What's Actually Covered When You Move

The short version

Every Gorilla Movers job carries cargo and liability coverage, we're a licensed California carrier (CAL T-192729, USDOT 3801918), and that licensing requires it. On top of that, every move includes basic valuation coverage at no charge. That word 'valuation' is doing a lot of work, and it's where most movers get vague. We'd rather you understand it before you book than discover it after something breaks.

• Included at no cost: released-value protection at 60 cents per pound, per article. It is weight-based, so a damaged 20-pound item pays $12.
• Upgrade available: full-value protection through us, which repairs, replaces or pays the item's actual value rather than its weight.
• Real insurance: an All Risk policy bought in your own name, either from Moving Insurance LLC at (888) 893-8835 or from Baker International at 1-800-356-0099 using our registration ID 22053. We earn nothing on either, or on any moving insurance policy.
• Certificates of insurance: issued the same day your building asks, including additional-insured naming.
• Claims: up to nine months to file under California rules, with the full process set out below.

Basic valuation: what it really means

California's standard included coverage, the kind built into every licensed mover's rates, including ours, is released-value protection at 60 cents per pound, per article. It's weight-based, not value-based. That's the honest, uncomfortable part.

Here's the math in practice: if a 20-pound item is damaged, released-value coverage pays $12, 60 cents times 20 pounds, no matter whether that item was a toaster or a flat-screen TV. A 100-pound dresser pays out $60. It costs you nothing and it covers every item on the truck, but it protects weight, not worth.

Why does the industry work this way? Because the alternative is pricing every move like an insurance policy. Released value keeps hourly rates low for the large majority of moves where nothing goes wrong, and our crews pad, wrap, and load specifically so nothing does. But if your belongings include things whose value has nothing to do with their weight, you should know your options.

When to consider added protection

California law lets you declare a value for your shipment and buy a higher level of protection. Actual cash value coverage pays the depreciated market value of a damaged item, up to your declared total. Full value protection goes further, it covers replacement cost, and the mover may repair, replace, or reimburse. Both cost more than the included coverage, because they cover more.

Think about added protection if you're moving artwork, instruments, high-end electronics, antiques, or anything where '60 cents a pound' would be an insult. And check your homeowner's or renter's policy first, some already cover goods in transit, and there's no reason to pay twice. Items of extraordinary value should be declared and listed in writing before the move; if we don't know the 200-year-old clock is a 200-year-old clock, no coverage level can treat it correctly.

One thing no coverage replaces: jewelry, cash, passports, hard drives, and vital documents should ride with you, not on the truck. We'll tell you the same thing at booking.

Buying a real insurance policy

Everything above is valuation, which is a limit on what the mover owes you. It is written into our tariff, not into an insurance policy, and we are a moving company rather than an insurance agency, so we cannot sell you one. If you want actual insurance on the shipment, you buy it yourself, in your own name, from a licensed agency. We hold an account with Moving Insurance LLC at movinginsurance.com, which is licensed in all 50 states, and you can buy a policy there in a few minutes without going through us.

There is a second agency we are registered with, and have been for years: Baker International Insurance Agency, which has written household goods insurance since 1981. Our Baker registration ID is 22053. Give them that number rather than our name, because Baker's mover list currently holds two separate records both labelled Gorilla Movers and the ID is the only thing that tells them apart. You can order online at bakerintl.com or call 1-800-356-0099 and have a coordinator walk you through it.

Read which policy you are buying, because the two are not close. All Risk is the broad one, it is the version written for a full service move where our crew loads and drives, and it covers the goods in transit and in storage. Named Perils only pays for causes the policy lists, and it specifically does not cover loss that happens during loading or unloading. Loading and unloading is when a great deal of moving damage actually happens, so a Named Perils policy can leave you uncovered at exactly the moment you were buying coverage for.

Timing matters more than people expect. The policy has to be in place before your goods go on the truck, and All Risk has to be bought no later than two days before your packing date. This is a task for the week before the move, not move morning. You choose a deductible when you buy, from $250 up to $3,000, and the lower the deductible the higher the premium. There is no minimum amount of value you have to declare, but the minimum premium is calculated on $10,000 of coverage, so declaring a very small value does not make the policy proportionally cheap.

One limit catches people every time: cartons you packed yourself are treated as packed by owner, and they are capped at $250 per carton and ten cartons in total, $2,500, regardless of what is inside them. If a box holds something you would genuinely miss, either let our crew pack it so it is covered as a professionally packed carton, or carry it in your own car.

You can do the whole thing online in a few minutes, or call them at (888) 893-8835 and have the policy explained to you first. They are Moving Insurance LLC, 277 Fairfield Road, Suite 335, Fairfield, NJ 07004.

Before you buy anything, check your homeowner's or renter's policy, because some already cover goods in transit and there is no sense paying twice. And so the recommendation is clear: we earn nothing on a policy you buy, from either of these agencies or from any other moving insurance company. There is no referral fee, no commission, and no revenue share anywhere in this. We name these two because their coverage is straightforward to buy and their terms are published, not because naming them pays us. It does not.

• Work out what you are shipping and what it is worth. All Risk is written against a valued inventory, and anything not on that inventory is not covered.
• Have your packing date and delivery date ready, plus our details: Gorilla Movers, CAL T-192729, USDOT 3801918.
• Buy All Risk no later than two days before your packing date, meaning the day our crew first handles your goods. Total Loss Only and Named Perils can be bought later in the move, but neither one covers damage that already happened.
• Pick your deductible, $250, $500, $750, $1,000, $1,500 or $3,000. It is one deductible per claim and not per item.
• If you would rather talk to a person than fill in a form, call Moving Insurance LLC at (888) 893-8835 toll free, or +1 (973) 453-4033 from outside the US.

COIs: coverage for your building

If you're moving into or out of a managed building, the property manager will likely require a certificate of insurance, a COI, before we're allowed past the lobby. It's a document from our insurer proving our coverage and, usually, naming the building as additionally insured for the day. This is routine for us: tell us the building's requirements when you book and we send the COI the same day, typically alongside the elevator reservation. If your building has specific language or coverage minimums, forward us the requirements email and we'll match it.

How a claim actually works

Nobody plans to file a claim, so here's the process while you're calm instead of after something's cracked:

• At booking, tell us about high-value or fragile items so they're documented and prepped correctly from the start.
• Before loading, photograph anything you're worried about. Our crews note pre-existing condition; your photos make everything faster if there's ever a dispute.
• At delivery, walk the house with the crew lead. If something's damaged, note it on the paperwork before the crew leaves, it's not required to preserve your claim, but it strengthens it.
• Report the damage to our office in writing, with photos, item descriptions, and the amount claimed. Under California rules you have up to nine months to file, but sooner is always cleaner.
• Keep the box, contents, and packing materials for any packed item you're claiming, especially if you packed it yourself.
• We respond in writing and work toward repair, replacement, or payment. California requires carriers to acknowledge claims within 30 days and resolve or formally respond within 60.

Why we publish this page

Because coverage confusion is where moving horror stories come from, and most of them start with a customer who assumed 'insured' meant 'replacement value.' We'd rather explain the system plainly and let you choose your protection level with open eyes. After 25,120+ moves since 2008, our best claims strategy is still the same one: wrap everything, load it right, and make claims rare. Questions about your specific move? Call 619-600-5000, a human who knows this material picks up.