Released value protection pays 60 cents per pound per article and costs you nothing. Full value protection makes the mover liable for repairing, replacing or settling in cash on a damaged item, and it carries a charge. On an interstate move, federal rules require your mover to offer both.
We are Daymakers Moving & Storage, a Bloomington moving company that has written these terms into estimates since 2015. Read the valuation line before you sign. The default is a real decision with a real number behind it.
What Released Value Protection Actually Pays
The math is fixed and it is not generous, since a mover’s liability caps at 60 cents per pound, calculated per article. That means per damaged item rather than across the whole shipment. A 25-pound television pays out 15 dollars regardless of what it cost. A 10-pound stereo component worth a thousand dollars pays 6 dollars. That is the federal minimum, and it is the figure the FMCSA uses in its own consumer guidance.
The appeal is that it costs nothing, which is why people end up on it without deciding to. It can be reasonable for a short local move of sturdy, replaceable items, where the realistic worst case is a scuffed dresser. It becomes a poor choice the moment the truck carries anything whose replacement cost is out of proportion to its weight. Most households contain several of those.
What Full Value Protection Covers Instead
Full value protection changes the mover’s obligation rather than raising a cap. Say an article is lost, destroyed or damaged in the mover’s custody. The mover will repair it, replace it with something comparable, or make a cash settlement. The settlement covers the repair or the current market replacement value. Which of those three happens is the mover’s choice rather than yours, and that is worth knowing before a claim.
Federal rules set a floor on how the shipment is valued. The minimum declared value is at least 6 dollars per pound times the weight of your shipment. A 5,000-pound household therefore carries a declared value of at least 30,000 dollars. Plans commonly carry a deductible, and the deductible you pick affects what the coverage costs. Ask for the written details of the plan rather than a verbal summary.
Released value protection | Full value protection | |
Cost to you | None | An added charge, varies by mover and deductible |
What you are paid | 60 cents per pound, per article | Repair, comparable replacement or cash settlement |
Minimum shipment valuation | Not applicable | At least 6 dollars per pound of shipment weight |
Items over 100 dollars per pound | Same 60-cent cap applies | Covered only if listed in writing beforehand |
Which One Applies If You Sign Nothing
This is the part that catches people. On an interstate move, full value protection is the default. Your shipment travels at that level unless you waive it in writing and accept released value instead. Signing nothing does not leave you unprotected, and signing the waiver without reading it is what leaves you on 60 cents per pound.
The document to find is the valuation statement, and it sits with the bill of lading rather than in a separate envelope. Look for the line where you either accept full value protection or waive it. On an interstate job it travels with the same paperwork as weight tickets on an interstate move. If a company hands you a stack and points at signature spots without naming that line, slow down. Ask what you are agreeing to. A mover is required to explain your valuation options and their cost.
Why This Is Not Insurance
Valuation and insurance are two different products, and the word insurance causes most of the confusion. Valuation is a level of carrier liability written into your moving contract. The mover settles it under the terms printed on your own paperwork, and transportation rules govern the whole arrangement. Insurance is a policy bought from an insurance company, and an insurer settles it under its own deductibles, limits and exclusions.
Some movers will also offer to sell or arrange separate third-party liability insurance. What matters before you buy is how the two stack. Say you hold that coverage on a shipment released at the 60-cent minimum. The mover remains liable only up to that minimum, and the balance is recovered from the insurer. That is two claims against two parties, not one.
High Value Items Have Their Own Rule
Federal rules define an article of extraordinary value as anything worth more than 100 dollars per pound. Jewelry, silverware, china, furs, antiques, oriental rugs and computer software are the named examples. The category catches more of a normal household than people assume. A mover may limit liability on those articles unless you list them on the shipping documents before the move.
Protection here depends on an inventory you write, not on the coverage you chose. Listing a ring or a rug on the high-value inventory brings it inside full value protection. Skipping that step leaves it outside, whatever you paid. Items in that category also benefit from fragile and high-value packing done by the crew, since many plans treat owner-packed boxes differently.
What Changes on a Move Inside Minnesota
The 60-cent figure is the same, but the authority behind it is not. Moves that begin and end inside Minnesota fall under state rules administered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Minnesota sets the mover’s required minimum liability at 60 cents per pound per article. The state also requires movers to explain your valuation options and any cost involved before the job is booked.
Minnesota adds something useful on top of that. Movers operating in the state must register with MnDOT and carry liability and cargo insurance on file. They must also publish their rates and charges in a tariff. That tariff is public, so the rates behind an intrastate estimate can be checked by anyone who asks, and few people know to ask.
What to Ask Before You Sign
Four questions settle this quickly, and the answers tell you a great deal about the company. Which valuation level is my shipment traveling under. What does the full value option cost on my inventory. What is the deductible, and can I choose a different one. Which of my items are worth more than 100 dollars per pound, and where do I list them. A mover who answers all four without hesitating has had the conversation many times.
Then read the estimate and the valuation statement together rather than separately. The numbers only make sense side by side. A practical look at hiring a moving and storage company shows where that line sits in the wider paperwork. The time to understand what you are owed is before the truck is loaded, not after a box comes off it in pieces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is moving insurance required by law?
How much does full value protection cost?
Does valuation cover boxes I packed myself?
What happens to high value items under released value?
Contact Us About Valuation on Your Move
Valuation is easier to decide once someone has seen what is going on the truck. That is why we walk the job first in Bloomington, MN. Call our Bloomington office at (651) 461-1951 and we will set up an in-person or live video walkthrough. You can also come by 8400 Normandale Lake Blvd #920, Bloomington, MN 55437. We are open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, Saturday from 8 am to noon, and Sunday by appointment.
Related Topics:
