The short answer
Moving company insurance brings together what a mover needs: liability for customers' goods while they are loaded, hauled and stored, the trucks themselves, damage to homes and buildings, and the crew's injuries through workers' compensation where the province requires it. What you owe a customer depends on the valuation they chose on the moving contract. A licensed broker assembles these pieces around the moves you actually do.
- Household movers doing local and long-distance residential moves
- Office and commercial relocation companies moving desks, files and equipment
- Two-person crews with one cube van and a growing schedule
- Movers that keep customers' goods in their own warehouse between moves
- Piano, art and specialty item movers
2 licensed brokers in the network handle this. In Alberta, Canada, a request for moving company insurance can be offered to up to three of them, chosen because they are licensed for this line and place. They are test brokers while we are in demo.
See the brokers → Outside Alberta, Canada you can prepare and save a request today; sending opens place by place. Brokers answer with their own quotes. Broker.insure does not quote, advise or take commission.
01 / What it covers
The parts worth understanding
Goods in transit
Your legal responsibility for customers' belongings from the moment they are loaded until they are unloaded, usually written as motor truck cargo. Ask whether the wording suits household goods, since some general cargo forms limit used furniture, antiques or boxes the owner packed.
Goods in your warehouse
Warehouse legal liability responds when goods you hold in storage are damaged by fire, water or theft and you are responsible for the loss. It sits apart from the cover on the building and usually has its own limit per location.
Released value and declared value
What you owe a customer is shaped by the valuation they selected on the paperwork: a basic released rate tied to weight, or a higher declared or replacement value they chose. Your own insurance needs to support whatever you offered them.
Damage to homes, buildings and elevators
Scraped door frames, gouged hardwood, a dented elevator cab or a cracked lobby tile are property damage claims under general liability. Ask how damage to the customer's own home is treated compared with a condo's common property.
Trucks and drivers
Cube vans, straight trucks and tractor-trailers need commercial auto cover rated for moving work, including drivers who join for the busy season and rental trucks added at month end.
Crew injuries
Lifting, stairs and loading ramps make strains and falls the everyday risk. Workers' compensation is compulsory for many industries, and moving is commonly among them; confirm your classification with the provincial board and ask what an owner can add for themselves.
Certificates for move-ins
Condo buildings and office towers often want a certificate of insurance before they book the elevator, naming the corporation or landlord and sometimes the property manager. Short-notice bookings make a quick certificate process worth arranging in advance.
02 / Get ready
Bring this, and expect these questions
Gather
- The number and types of trucks, with vehicle identification numbers and who owns or leases each one
- A typical month of moves: how many local, long-distance and cross-border jobs
- The valuation options you offer customers and a blank copy of your moving contract or bill of lading
- Warehouse details if you store goods: address, construction, sprinklers, alarm and how long goods usually stay
- Crew size, employees versus casual labour, and your workers' compensation account details
- The highest-value single household or office shipment you moved in the past year
- Past claims from customers, including broken items, missing boxes and damage to homes or buildings
- Sample certificate requests from condo managers or office landlords, showing the wording they expect
- Any specialty work: pianos, safes, artwork, antiques or crated electronics
A broker will ask
- What valuation do most customers choose, and how is it explained to them before moving day?
- Do your crews pack the boxes, or do customers pack their own?
- Do you hold goods in storage, and for how long on average?
- What is the most valuable load that has ever been on one of your trucks?
- Do your trucks leave the province or cross into the United States?
- How do you hire and train crews, and do you use day labourers at peak times?
- How do you protect floors, door frames and elevators on a job?
- Have customers or buildings made claims against you, and how were they settled?
Not sure of an answer? Leave it. "Not known yet" is a fine answer, and a broker will help you fill it in.
03 / Build your request
Answer a few questions. Get your own list.
Pick what fits. Your answers shape the list beside them, and they are saved to your request as plain facts a broker can read. "Not sure yet" is always a fine answer.
04 / Three situations
See which one sounds like yours
A two-van household mover in Calgary
A local mover runs two cube vans with four regular crew members and adds casual helpers at the end of each month. A condo property manager has refused a Saturday elevator booking until the mover sends a certificate naming the corporation.
First steps. Send the broker the manager's exact request, including the names to be shown and the limits asked for. Ask how quickly certificates can be issued for future bookings, and whether the casual helpers are counted correctly for workers' compensation and on the liability policy.
