Removals insurance and inventories, explained in Sutton

The two covers every remover should hold

Goods in transit covers your belongings while they are being carried, loaded and, on most policies, stored in the remover's care. Public liability covers damage to property — the doorframe, the communal stairwell, the neighbour's car.

Ask for both certificates before you book, not after something goes wrong. A firm that produces them within the hour is a firm that has them.

Limits, excesses and the 'per item' trap

Policies carry an overall limit and, crucially, a limit per item — often £1,000 or £2,000. A £6,000 piano or a piece of art above that line needs to be declared and specifically covered, or the payout stops at the per-item cap.

Excesses are usually per claim rather than per item. Both figures belong in your written quote so you can compare two removers honestly rather than on headline price.

• ●Overall sum insured for the whole load
• ●Limit per single item — declare anything above it
• ●Excess per claim
• ●Whether storage is inside the same policy or separate

Why self-packed boxes are treated differently

If you packed the box, the remover cannot verify what went in or how it was protected, so cover is typically limited to external damage — a crushed box, a dropped carton — rather than a broken glass inside an intact box.

That is not a loophole, it is how the risk works, and it is the strongest practical argument for professional packing on fragile-heavy homes. If you self-pack, pack for a lorry rather than a car boot: full boxes, no voids, heavy items low.

Standard exclusions worth knowing before moving day

Cash, jewellery, passports, deeds and irreplaceable personal items are excluded on almost every policy — they travel with you, in a bag you keep. Plants, perishables and anything hazardous are usually excluded too.

Mechanical or electrical failure with no external damage is also excluded: if the washing machine stops working but nothing is dented, that is a warranty conversation rather than a claim.

Building an inventory that protects you

The inventory is the evidence. Ours is produced at video survey and confirmed in writing; you should read it and add anything missing before moving day, particularly high-value items.

Photograph the back and underside of anything already marked, and photograph high-value items in place before they are wrapped. Five minutes with a phone turns a disputed claim into a paid one.