Insurance during the cross country self move question

justdoit19

justdoit19

Proud parent of an ANG, USNA X2, and a MidSib
5-Year Member
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Apr 9, 2017
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I thought I had read something about insurance coverage for stuff during a move…but cannot find it. So pardon the duplication, if that’s the case.

My new Ensign will be moving himself cross country. He contacted USAA, and purchased renters insurance. His stuff is specifically NOT COVERED during the cross country move, as they are doing it themselves (renting a Uhaul).

I thought that this exact scenario was a reason to use USAA. According to my son, USAA made it sound like this is the industry standard.

My biggest concern is their stuff getting stolen during their overnights at hotels during the move. Seems to happen.

Anyone have insight?
 
My DS had USAA renters insurance (now changed to homeowners) and I was under the impression that his belongings were covered during transport via U-Haul during PCS.

USAA goes the extra mile of covering G.I. equipment issued to him as an officer too. (most other insurers don't offer that.)

The renter's policy should have some verbiage about PCS and/or relocation coverage of personal property.
 
Following up.

Found this verbiage on the USAA website:

USAA renters insurance offers worldwide coverage for personal property during a deployment or PCS even if your items are in storage. See note3

Note 3: For coverage to apply, property must be under a bill of lading or other professional shipping document. Breaking, marring and scratching are excluded.

Source:
 
So what I glean from the above as a former claim adjuster.....

Breaking, marring and scratching are excluded during PCS unless you hire a professional mover (bill of lading etc.)

If you move the stuff yourself, theft is covered (with a police report) but not breaking marring or scratching.

Disclaimer:
I'm no longer in the insurance industry....I'm not a lawyer. This is not legal or financial advice. Check with your insurer for review of coverage. Your mileage may vary.
 
I’ll share that with him. And hopefully he won’t need it anyhow.

But, he did specifically ask about if it’s covered during the move. Perhaps he didn’t include the correct verbiage (PCS’ing? Is that what he is doing?). Or wasn’t specific that he is on orders.

Thanks, appreciate you looking into it!! This forum ROCKS 💯!!
 
AROTC-dad said:
USAA renters insurance offers worldwide coverage for personal property during a deployment or PCS even if your items are in storage. See note3

Note 3: For coverage to apply, property must be under a bill of lading or other professional shipping document. Breaking, marring and scratching are excluded.
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AROTC-dad said:
So what I glean from the above as a former claim adjuster.....

Breaking, marring and scratching are excluded during PCS unless you hire a professional mover (bill of lading etc.)

If you move the stuff yourself, theft is covered (with a police report) but not breaking marring or scratching.
Click to expand...

I am not an expert at all, but I read that Note 3 as it has to be a professional mover, to basically exclude self-moves. AND even in a professional move, they are excluding breaking et al, since those should be covered by the professional movers' liability.

If that is the case, maybe make sure you have a great padlock, back up to a wall, and check on what kind of insurance the u-haul has if it itself is stolen?
 
Have moved multiple times cross country, according to my discussions with insurance, information above is correct with both USAA and have also used ALLSTATE and it was the same as USAA.

As long as you have active coverage. Sometimes people cancel a renter's insurance before starting a homeowners or something similar, the key being keep the insurance for coverage during transition.

It is import for a PCS move whether you are doing it yourself or take the military move you to continue your own insurance. Certainly can't put a claim if there is moving damage, but helpful to have the extra coverage in cases of natural disasters for ease of mind.
 
justme said:
I'm hoping my eventual Ensign will be taking a few pieces of "Distinguished Heirloom" furniture that I have been too lazy to throw out.
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Lol!
For his initial PCS to Armored BOLC (ABOLC), my DS brought his SUV, his skateboard and his VR video gaming setup.
 
DITY moves are great, but you have to know all the details to do the comparative analysis if it’s the right thing to do for a particular move.

A portion of money you get from the government for a DITY move is subject to income tax, which many do not realize. The 100% free HHG move provided by the government is a non-taxable benefit.

I think the new term for DITY is “Personally Procured Move.”


The government requires the carrier to supply insurance coverage during the packing, pick-up, delivery, re-assembly. They must carry away all packing materials after delivery if asked. They must carry all boxes to the designated room. They must unpack every box if asked at delivery site. They must provide all new packing materials and specialty boxes for china, glass, mirrors, framed art, etc., without limit. They must be able to handle grand pianos, wine cellars, big stuff. They moved a hot tub from Hawaii to CA for us. I never had any problem staying under the weight limit. Even if you exceed the weight limit, all the coverage/packing still applies, and the military member is charged a relative pittance for any overage. It’s a full-bells-and-whistles top -of-the-line move, something I didn’t appreciate the full $$$$ benefit until I left the service.

I had it down to a system at delivery (note my tagline 😁), with paper signs naming every room, inventory in hand, directing traffic at front door checking boxes in, insisting on every bed being assembled, every box being unpacked, all damage noted right then with head driver, photos taken, all packing materials taken away, before I signed off and released them. Then it was a hard push by me and DH if not deployed on master bedroom, bath, uniforms, home desk and basic kitchen set-up. Then other rooms in the next days. I’d also order pizza and sodas for the packers outbound and inbound, because I was pushing them for every ounce of benefit, not just a dump and go for boxes. Everything I did was the result of lessons learned as a JO.
 
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NJROTC-CC said:
How much stuff does a new Ensign have? If I were a new Ensign, I would have a sports car, a laptop and seabag.
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You're probably not aware of what uniforms an Ensign is expected to have nor how much space they take up.
 
NJROTC-CC said:
Ok, two sea bags
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good luck with that. I'd say more like 4 and a bonus of destroying some of the (expensive) officer uniforms that are not designed to be packed/handled in that manner.
 
justme said:
I am not an expert at all, but I read that Note 3 as it has to be a professional mover, to basically exclude self-moves. AND even in a professional move, they are excluding breaking et al, since those should be covered by the professional movers' liability.
Click to expand...
I agree with this interpretation. There doesn't seem to be much wiggle room in "For coverage to apply, property must be under a bill of lading or other professional shipping document." And that makes sense that they'd cover professionals but not 22 year old knuckleheads who don't know what they're doing.
 
Professional mover packs the laptop poorly and drops the box on the lift gate, all damage liability 100% theirs, document and submit claim. Owner or a buddy does it during a DITY move, I don’t think so.

Not quite a parallel story, but demonstrates coverage. A USNA sponsor mid of ours, at graduation, packed up all of his uniforms and related paraphernalia, shoes, sports gear, laptop, gaming box, personal items, etc., filled his Toyota Camry to the brim, visibly packing the back seat. Exhausted after Friday graduation, he parked the car on the street at an apartment complex in Prince George’s County, MD (hint: car theft capital of DC metro) at a classmate’s new short-term rental, and decided he was too tired to move anything inside. He flew off to Vegas Saturday morning with his girlfriend for some funtime, leaving car keys with classmate. Classmate went out to his own car Sunday morning, did not see the car. Called our sponsor son in Vegas to ask him if he had given keys/loaned car to anyone else. Car with all contents had been stolen, including all new summer white, dress and khaki uniforms, sword, new officer cover, laptop, most civilian clothes, all IT gear, personal papers, diploma, orders, all of it.

I had coached him to finally call USAA 2 weeks before graduation and get personal property coverage. USAA covered loss of car (it was found stripped and abandoned) and any car-related things and a rental car with his auto policy, and his personal property policy less deductible covered all other losses. They immediately deposited an interim check in his checking account to cover uniforms, ribbons, cover, shoes, etc., and basic civilian clothing items. He had to scramble to create an inventory, order all kinds of uniform stuff, deal with police report and adjusters, all while driving to Pensacola for flight school.
 
Not necessarily to the OP original question, but will add the professional movers the last few years with COVID have been horrendous. As CAPT MJ mentioned above, we have this down to a science, after 9 moves.

Unfortunately in recent years the "professional" movers have been more like amateurs with many young inexperienced workers and me explaining to them how it needs to be wrapped to protect it. My 9 year old and 12 year old boys packed boxes and furniture with more expertise than the supplied "professionals". Last summer, almost every room had major damage on at least 1 piece of furniture, the cost of doing business during COVID and the necessity of using storage with scheduling.

