Removalist insurance explained: public liability vs goods in transit

Do removalists have to insure your belongings?

No. NSW Fair Trading puts it plainly: removalists are not required by law to provide insurance for your property during a move. It's easy to assume the removalist's insurance covers your furniture, but most removalist companies only have insurance covering their vehicle in case of an accident.

Count the policies and the gap shows. The law requires none for your property. Most removalists hold one, for the truck. A member of the Australian Furniture Removers Association (AFRA) must hold four: public liability, third party property, motor vehicle and carrier's legal liability insurance.

By our count that is zero, one and four. Every one of those policies is liability or vehicle cover. Each responds to what the removalist is responsible for. The cover written for your own belongings is goods-in-transit insurance, and at every level it is something you ask for or buy.

That's why Fair Trading's advice is to get your own insurance for your move.

	What the law requires	What most removalists carry	What AFRA membership requires
Policies	None for your property	Vehicle cover only	Public liability; third party property; motor vehicle; carrier's legal liability
Cover written for your goods whatever the cause	Not required	Not included	Not required for membership; most members can sell Goods in Transit insurance as an extra

Public liability vs goods in transit insurance

Think of it as three layers. Each one covers different things.

Layer one: the removalist's liability and vehicle cover. Public liability and carrier's legal liability protect the removalist when something is their responsibility. AFRA itself says not all damages and breakages are the liability of the removalist. The comparison site Canstar, writing as general information, says liability insurance may protect against negligence, but not every accident.

Layer two: goods-in-transit cover for your belongings. Fair Trading describes transit insurance as covering goods while they are being packed and moved by removalists and this includes any storage. If your things need storing, the cover can be extended for that period, at a separate premium.

Canstar says transit policies may cover loss or damage during packing and unpacking, loading and unloading, and transit, including mishandling by the removalist. Not every removalist can sell it. AFRA says most of its members can sell extra Goods in Transit insurance through its preferred supplier. Most is not all, so ask.

If you book packing services, check that any transit cover you arrange starts when the packing does.

Layer three: your own contents policy. It might help, and the next section explains why it is only "might".

Does my contents insurance cover a move?

Sometimes, and only as far as your policy says. Canstar notes some home and contents policies may include goods in transit, but the cover varies widely. It may apply to fire, flood, theft or a road accident in the moving vehicle, so check what your policy says about loading, unloading and storage.

Tell your insurer you're moving. Canstar says some policies require it for the policy to stay valid. It also suggests reading the PDS, Key Facts Sheet and Target Market Determination for exclusions.

One insurer's wording shows the level of detail to look for. Suncorp's contents-in-transit cover takes in loss or damage from fire, flood, collision, overturning accident or theft of the vehicle for a permanent move to a new address in Australia. It excludes cash, smart cards, vouchers and tickets. For claims on higher-value items it asks for proof of purchase, a professional valuation and a photograph.

That is one policy, not yours. Your own PDS is the only document that answers the question for you.

	What Canstar says varies between policies	One insurer's example (Suncorp contents in transit)
Events	may include fire, flood, theft or a road accident in the moving vehicle	fire, flood, collision, overturning accident or theft of the vehicle
Stages and trips	check what it says about loading, unloading and storage	a permanent move to a new address in Australia
Exclusions	read the PDS, Key Facts Sheet and Target Market Determination	cash, smart cards, vouchers and tickets
Proof for a claim	Not stated	higher-value items: proof of purchase, a professional valuation and a photograph

Insurance and your consumer guarantees are separate protections

Insurance is one protection. The law is another. Consumer guarantees apply to removalists whatever insurance anyone holds. Services must be provided with acceptable care and skill, and the business must take all necessary steps to avoid loss and damage. Our guide covers what that means and what to do when it isn't met: what Australian Consumer Law guarantees when you hire a removalist.

The gap sits between the two. Guarantees and liability cover deal with a removalist's failure. Some accidents are nobody's failure, and transit cover exists for those. It is still your choice, because transit insurance is not a legal requirement when moving house. Weigh what you're moving against what you could afford to replace.

Something is lost or damaged during the move

Did the removalist fail to take acceptable care and skill?

Yes

You have a consumer guarantee remedy, and the removalist's liability cover may respond

No: an accident nobody caused

Your goods-in-transit cover or contents policy, if you have one and it covers that event

Questions to ask a removalist before you book

Ask these of any removalist, Burwood Removals included. Get the answers in writing.

• Are you AFRA-accredited? (check on the AFRA website)Fair Trading notes smaller removalists may not be AFRA members.
• Can you show me the PDS and FSG for any insurance you offer?If a removalist is unable to do this, they may not be qualified to sell you insurance.
• Is cover full replacement or market value?Market value on an old couch may not buy a new one.
• What is the excess?It is another factor in the cost, along with distance.
• Does cover include packing, loading, unloading and storage, and is storage a separate premium?Storage cover is a separate premium, so ask what it adds.
• What is excluded (cash, cards, documents, phones and some electrical items, plants, animals, chemicals)?Packing them in a box won't bring them under cover.
• Does the contract include a household inventory, pick-up and delivery details, how payment is made and any extra storage costs if there are delays?Fair Trading says it should.

• Are you AFRA-accredited? Fair Trading notes smaller removalists may not be AFRA members, and you can check accredited removalists on the AFRA website.
• Can you show me the PDS and FSG? AFRA says it is illegal for a non-qualified person to sell a financial product, and if a removalist is unable to do this, they may not be qualified to sell you insurance.
• Is it full replacement or market value? Canstar says cost depends partly on whether cover is "full replacement" or "market value". Market value on an old couch may not buy a new one.
• What is the excess? It is another factor in the cost, along with distance.
• Does it cover packing, loading and storage? Storage cover is a separate premium, so ask what it adds.
• What is excluded? Canstar lists common exclusions as cash, cards and negotiable documents, phones and some electrical items, business or trade stock, plants and animals, and chemicals.
• What does the contract say? Fair Trading says it should include a household inventory, pick-up and delivery details, how payment is made, and any extra storage costs if there are delays.

Before moving day: a short insurance routine

Four jobs, most of them a phone call or a photo.

1. Phone your insurer. Say you're moving and ask what your contents policy covers on the way. Canstar notes some policies require you to tell them.
2. Photograph valuables and keep receipts. If a claim comes, evidence matters. In one insurer's example, claims on higher-value items need proof of purchase, a professional valuation and a photograph.
3. Check the inventory. The contract should carry a household inventory. Make sure it matches what's in the house before the truck is loaded.
4. Set aside what can't go on the truck. AFRA lists prohibited dangerous goods, animals and plants among items that can't be moved. A removalist won't carry a barbecue gas cylinder without a certificate that it has been purged, and mower petrol tanks should be drained. Transit policies commonly exclude plants and animals, and chemicals too, so packing them in a box won't bring them under cover.

Removalist insurance at a glance

• Legal requirement to insure your propertynoneFair Trading
• AFRA membershipfour required covers, all liability or vehicleAFRA
• Goods in Transit insurance'most' AFRA members can sell itAFRA
• Storagean extension at a separate premiumFair Trading
• Contents policiescover 'varies widely'Canstar
• One insurer, higher-value itemsproof of purchase, valuation and photographSuncorp

Your next step: get the quote and the answers together

Ask for a quote and the insurance answers at the same time. That way the price and the answers arrive together and you can compare removalists properly. When you're ready, get a moving quote from Burwood Removals and put the questions above in the same message.