Guide

Insurance filings and valuation coverage

Last updated 2026-08-05

"Are they insured?" is the most common question people ask about a moving company, and it hides two entirely different questions with different answers. Getting a satisfying "yes" to the first one tells you very little about the second, which is the one that decides what you're paid when a box of your things arrives broken.

Part one: the filings on record with FMCSA

To get and keep operating authority, a for-hire carrier's insurer has to file proof of coverage directly with FMCSA, and keep it current. Two kinds matter for household goods movers:

BIPD — bodily injury and property damage

Public liability coverage: injuries and damage the carrier causes to other people and their property. For general-freight motor carriers the federal minimum has long been $750,000, and higher minimums apply to certain hazardous cargo. Where FMCSA's record carries the filed coverage amount, we show it on the carrier's page.

This is the number most people picture when they hear "the mover is insured". Note what it covers: it is not coverage for your belongings.

Cargo insurance

Coverage for the goods being transported. For household goods carriers the federal minimums are set per vehicle and per occurrence, and they are far lower than the value of a typical household — the figures in 49 CFR Part 387 are measured in thousands of dollars, not tens of thousands. A carrier meeting the minimum is compliant, not comprehensively covering your move.

A missing BIPD or cargo filing is one of the conditions that flags a carrier on this site, because active authority without a current insurance filing is a contradiction that usually resolves — sooner or later — into the authority being revoked.

Part two: valuation, which is what you actually collect

On an interstate move, the mover's liability for your goods is set by the valuation option recorded on the bill of lading. Federal rules require the mover to offer two levels, and you choose:

Released Value Protection

The default, offered at no additional charge. Liability is calculated by weight — a flat rate per pound per article — not by what the item is worth. FMCSA's valuation page states the current per-pound figure. The consequence is easy to state and routinely missed: a heavy, cheap item is relatively well covered; a light, expensive one is barely covered at all. A destroyed laptop weighs about four pounds.

If you sign nothing, this is generally what you have.

Full Value Protection

The mover is liable for the replacement value of lost or damaged articles, and depending on the terms may repair the item, replace it, or pay a cash settlement. It costs extra, the price varies by mover, and deductible options change the premium. Read what the mover's specific plan says — the term is standard, the details are not.

Neither is insurance, exactly

Valuation is the carrier's liability under the transport contract, not an insurance policy you hold. Separate moving insurance can be bought from a licensed insurer, and is regulated by your state rather than by FMCSA. Your existing homeowner's or renter's policy may already cover goods in transit — worth a phone call before paying for coverage twice.

Before you sign

• Confirm the carrier has current BIPD and cargo filings on record with FMCSA.
• Ask which valuation option is on your bill of lading, and make sure it's the one you chose — in writing, before loading day.
• Inventory high-value, low-weight items specifically. That's where Released Value fails hardest.
• Check whether your homeowner's or renter's policy covers goods in transit.
• Keep the bill of lading. It is the contract, and it is the document every later dispute turns on.

The five-minute check covers the filings alongside the other things worth confirming, and Protect Your Move sets out the broader set of rights that attach to an interstate move.