insolvency of the removal company. I didn't, and even though my goods had arrived when the removals co I went with bust (another thread somewhere), I couldn't get the released and ended up paying twice over.