Moving company owners wouldn’t find it hard to imagine some of the risk scenarios they’ve encountered in their lines of work. An employee might get injured while moving a heavy piece of furniture; a valuable furniture is broken during transit; or their moving truck gets into an accident. That is the reason why moving companies need to have business insurance to protect themselves and their businesses from these risks.

In this article, we’ll reveal the top 4 insurance companies for moving businesses and what makes each one unique and explain everything you need to know to get the coverage that’s right for you at a fair price.

• Top 4 insurers for moving company coverage
• Why do moving companies need business insurance?
• What types of insurance are needed for a moving business?
• What other types of insurance do moving companies get?
• Is mover insurance required to operate a business?
• How much does movers insurance cost?
• How can I find cheap movers insurance?

Top 4 insurers for moving company coverage

Here are our choices for the top companies that offer moving business insurance:

• CoverWallet: Best for moving businesses that want to compare quotes quickly
• Mover’s Choice: Best for specialized moving business insurance
• The Hartford: A leading business insurance company
• Progressive: The best for discounted moving business insurance

CoverWallet: Best for moving businesses that want to compare quotes quickly

CoverWallet is a cutting-edge insurance provider. The firm has developed its own state-of-the-art platform, based on its own algorithms, to ensure it is able to connect small businesses with all the business insurance they need, at the most reasonable price. The platform makes it quick and easy to get quotes from several providers at once, making it possible to compare quotes from highly reputable insurers all on a single screen.

The firm’s experts have used their extensive experience to make sure you only have to input the information needed to generate quick and accurate quotes. The entire process should take ten minutes or less.

You can feel confident knowing that CoverWallet is a part of Aon, an established company that provides advice to businesses on things like risk, health and retirement.

Once you get your quote, CoverWallet makes it easy to purchase business insurance online or through an agent. When you get your policy through CoverWallet, it’s simple to manage your coverage online, including downloading a certificate of insurance, filing a claim, renewing your insurance, and more. 

Mover’s Choice: Best for specialized moving business insurance

Mover’s Choice has been insuring companies in the moving and storage industry for more than 25 years.

The company provides specialized business solutions including comprehensive insurance products specifically designed to meet the unique needs of moving and storage businesses, the latest technology that makes working with them easy, advanced loss prevention support, resources that reduce exposures, a network of service providers and exclusive discounts.

Insurance through Mover’s Choice is competitively priced. The company’s cargo and warehouse legal liability coverages are among the most comprehensive in the industry, and their auto, property, and general liability coverages are industry leading. Mover’s Choice has adjusters who have specific moving and storage claims experience and understand release valuation, depreciated value, declared value, replacement cost coverage, and more.

Mover’s Choice offers the following coverages:

• Business auto liability
• Business auto physical damage
• Cargo legal liability
• Commercial general liability
• Crime
• International cargo
• Property
• Surety bonds
• Umbrella
• Warehouse legal liability
• Workers’ compensation.

It’s worth checking out Mover’s Choice if you want specialized mover insurance for your business.

The Hartford: A leading business insurance company

The Hartford is one of the oldest companies of any kind in the United States. It’s been offering insurance solutions for more than 200 years and has helped one million plus businesses with their insurance needs, including mover coverage. The company takes pride in the fact that the Ethisphere Institute named The Hartford a World’s Most Ethical Company twelve times. The Hartford’s longevity and focus on ethical business practices makes it a company that you can feel good about doing business with.

If you turn to The Hartford for your mover business coverage, you can rest assured knowing you’re doing business with an ethical company that is an industry leader in business insurance.

Progressive: The best for discounted moving business insurance

Progressive may seem like a less-than-serious company because of its ongoing series of commercials featuring Flo. You might feel concerned about entrusting your moving operation to the insurer.

The truth: It’s a reputable company that’s been in business since 1937. Progressive is known for its flexibility, great rates and highly responsive service.

Progressive is famous for its discounts, which could help you save on your moving business insurance. You can earn discounts for things like:

• Purchasing multiple coverages
• Implementing safe work site practices 
• Paying annually rather than in smaller increments 
• Agreeing to autopay.

It’s challenging getting a moving business quote online from Progressive. It might make more sense to give them a call to get coverage.

Why do moving companies need business insurance?

Moving companies actually face the following scenarios quite often

• As employees are loading items onto a truck, a person walking by trips over a box and breaks her leg in several places because of the fall. 
• A mover working for you throws out his back while lifting a heavy sofa. The medical care is expensive, it takes a long time for him to recover, and he can’t work while he’s getting better.
• Employees drop an expensive antique table down a flight of stairs. The table, staircase, and a wall are damaged in the incident, as well as a Chinese porcelain vase that was at the bottom of the stairs.
• A driver working for you crashes one of your moving vans into an automobile, injuring the driver and her daughter and damaging her car. 
• While visiting your company’s office to finish planning for a move, a customer slips on a wet floor and falls. They sustain a sprained ankle and concussion in the fall.

