Looking for new ways to grow your moving business? Offering moving insurance isn’t just a great way to add a new revenue stream. It’s also the best way to protect your business and customers from some seriously painful financial risks.

But there are a few things you need to know before you dive in. 

For one, moving insurance is not the same as valuation coverage. And second, if you want to capture the full benefits moving insurance has to offer, you need to know exactly how it works and how to offer it.

Consider this your complete primer on why and how to offer moving insurance to your customers.

Moving insurance is the coverage offered by moving companies in partnership with a third-party moving insurance provider to safeguard the belongings of their customers during a move. It protects the insured customers against loss or damage incurred in exchange for a paid guarantee that the customer will be compensated based on the conditions stipulated in the agreement.

Types of moving insurance: what does it cover?

No matter how well you’ve trained your crew, accidents happen. Moving insurance gives you and your customers peace of mind knowing that the cost of lost or damaged items will be covered by your provider. 

But there are a number of different types of moving insurance you can offer and it’s important to know exactly how each one works and what makes them different from other types of insurance such as homeowners insurance or renters insurance.

Here’s a brief overview of the four main types of moving insurance and what each one covers.

Source: MovingInsurance.com

Valuation coverage is offered by moving companies, as part of their legal obligation required federally or by state. It safeguards your customers' belongings against damages due to events that are considered to be within the mover’s control. For example, if a mover drops an expensive set of glassware while unloading the truck, this would be covered by valuation.

Moving insurance, on the other hand, is provided by licensed insurance companies and covers loss or damage due to fire, weather disasters or other acts of God. For example, if a hurricane damages a customer's items during a move, the insurance company would cover it.

As a mover, valuation coverage as required by federal law, protects you for a set amount that you could be liable for in the event that a customer’s belongings are damaged during a move. But depending on your growth goals and the types of moves you offer, this amount might not be enough.

Here are the core differences to be aware of when comparing valuation coverage and moving insurance.

Your clients already trust you with their big move. Offering an insurance policy protects that experience, while helping you earn more revenue per move.

Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of offering moving insurance.

1 | Add a new revenue stream with little effort

You might be wondering exactly how much revenue you stand to gain by offering moving insurance. And the truth is: it varies.

There are three key levers that can help you increase revenue from moving insurance:

• Referral fees: This is where you pass a customer’s information directly to your insurance partner. When the lead becomes qualified (which may or may not mean purchasing a policy), your partner will issue a set “referral fee” for making the introduction.
• Connected online system: Some insurance providers offer to connect their online insurance systems directly to your moving company software. When a customer purchases insurance through the moving software, you receive a set fee or percentage as agreed with your insurance partner.
• Multiple insurance options: By offering a range of coverage options, you can personalize insurance policies to your customers’ needs, while organically expanding your upselling opportunities. For example, long-distance clients moving valuable items might want to increase their liability limits for added peace of mind, whereas local customers might want to only insure their most expensive items (electronics, bedroom sets, collectibles, or items of extraordinary value).

So how could this look in real terms? Here’s a quick example from our friends at Relocation lnsurance Group using the connected systems method:

For example, let's say you handle 2,000 moves a year and 25% of those include insurance policies at an average cost of $550. You earn 10% of the policy amount. That's potentially $27,500 a year generated, virtually automatically, by using SmartMoving’s new RIG insurance integration feature.

Of course, this is just one example. Your revenue from moving insurance will vary depending on the number of moves booked and the percentage of those that select insurance.

2 | Reduced risk for you and your customers

Moving insurance clearly offers an attractive upside for owners, but let’s not forget the substantial downside risk protection.

“A lot of people get lucky until they’re not,” says Jeff Harrington, owner at New Jersey based Harrington Movers. Jeff serves a customer base of high-end clients and with decades of experience under his belt, he’s pretty much seen it all. 

“Most moving companies have a $5,000 deductible. But if just one customer has a bad move, they can go straight to your insurance company, who does not want to go to court and will likely settle,” Jeff explains. “If your insurance is paying out over 30% of what you pay them per year, they’re going to drop you. Then when other insurance providers create their loss run reports and see your past claims, they’ll turn you down.”

This could even result in receiving a cease and desist from the state where your business is registered until you’re able to secure insurance. Yikes.

And you better believe your customers feel just as vulnerable.

A recent survey from Home Bay found that 86% of Americans have regrets about their move. And a previous survey from Move.org found that more than half of them felt scammed by their moving company. But it’s not all doom and gloom. 

The same Home Bay survey found that 73% said moving was still worth the hassle.

As the mover, your customer’s journey to a better quality of life is literally in your hands. It’s on you to make sure they feel confident, supported and never scammed.

The best moving companies go beyond basic coverage through valuations to offer high-quality moving insurance that guarantees a professional experience, even when things don’t go as planned.

3 | Great customer satisfaction

Moving is stressful to the point of tears for 46% of Americans, with 42% saying it caused fights with loved ones. And you know what can make a tough experience even harder? Broken stuff.

