Moving Company Insurance: What You Need Before Customers Ask

Nobody asks, until someone does
The 60-cents problem
What should a small moving company actually carry?
The helper question
What it costs, and where to start
You're building something real. Protect it.
Sources

Did you ever hire movers? I did, the second time around: three-story townhome, and my wife said we're hiring movers. Did we bother to ask whether they were insured? Of course not. We just assumed, and luckily nothing broke in either house. If a customer ever does ask you, here's the moving company insurance you should carry: general liability, commercial auto, motor truck cargo coverage, and workers' compensation once you pay a helper.

Nobody asks, until someone does

Here's the embarrassing part: I work in insurance, and even I didn't ask. Most customers are like us; they assume. So moving company insurance can feel optional for years. The customers who do ask are the ones worth keeping: the building manager, the corporate client, the person who just read a scam-warning checklist.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) tells people to ask movers for proof of licenses and insurance, verify the USDOT number (the U.S. Department of Transportation registration every interstate mover must have), and get the loss-or-damage policy in writing. The BBB logs around 13,000 complaints and negative reviews about movers every year. Your customers also ask AI how to hire a mover now, and that answer usually includes proof of insurance. It's the same question clients quietly ask contractors. Search "movers insurance" yourself and most of what comes back is advice for the customer, not the mover.

Then there's the customer who can stop a job cold. One State of California building policy requires the moving company to hand building management a certificate of insurance (a COI, the one-page proof your insurer issues) before anything moves. The COI has to name the State as additional insured, so your policy protects them too. The freight elevator is reserved through management, and building damage is repaired at the mover's sole expense. No certificate, and the policy says the move can be canceled. If you work in managed buildings, some version of that request is coming.

The 60-cents problem

Let's clear up the word most small movers reach for when a customer says "insurance": valuation. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) makes interstate movers offer customers two levels of liability for lost or damaged goods. Together, those levels are called valuation. Full value protection means you repair, replace, or pay the current value of whatever was lost or damaged. Released value protection is the free minimum, and it caps what you owe at 60 cents per pound per article. FMCSA's own example is a 10-pound stereo component worth $1,000: lost or destroyed, the customer gets no more than $6. By the same math, a 50-pound TV comes to about $30.

And FMCSA says plainly that valuation is not insurance. It's a contract term setting what you owe a customer; nothing in it pays you back when something goes wrong. Ask an AI whether movers need insurance and you may well get valuation described as insurance anyway. It's an easy mix-up, and it leaves you feeling covered when all you've really done is cap what one customer can claim.

What should a small moving company actually carry?

Start with the customer's sofa. Motor truck cargo insurance covers your customers' belongings while they're in your care and on your truck. It's the one small movers most often skip, because it sounds like something general liability or commercial auto should already handle. Both exclude property in your care, custody, and control, which describes everything in the truck. The federal minimum for household goods carriers is $5,000 per vehicle and $10,000 per occurrence, meaning one incident, and one bedroom set can pass $5,000. Real cargo insurance for movers is sized to a full load, not to that legal minimum.

Then the stairwell. General liability insurance (GL) pays when your work injures someone or damages property that isn't the cargo. The gouged banister. The cracked lobby tile. A neighbor who trips over your dolly. The COI that building manager wants is usually proof of this policy, with the building listed as additional insured.

And the truck itself. Commercial auto insurance covers the vehicle doing the work. Personal auto policies generally exclude business use. For bigger interstate trucks the federal requirement is $750,000 in public liability, on file before you're allowed to operate. States set their own rules for local movers. California, for example, won't issue a household mover permit without liability insurance on deposit, $20,000 of cargo insurance, and workers' compensation for every employee.

The helper question

The moment you pay a helper, workers' compensation insurance usually stops being optional: it pays their medical bills and lost wages if they get hurt on a job, and carrying furniture down three flights is the job. California requires it for all employees, and most states have their own version of the same rule. One helper on payroll is enough.

What it costs, and where to start

When you price moving business insurance, the inputs are what you'd expect: trucks, radius, payroll, and your cargo limit. The timing question is easier. Buy annual policies, not per-job ones. Short-term coverage exists, but a building manager wants a current COI on the day they ask, and interstate operating authority requires proof of insurance on file with FMCSA, not per move. A policy that expires between jobs fails both tests. As for limits, how much liability insurance you need is its own question; $1 million per occurrence is the figure certificate requests commonly name. When you want to see what moving company insurance looks like for your operation, start with what movers typically carry.

You're building something real. Protect it.

Olli was built for businesses of one, and a two-person moving crew counts. We match movers with the coverage a real job calls for: general liability, commercial auto, and cargo, with a COI you can hand a building manager. Start your quote.

Our editorial content is intended for informational purposes only and is not written by a licensed insurance agent. Terms and conditions for rate and coverage may vary by state, class of business or the individual.

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FAQs

What's an 'additional insured' and why do buildings ask for it?

An additional insured is someone your policy protects besides you. Buildings ask for it so that if your work damages their property or injures someone there, your policy responds instead of theirs. For movers, it usually arrives as a building manager asking for a COI naming the building as additional insured.

How much liability coverage do buildings usually require?

$1 million per occurrence (one incident) and $2 million aggregate (the most the policy pays in a year) is the combination certificate requests most commonly name. Some buildings ask for more, so read the move-in policy before you book the freight elevator. Whatever the contract names is your minimum limit.

Can I get insurance for just one move?

Short-term coverage exists in the market, but it rarely fits a moving business. Buildings want a current COI whenever they ask, and interstate operating authority requires insurance filings that stay on file. If you do more than one move, annual coverage is usually the better math.

Do I need business insurance, and if so what type of insurance do I need?

For a small moving operation, the usual mix is general liability for injuries and damage to others, commercial auto for the truck, motor truck cargo coverage for the customers' belongings, and workers' compensation once a helper is on payroll. Valuation is required on interstate moves, but it isn't insurance. What you might need beyond that depends on your state and your contracts.

Do I need business insurance if I have an LLC?

Yes, usually. An LLC protects your personal assets; it doesn't pay a claim when a sofa breaks or a lobby floor cracks. A building manager asking for liability insurance for movers won't accept formation papers in place of a COI.

Moving Company Insurance: What You Need Before a Customer Asks

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