Of course, this isn’t a complete list of the kinds of risks faced by moving businesses, one of the industries that face the most perils.  That’s why it’s critical for moving company owners to get the right insurance coverage to protect the businesses they’ve worked so hard to build over time.

What types of insurance are needed for a moving business?

The primary type of insurance a moving company should secure is movers liability coverage. This is a type of general liability insurance that will pay for damage to a client’s property or client injuries that are a result of the moving work you do. For example, general liability insurance pays if you accidentally drop a client’s big screen television down a flight of stairs and it no longer works because of it or if a customer trips on packing debris, is injured, and sues you. 

In short, it protects you from being financially liable if you cause harm to a customer’s home or business location or if a customer gets injured while you’re providing moving services to them.

Many smaller or independent moving company owners are concerned about the cost of getting general liability insurance. The truth is that with all the risks they face while packing, transporting, and unpacking valuable items, they really can’t afford to be without it. 

Ask yourself: Would you be able to pay to repair a client’s antiques, artwork, or electronic devices if you cause significant damage to them or the legal and settlement costs if you’re sued by a client over harm to their property?

Often these expenses are large enough to put an uninsured or underinsured moving company out of business. However, movers liability insurance would pay them if any of these things ever happen to you.

Learn more at the best general liability insurance companies and the cheapest general liability insurance companies.

What other types of insurance do moving companies get?

Here are six other types of coverages worth considering.

Commercial auto insurance for moving companies

If you or anyone who works for you drive a business owned vehicle, such as a moving van, or a personal one for business reasons like visiting a client’s home to estimate a job, you’ll need commercial auto insurance. A personal auto policy won’t cover damage or injuries that happen while providing moving related services. Having commercial vehicle insurance will help you rest assured knowing you won’t have to pay for vehicle damage or injury related medical costs out of pocket if you, a driver, or a mover who works for you is involved in an accident while working.

Learn more at the best commercial auto insurance companies and how to find cheap commercial auto insurance

Workers’ compensation insurance for moving companies

If you have employees, workers’ compensation insurance is required in most states. It covers your employees (and you) if anyone is injured or becomes ill because of work related reasons. It pays medical expenses, disability, and a portion of lost wages or funeral expenses if someone dies on the job. Having workers’ comp will protect you from certain lawsuits that injured employees could file against you.

Considering the likelihood of on the job injuries while moving individuals, families, or businesses, workers’ comp coverage will help you rest assured knowing the movers who work for you will be taken care of should they become injured while at work.

Learn more at the best workers comp insurance companies and the cheapest workers comp insurance companies

Commercial property insurance for moving companies

Do you own or rent an office, garage, warehouse, or other business property? Then you should purchase commercial property insurance. It will protect you from theft or property damage caused by fire, accidents, or natural disasters. This doesn’t just include buildings, but also things like your tools and equipment when they’re stored away on your property. Learn more at the best commercial property insurance companies

Tools and equipment insurance  for moving companies

Movers need their tools and equipment to take things apart and put them together again, pack them, and move them from place to place. It can be devastating to a moving business if something happens to them. The good news is that tools and equipment insurance covers them if they’re damaged or stolen from a job site. Coverage is typically under $50 per month, depending on the number and types of tools and equipment covered. This could be a smart investment for most moving companies

Professional liability insurance for moving companies

Professional liability insurance is also known as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance. It protects against claims of negligence while conducting business. If you ever provide moving services that a client is unhappy with and they sue you, professional liability insurance would pay legal and settlement costs.

Learn more at the best professional liability insurance companies.

Umbrella insurance for moving companies

Umbrella insurance provides coverage beyond your policy limits. This is good coverage for moving businesses to have in case you or someone who works for you damage particularly expensive items or property, cause significant harm in a vehicle accident or end up involved in a protracted lawsuit. Learn more at the best commercial umbrella insurance companies.

Is moving business insurance required to operate a business?

No, the coverage is not required by the state laws. However, most clients will insist that you get it before they allow you to step onto their property or move their items. Think about it: Would you be willing to take responsibility if a mover became injured on your property, or an expensive item was damaged.

How much does movers insurance cost?

The cost is typically between $500 and $1,000 per year for $1,000,000 worth of coverage. The premium depends on a number of factors, including where you work, the moving services you offer, business size and the number of employees you have, claims record and more.

It’s a good idea to get a few mover’s insurance quotes from different providers and compare coverages and costs. It’s the only way to get the protection you need at the best possible price.

How can I find cheap moving business insurance?

Here are some tips to help you get the coverage you need at a fair price:

• Shop around for the best value. Get quotes from a few companies and compare them to find the right coverage for you at a reasonable cost.
• Don’t stop shopping around. Make sure you get new quotes before you renew your policy.
• Take advantage of discounts. If they’re not offered to you when getting a quote, ask about them, whether you’re buying online or through an agent.

Taking these steps will help ensure you’re not paying too much for your moving business insurance coverage.