An office relocation firm storing furniture
A commercial mover relocates a law firm over two weekends and holds its boardroom furniture and archive boxes in the mover's own warehouse for six weeks while the new offices are finished. In January a sprinkler line freezes and bursts above the stored goods.
First steps. Report the loss right away and photograph the affected goods and the warehouse. Before the next storage job, ask the broker how warehouse legal liability applies to goods held under a storage agreement, and what that agreement says about the customer insuring its own property.
A customer who chose the basic rate
A family declined the higher valuation offered on the paperwork, and then a dresser handed down from a grandparent was cracked in transit. They now expect the full cost of restoration, and the mover is unsure what it actually owes them.
First steps. Gather the signed contract showing the valuation the customer selected, the inventory sheet and any photographs taken at loading. Ask the broker how the cargo cover responds when the released rate was chosen, and how valuation could be explained more clearly at booking.
05 / Words you will hear
The jargon, in plain words
- Released value
- A basic level of mover liability, set on the moving contract at a fixed rate by weight, that applies unless the customer chooses more. It often pays far less than an item cost.
- Declared value
- A higher valuation a moving customer chooses for the shipment, often for an added charge, which raises what the mover owes if goods are lost or damaged in its care.
- Warehouse legal liability
- Cover for a business holding other people's goods in storage, responding when those goods are damaged and the business is legally responsible for the loss.
- Inventory sheet
- The numbered list of items and their condition written up at loading. It becomes the main record when a customer later says something was missing or arrived damaged.
- Certificate of insurance
- A one-page summary from the broker or insurer showing your policies and limits, often naming a building or landlord, used as proof before a crew starts a job.
06 / Common mistakes
What trips people up
- Letting customers sign the paperwork without explaining what the released rate actually pays.
- Assuming the cargo policy also covers goods sitting in your warehouse for weeks.
- Leaving casual or cash-paid helpers out of the crew count given to the insurer and the compensation board.
- Sending a crew to a condo move without the certificate the building asked for, and losing the booking.
- Offering customers replacement-value protection that your own policy does not support.
- Skipping condition notes and photographs at loading, which makes a later damage dispute hard to settle.
Ready when you are
Turn this into one clear request.
Save it, add what you know, and choose when to send it. A licensed broker who handles moving company insurance takes it from there.
07 / Questions people ask
Straight answers
What insurance does a moving company need?
Most movers carry commercial auto for the trucks, cargo liability for goods in transit, general liability for injuries and for damage to homes and buildings, and workers' compensation where the province requires it for the crew. Movers who store goods add warehouse legal liability. A licensed broker can explain how these fit together for the size and type of moves you do.
What is the difference between released value and declared value?
Released value is a basic level of liability, usually a fixed rate per pound or kilogram of the shipment, which can be far below what an item is worth. Declared or full value is a higher level the customer chooses, often for an added charge. Exactly how each works depends on your contract and the rules where you operate, so have your broker review the wording you use.
Are customers' belongings covered while they sit in my warehouse?
Only if your program includes cover for goods in storage, often called warehouse legal liability, and generally only where you are legally responsible for the loss. Goods in transit and goods in storage are usually treated separately. Ask the broker when storage cover takes over from transit cover, and what your storage agreement says about the customer's own insurance.
Why do condo buildings ask movers for an insurance certificate?
A move can damage elevators, lobbies, doors and hallways that belong to the condominium corporation. Many buildings ask for proof of liability insurance, sometimes naming the corporation and the property manager as additional insureds, before they will book the elevator. Requirements differ from building to building, so get the manager's wording early and pass it to your broker.
Do I need workers' compensation for my moving crew?
In many provinces moving and trucking fall within industries where workers' compensation is compulsory for employers, but the treatment of owners, partners and casual workers differs. Contact your provincial board to confirm your classification and registration. A broker can explain how personal accident or other cover fits alongside it, but the board decides who must be registered.
Does my insurance cover damage to the customer's home?
General liability usually responds to damage you cause to property that is not being moved, such as walls, floors and banisters, subject to the wording and any deductible. Damage to the furniture and boxes themselves falls under cargo or storage cover instead. Ask the broker how each is handled, what limits apply and what a customer must report and when.
General information, not insurance advice. Broker.insure is a directory and request service: it is not an insurer and does not quote, bind or advise. Policy terms, availability and what is required where you live depend on your situation and on licensed professionals. Updated 2026-10-31.