Here at Moving Insider, we’ve been taking some time to cover the different protection options you have when dealing with rental moving equipment or self-storage units. As we start to wrap up, I want to cover a topic that we get a lot of questions about. People who are moving know that they need some sort of coverage, but often times, they aren’t sure how much coverage they really need.
Most DIY movers are doing it themselves because they are on a budget — and when budgeting, it may seem like a good idea to cut costs on things that don’t provide immediate or physical use, like a coverage plan. But in the long run, that may prove to be a choice that adds costs to the bottom line, instead of removing them.
A benchmark for the entire industry, SafeMove® by U-Haul, comes with two levels of protection, standard SafeMove® and SafeMove Plus®. The one main difference is liability.
SafeMove®
The Standard SafeMove® Plan has 4 main functions. It covers the U-Haul rental truck and everything inside it.
- Medical/Life Coverage — Covers the driver and passengers of the U-Haul for up to $1,000 of medical bills in the case of an accident. Provides driver and passenger with life coverage valued up to $25,000 and $15,000 respectively.
- Cargo Coverage — Covers your goods from collision, fire, windstorm and overturn of the rental truck. $25,000 worth of coverage on a One-Way rental, and $15,000 on an In-Town rental.
- Damage Waiver — Frees you of most “accidental damage” to the rental truck, including dents, paint chips and dings. The damage waiver does not cover overhead collisions (such as bridges or low hanging roofs.)
- Towed Property Coverage (SafeTow®) — Protects your personal car while being towed on a U-Haul towing device or personal property in a trailer.
SafeMove Plus®
SafeMove Plus® covers all of the above, while also providing Supplemental Liability Insurance. Standard SafeMove® does not cover property outside of that owned by the renter and U-Haul. SafeMove Plus® will cover damage to others and their property.
- $1,000,000 for property, bodily injury or lawsuits brought forward by 3rd parties not involved with the rental (eg. someone who has been hit)
- No increased premiums on your personal insurance plan
- No out of pocket fees
- Overhead Collision Damage
So in short, SafeMove Plus® offers everything SafeMove® offers with the addition of liability coverage. This is important if your personal insurance does not cover rental trucks, which we discovered after lots of research that most do not — this goes the same for credit cards.
Be sure to check with your insurance agent or company to make sure you are covered if you choose to opt-out or only take the standard protection.
Have you ever been in an accident and used SafeMove® or SafeMove Plus®? What was your experience with it? Did you opt-out and wish you hadn’t? Let us know in the comments below.
Related Posts