We typically have only had to submit a few claims over all the moves, but this last one was MAJOR! The moving company did pay up without a fight, to their defense. They are aware of the many issues these days. Just a word of caution, for those new to "professional" moves.

I'm looking forward to either a close easy dity move, or the return to business pre-COVID on the next PCS.
 
His situation is that he will be in Annapolis for a while first, and newly married with a wife and dog. They will be bare bones for sure, but there will be some stuff to move.

He followed up again and was told it’s not covered during the drive. Only is covered if done by professionals.

Thanks for the idea @StPaulDad about backing into a wall! Hadn’t thought of that.

I’m sure it’ll all be fine. This is one of those things where it isn’t a problem, unless it is. So weird, though, that stuff isn’t covered during the drive.
 
justdoit19 said:
His situation is that he will be in Annapolis for a while first, and newly married with a wife and dog. They will be bare bones for sure, but there will be some stuff to move.

He followed up again and was told it’s not covered during the drive. Only is covered if done by professionals.

Thanks for the idea @StPaulDad about backing into a wall! Hadn’t thought of that.

I’m sure it’ll all be fine. This is one of those things where it isn’t a problem, unless it is. So weird, though, that stuff isn’t covered during the drive.
Click to expand...
So just for clarification, he asked if his stuff was covered if it was stolen during a PCS move in a vehicle he is driving and he has a current renter's policy?

He is not looking to have coverage for damage during the move (ie scratches/dents, etc...) just if things got stolen, correct?

If the above is correct, then they have changed their policy. I was curious and looked to see if USAA has anything on their website (https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/advice-military-move-pcs) and came across this blurb

"Are my belongings covered during a military move?
During a military move, coverage for your items can vary based on who moves your property and how the loss occurs. Coverage during a full military move is normally provided by the military through the transportation service provider. Just make sure all your items are manifested and carefully follow all DoD required deadlines. During a DITY move, renters insurance may provide limited coverage.See note3 For instance, you might have coverage if your items are stolen from the moving truck but probably won't if you drop and break your $4,000 TV, unless it is covered through a VPP or technology endorsement. If you hire professional movers and they destroy your TV and it's on the bill of lading, it's probably covered through their insurance and then your own renters policy could serve as a backup. The bottom line is to understand your insurance policies to know when you have coverage and make a moving decision based on those risks."

That note 3 does say"For coverage to apply, property must be under a bill of lading or other professional shipping document. Breaking, marring and scratching are excluded." Which seems to be in agreement with what he is being told.

This is very weird because it once was covered under personal property of the renter's insurance for USAA no matter where it was located. We have since move away from USAA (for other reasons), but know last summer, our stuff was covered through ALLSTATE with the renter's insurance. We always do at least a partial dity move with our 2 cars filled to the brim and always ask the same questions.

Hopefully, he is able to sort this out before he leaves . Either way, he should check the reviews of locations of the hotels along the way and parks smartly in well lighted areas.
 
2025 hopeful said:
Not necessarily to the OP original question, but will add the professional movers the last few years with COVID have been horrendous. As CAPT MJ mentioned above, we have this down to a science, after 9 moves.

Unfortunately in recent years the "professional" movers have been more like amateurs with many young inexperienced workers and me explaining to them how it needs to be wrapped to protect it. My 9 year old and 12 year old boys packed boxes and furniture with more expertise than the supplied "professionals". Last summer, almost every room had major damage on at least 1 piece of furniture, the cost of doing business during COVID and the necessity of using storage with scheduling.

We typically have only had to submit a few claims over all the moves, but this last one was MAJOR! The moving company did pay up without a fight, to their defense. They are aware of the many issues these days. Just a word of caution, for those new to "professional" moves.

I'm looking forward to either a close easy dity move, or the return to business pre-COVID on the next PCS.
Click to expand...
My sympathies. Brought back memories of 22 glass framed pieces of art that cam in my shipment from Naples, Italy, to Long Beach, CA, via 6 months storage while I was in an in-transit school. 22 of 22 frame pack boxes had the ominous sound of tinkiling glass when picked up and delivered into house. Glass shards chipped and shredded the frames. Artwork pretty much okay. That was annoying. Full compensation for complete re-framing.
 
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