International Moving Insurance
Why You Need International Moving Insurance
Moving to a new country is an exciting milestone, but shipping your belongings thousands of miles across the ocean or by air carries real risk. Many people assume their household goods and vehicles will simply arrive in the condition they left in, but damage, loss, and theft happen more often than most first-time movers expect. Without the right international moving insurance, an otherwise smooth relocation can turn into an unexpected financial loss. Before comparing coverage, it’s worth understanding how door-to-door service works with a licensed door-to-door moving company like SDC.
What Could Go Wrong Without Moving Insurance?
Even with a reliable moving company, international shipping involves multiple touchpoints: packing and loading, transport by truck, ship, or airplane, customs inspections, and final delivery. Each stage introduces risk beyond anyone’s full control. The most common issues include:
- Container accidents. Shipping containers can be dropped or suffer damage from rough sea conditions.
- Theft or pilferage. Cargo theft occurs at ports, warehouses, and occasionally during transit.
- Customs delays and mishandling. Inspections can lead to misplaced or improperly repacked items.
- Fire or natural disasters. Ships, aircraft, and trucks are not immune to fires, storms, or earthquakes.
Does Your Mover’s Standard Liability Cover Your Goods?
A common misconception is that a mover’s standard liability automatically provides full coverage for your shipment. In reality, standard liability terms are limited:
- Reimbursement is based on weight, not value. A basic policy might pay a small amount per pound regardless of what the item is actually worth. A 50-pound television damaged in transit could be reimbursed at a fraction of its replacement cost under weight-based liability alone.
- Excluded damages. Some standard terms don’t cover electronics, fragile items, or high-value goods at all.
- No coverage for force majeure events. Natural disasters, political unrest, or acts of war are typically excluded.
Types of Moving Insurance and What They Cover
Not all policies are the same, and understanding the differences matters. SDC offers a range of insurance options so you can select the plan that fits your shipment.
1. All-Risk Cargo Insurance
Best for: Customers who want full protection against damage, theft, or loss.
Covers: Physical damage during transit, theft or pilferage, loss from container mishandling, water damage from leaks or rough seas, and fire, explosion, or collision.
Does not cover: Pre-existing damage, normal wear and tear, or items packed by the owner rather than professionally packed.
2. Total Loss Insurance
Best for: Customers who want low-cost protection against catastrophic scenarios.
Covers: Complete loss of the shipment from container sinking or other catastrophic events, and irrecoverable damage where nothing is salvageable.
Does not cover: Partial damage, minor scratches or dents, or any claim short of total shipment loss.
3. Named Perils Insurance
Best for: Customers who want targeted coverage for specific shipping risks.
Covers: Fire damage, vehicle collision during transport, ship sinking or stranding, and earthquake or other natural disaster-related loss.
Does not cover: General wear and tear, normal handling damage, or mishandling during customs repacking.
4. Vehicle Transport Insurance
Best for: Customers shipping a car, motorcycle, or other vehicle containerized alongside household goods.
Covers: Physical damage to the body, frame, or windows, total loss from fire or accident, vandalism or theft during shipping, and damage from improper loading.
Does not cover: Mechanical failure unrelated to transport, general wear and tear, or personal belongings left inside the vehicle. Learn more about vehicle shipping with household goods.
5. High-Value Goods Insurance
Best for: Customers shipping artwork, antiques, jewelry, or collectibles.
Covers: Physical damage or breakage during transit, theft or loss, mishandling at customs, and moisture or climate-related damage.
Does not cover: Undeclared high-value items (always list them separately for full coverage), or minor cosmetic damage. Explore our artwork and specialty item shipping.
Five Mistakes That Leave People Underinsured
Having insurance isn’t the same as having the right insurance. These are the mistakes we see most often, and how SDC helps clients avoid them.
Assuming Standard Liability Is Full Coverage
Standard liability typically reimburses by weight, not value. If a 50-pound television is damaged, weight-based liability alone might cover a fraction of what it’s actually worth. SDC’s insurance plans cover the full declared value of your household goods and electronics, not just their weight.
Not Declaring High-Value Items
Artwork, antiques, jewelry, and designer furniture need to be listed with estimated values on your inventory. If a high-value item isn’t declared, you may not be able to claim its full value if it’s lost or damaged. SDC helps with valued inventory preparation before your move so nothing gets missed.
Choosing the Wrong Type of Policy
Total Loss Insurance only pays out if the entire shipment is lost. If you actually need coverage for individual item damage or theft, All-Risk Cargo Insurance is the right fit. Picking the wrong policy type is one of the most common reasons a claim gets denied.
Self-Packing Fragile Items
Many insurers exclude self-packed items from coverage, since improperly padded or boxed items are far more likely to break in transit. Items packed by SDC’s professional packing team meet the standard most insurers require for full eligibility.
Not Reading the Exclusions
Every policy excludes something: pre-existing damage, normal wear and tear, and prohibited or restricted items are common examples. One exclusion that surprises a lot of clients is customs enforcement itself. If you want the full explanation of why that is, we’ve written a dedicated breakdown of why moving insurance doesn’t cover customs confiscation or rejection.
How to Choose the Right Policy
- Want full protection against damage, theft, and loss? Choose All-Risk Cargo Insurance.
- Want budget-friendly catastrophic coverage only? Choose Total Loss Insurance.
- Worried about specific risks like fire or natural disaster? Choose Named Perils Insurance.
- Shipping a car alongside your household goods? Add Vehicle Transport Insurance.
- Shipping artwork, antiques, or jewelry? Add High-Value Goods Insurance.
Not sure which combination fits your move? Call 877-339-0267 and one of our coordinators will walk through your inventory and destination with you.
How the Claims Process Works
Filing a claim shouldn’t add stress to an already difficult moment. Before your move, we help you build an itemized, valued inventory so a claim, if you ever need one, isn’t delayed by missing documentation. If a loss occurs, you’ll work with a dedicated point of contact rather than being passed between departments, and we work with trusted international insurance providers to move reimbursements along as quickly as the claim allows.
Getting Started
Every international move is unique, so we tailor coverage based on your destination and shipping method, the value and type of your household goods, whether you’re shipping a vehicle or high-value items, and the customs and insurance regulations at your destination.
Call 877-339-0267 to talk through coverage options with a specialist. We’re an FMC-licensed carrier with insurance coverage for moves to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and beyond, and we’ll help you land on the plan that actually fits your shipment instead of a one-size-fits-all policy.