Home Bay’s survey also found that 51% of Americans who hired a moving company say items broke during the move, compared to 36% of those who moved themselves.

We’re guessing you don’t want your next move to end in tears. 

Beyond the revenue gains, moving insurance significantly reduces the stress of moving for your customers. By prioritizing a truly seamless and stress-free experience from door to door, it also helps you build the kind of reputation that will deliver positive reviews for years to come.

51% of Americans who hired a moving company say items broke during the move. — Source: Home Bay

With the right partner and processes in place, providing additional coverage through moving insurance is easier than you think.

We’ve boiled it down to five simple steps, with a few key action items in each.

1 | Find a reliable partner

With an insurance partner by your side, the $0.60 cents per pound required by released value protection coverage is no longer your problem.

In the event of a claim, all you need to do is submit the paperwork and let your insurance provider take it from there. The right partner will take over completely, handling the claim and paying out the cash settlement and reimbursement so you can get back to servicing your customers.

Here are some of the key areas to consider when choosing an insurance partner:

• Experience partner: Experience matters. Look for an insurance partner with 20+ years of experience in the relocation industry and is licensed in all 50 states.
  
• Certifications: Depending on the types of moves you offer, look for an insurance partner certified to work in all 50 states, or even internationally if needed.
• Online claims submission: Look for a partner that makes it easy for you and your customers to submit claims online via a dedicated portal or website.
• Customer support: Make sure you can hand the customer directly to your insurance provider to handle claims and guide them through the process with zero back and forth required of you and your team.

Customers should be paid quickly, ideally within 30 days, with full support and transparent communication along the way.

Some insurance partners may even be open to collaborating directly on goodwill gestures for important clients, or to keep you in the loop on specific claims. The key is to find a reliable and experienced partner who knows how to communicate with customers.

2 | Build it into your scripts and marketing material

Don’t make the mistake of going through all the steps of securing the right partner only to lose steam and forget to market your new insurance offering.

Once you know where to look, there are several key places to promote your moving insurance policy:

• Add a dedicated page on your website
• Add it to your sales scripts
• Include a flier in your moving paperwork
• Add it to your intake process
• Create a separate landing page
• Post an article and link on your website
• Post on social media
• Add an online portal to your CRM

If you’re already using moving software to streamline your estimates and customer intake process, customers can easily view and purchase policies as a seamless and natural part of your booking process.

3 | Train and incentivize your team

Like your customers, your team members probably don’t know the difference between valuation and insurance, much less the different coverage terms of each type of insurance on offer.

To maximize the full revenue potential of moving insurance, treat it with the same attention you give your customer reviews and referrals.

• Train your team in the different moving insurance options available, including a clear breakdown of their options (which you may already have in your marketing material or paperwork flier).
• Update your scripts and templates in your moving software and create automated texts, emails, and task reminders to make sure your team knows how and when to offer insurance.
• Create incentives with clearly defined bonuses for moving insurance upsells.

Helping a customer secure moving insurance is usually the final step before the big move, typically five to seven days prior.

If you’ve already centralized your sales in an all-in-one moving software, you’ll be able to set the right automated emails and reminders, and track your entire client communication history in one place to help keep your team accountable.

4 | Update your intake forms

One of the biggest benefits of offering moving insurance through a third-party is the time you’ll save on boring, non-needle-moving tasks like paperwork.

For a fully automated insurance process, start by updating your standard operating procedures (SOPs) to include steps for collecting the following information:

• Bill of lading
• Inventory
• Warehouse receipts

Your insurance provider may require additional documentation, so be sure to check their requirements before updating your intake forms and client records.

If you’re using moving software, you’ll already have these details organized in one place. In just a couple of clicks, you can send all the right paperwork straight to your insurance partner.

5 | Build a strong internal process

So how much can you really earn selling insurance? The experts at Relocation Insurance Group estimate that you could earn $27,500 in annual revenue from 500 insurance policies a year.

If you do 2,000 moves per year, hitting that figure depends on your ability to convert 25% of your booked moves. And like most things in this business, that comes down to the strength of your systems and processes.

With a fully-automated solution, including tools like SmartMoving’s Job Finalization Wizard, you can automatically walk your team members through the experience of offering Innovating the Moving Company Software Industry with SmartMoving 2.0urance to customers. They’ll know exactly what to say and when to say it.

For a more accurate estimate, plug your own numbers into the Moving Insurance Revenue Calculator and get a better idea of what's possible.

With the right partner, training material, scripts and SOPs, you’ll have everything you need to create an airtight internal process for capturing the full potential of moving insurance.

And with the right tools and automations, it’s easy to repeat the process for more revenue with every move.

At SmartMoving, we’re proud to partner with the experienced experts at Relocation Insurance Group (RIG) to offer first-of-its-kind moving insurance as part of the booking process in SmartMoving. Now it’s easier than ever to add a new revenue stream and protect your business and customers. Reach out to our team today to learn more about how to get started with moving insurance.