Removal Insurance (Umzugsversicherung)
Removal insurance covers transport and breakage damage to household contents and furniture caused by the moving company or third parties during a residential or office relocation.
Comparison profile
- Trigger
- All risks
- Insured interest
- Household contents and furniture in transit during a residential or office relocation, covering physical damage from loading to unloading and temporary storage.
- Rating basis
- Declared value of household contents / sum insured, Distance and mode of transport, Professional mover vs self-managed move, Number and value of particularly fragile or valuable items
- Typical limits
- Sum insured based on the declared value of the household contents being moved, often with sublimits for individually listed high-value items.
- Typical deductibles
- Modest per-occurrence deductible or none, depending on tariff and item value.
- Target segments
- Private individuals, Tenants and homeowners, Small office relocations
Insured events
- Breakage and scratch damage during loading/unloading
- Water damage in transit
- Damage from dropping or collision
- Loss of items during the move
- Damage during temporary storage
Key exclusions
- War and nuclear energy
- Wear and tear and pre-existing damage
- Losses recoverable under the moving company's carrier liability
- Items not properly packed by the policyholder (self-managed moves)
- Consequential loss unrelated to the physical damage event
Concept
Removal insurance covers physical damage to household contents and furniture that occurs during loading, transport, unloading, or temporary storage in the course of a residential or office relocation — in particular breakage, scratch, and water damage, as well as the loss of items. It supplements standard household contents insurance, whose coverage during a move is often limited or subject to special conditions.
Scope of Coverage
Depending on its structure, removal insurance covers losses regardless of whether the move is carried out by a professional moving company or handled independently; when a commercial moving company is engaged, its own carrier liability should also be considered, although its liability limits are often capped and do not fully cover all valuable items.
Relevance for Insurance Practice
Since valuable or particularly fragile items (artwork, antiques, electronics) face an elevated risk of damage during a move, taking out a specific, value-declared supplementary coverage beyond standard removal insurance is often advisable for such items.
Comparison and delineation
Removal insurance closes two related gaps: the limited or conditional cover that standard household contents insurance provides during a move, and the capped, fault-based carrier liability of a commercial moving company, which rarely compensates the full value of valuable or fragile items. Where a professional mover is engaged, its statutory carrier liability responds first but only up to modest per-item limits and only for losses it caused; removal insurance is broader, typically all-risks in structure, and applies regardless of whether the move is self-managed or professionally handled. For especially valuable or fragile items, a dedicated value-declared extension beyond the standard removal policy is often advisable.