YOUR $2,000 TV
MIGHT BE WORTH $30.
Nobody thinks about how much their TV weighs until somebody drops it. That’s when the math gets interesting.
Picture this: the move is basically over.
The beds made it. The couch made it. The boxes are stacked everywhere, but at least they’re inside the new place.
Then someone unwraps the TV.
There’s a crack running across the screen.
Not a little scratch. Not something you clean off. The kind of crack where everybody in the room gets quiet for a second.
It’s a $2,000 television.
So the first thought is pretty reasonable: “They’re insured. They’ll replace it.”
Maybe.
But there’s a question that should have been asked before the TV ever left the wall:
“Licensed and insured” sounds reassuring. It does not automatically mean every item in your home is protected for its full purchase price.
Here’s where $30 comes from.
One common minimum valuation is based on the weight of the item, not what you paid for it.
In Florida, a mover that limits its liability for household goods cannot set that valuation below 60 cents per pound per article, and that limitation has to be disclosed in writing when the estimate and contract are executed.
Interstate moves have a similar 60-cents-per-pound Released Value option under federal rules.
Read that again.
The TV can cost $2,000.
The number on the claim can still be $30.
That’s not because somebody decided your TV was only worth thirty bucks. It’s because valuation and retail value are two very different things.
And this is why “insured” isn’t the end of the conversation.
A moving company can carry insurance and still have specific limits governing what happens to your belongings when something is damaged.
For interstate moves, federal consumer guidance specifically distinguishes the mover’s liability for your household goods from the mover’s own business insurance.
Those aren’t details you want to discover while staring at a broken screen.
You want to understand them while you’re still comparing estimates.
Before anyone touches your stuff, ask these.
Don’t settle for “we’re insured.” Ask how a claim would actually be calculated.
Ask whether protection is based on weight, replacement value, or another option you’ve selected.
If additional valuation coverage is available, understand the cost, limits and terms before moving day.
A claim is useful after something breaks. A good protection plan is useful before it does.
The best damage claim is the one you never have to file.
Understanding valuation matters.
But there’s another part of this conversation that gets less attention: the crew carrying the TV.
How was it protected? Who disconnected it? Was the screen covered? Was it packed correctly? Where was it positioned in the truck? What was stacked around it?
Paperwork matters when something goes wrong.
Experience matters before it goes wrong.
That’s one of the things worth comparing when you’re choosing a mover. Not just the hourly rate. Not just the estimate at the bottom of the page. Ask how they’re planning to get the things you care about from one home to the other without needing the claims process in the first place.
A good mover should be able to answer that without giving you a sales speech.
Tell us what you’re moving.
Have a TV, artwork, glass, antiques or something else you’re worried about? Tell us before moving day. We’ll explain how we’d approach it.
TELL US WHAT YOU’RE MOVING →