Unfortunately one of the things we encounter from time to time is damage during the moving process. Regardless of how good the company is, damage just comes with the territory. If it occurs during your move, it’s important to know how to handle it.

First we’ll discuss what to do if damage occurs within a packed box. If the customer packs himself or herself, that is called PBO (packed by owner). Unfortunately there isn’t any coverage for any PBO items, not even if you purchase extra insurance. No one will insure your packing.

But if you take your time packing and use good materials, you put the odds in your favor that you’re not going to have any damage.

If a professional moving company packs your belongings, that is called CP (company packed or carrier packed). Depending on your coverage, there is reimbursement for damaged CP items. With many movers, your coverage will probably be based on 60 cents/lb. With Heritage Moving & Storage, Inc., we cover the cost $50,000 ACV (actual cash value) coverage on every move for CP items.

If there’s something damaged, we try to do a repair. If we can’t repair it, we’ll replace it or we’ll issue you a payment equal to the value of the item on the day of the damage. (This value is determined by the insurance company.) There are many replacement resources out there, but our number-one place to go for replacement items is replacements.com. Check it out!

We’ll get into more details about insurance coverage in a future post in this series. We hope this helps you understand how damage is handled during a move regarding packed items. If you are moving into or out of the greater Roanoke, Virginia, area, please contact us. We proudly serve Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Blacksburg, Smith Mountain Lake, and Botetourt County, and we would love to serve you!