Short answer: probably less than you think. Standard home insurance during a move usually stops covering your belongings the moment they leave your front door, unless your policy specifically names “goods in transit” or “removals cover” as an add-on. Most people find out the gap exists only after something’s gone wrong – a smashed mirror, a scratched dining table, a box that never turns up.
Moving house insurance isn’t one single product. It’s actually three separate layers that need to line up on the day:
Your existing contents policy – covers your stuff at your current address, and sometimes at the new one, but rarely in the van.
The removals company’s insurance – goods-in-transit and public liability cover, which is what actually protects your things between houses.
Unoccupied property cover – the bit everyone forgets, for the days your old home sits empty before completion or your new one sits empty before you move in.
Get all three sorted before moving day and you’re covered end to end. Miss one, and you’re the one picking up the bill.
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What standard UK home insurance actually covers during a move
Your buildings and contents insurance is written around a fixed address. It protects the structure and belongings at that address, against fire, flood, theft, storm damage and so on. The second your sofa is on a lorry heading down the M62, it’s arguably no longer “at” that address – and that’s exactly the grey area insurers exploit.
Some contents policies do include a “temporary removal of contents” clause, often capped at a fairly modest limit – commonly somewhere between £500 and £2,500 – and usually only if a professional removals company handles the move. Do it yourself in a hired van, and that clause is often void from the outset. As Citizens Advice notes, cover for belongings taken out of the home – including during a move – is not automatic and depends entirely on the wording of your specific policy, so it’s worth reading the small print rather than assuming.
Typical exclusions we see people get caught out by:
DIY and “man with a van” moves – many insurers only extend cover if a professional firm carried out the packing and transport.
Items you packed yourself – fragile or valuable items are sometimes only covered if a professional packed them, not you.
Cash, jewellery and high-value items – usually capped at low single-item limits, often £1,000–£1,500 regardless of the overall contents limit.
Damage in transit generally – plenty of standard policies simply don’t mention it at all, meaning there’s no cover, not even a small one.
The safest approach is a phone call. Ring your insurer before you book anyone, ask directly: “Does my policy cover goods in transit during a house move, and is there a limit?” Get the answer in writing or note the date and the call reference.
The “unoccupied property” trap
This is the one that catches out even careful movers. Once a home is left empty – no one sleeping there overnight – most UK home insurance policies quietly downgrade their own cover after a set number of consecutive days empty, typically 30 days, though a handful stretch to 60.
Beyond that limit, standard policies commonly exclude claims for:
Theft (there’s no one there to notice or stop it)
Escape of water, including burst pipes
Malicious damage and vandalism
This matters more than people realise during a move, because completion dates slip, chains collapse, and a “quick sale” can easily leave a property standing empty for weeks either side of the move. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has been clear that insurers generally expect policyholders to notify them proactively if a property is going to be unoccupied beyond the standard limit – failing to do so is one of the most common reasons a claim gets refused after a move goes wrong. If your old or new home is going to sit empty for more than a few weeks, ask your insurer about extending cover or taking out a short specialist unoccupied-property policy – they’re not expensive for a few weeks and they close a real gap.
What removals company insurance covers instead
This is where the real protection for your move day usually sits. A properly insured UK removals firm carries two distinct types of cover, and it’s worth knowing the difference:
Goods-in-transit (GIT) insurance This covers your belongings while they’re being loaded, carried and unloaded – protecting against loss, theft or accidental damage during the physical move itself. Most reputable firms carry cover well into six or seven figures across their fleet, though what matters for you is the per-item or per-load limit stated on your specific booking, not the headline figure the company advertises.
Public liability insurance This covers damage the movers cause to your property itself – a scraped wall, a cracked door frame, a dented skirting board – rather than to the goods being carried. It also covers injury to anyone on site during the move, including the crew.
Cover is usually written on an indemnity basis, meaning payouts reflect the item’s current value after wear and tear, not what you originally paid for it. If you want “new for old” replacement, that’s typically a separate, paid-for upgrade called Full Value Protection, and it’s worth asking about it directly if you’re moving anything genuinely expensive.
Most contracts also include an excess – commonly £50 to £100 – meaning the first slice of any claim comes out of your own pocket regardless of fault.
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How to check a mover’s insurance certificate before booking
Don’t take “we’re fully insured” on trust. Ask for the actual certificate and check three things:
The policy is current – check the expiry date, not just the issue date.
The cover matches the job – a certificate for a small van-and-man operation won’t reflect the same limits as a firm handling a full four-bedroom house.
The named insured matches the company you’re booking – a suspiciously large number of “certificates” shown to customers actually belong to a subcontractor, not the firm taking your payment.
Trade body membership is a genuinely useful shortcut here. Firms accredited by the British Association of Removers (BAR) must meet minimum standards for both goods-in-transit and public liability insurance, and BAR membership also brings an Advance Payment Guarantee that protects your deposit if a firm collapses before moving day. It’s one of the fastest ways to sort the properly set-up operators from the ones cutting corners.
If you’re still narrowing down who to book, our guide on choosing a removals company that actually cares walks through the exact questions to ask beyond just price – insurance certificates being top of that list. It’s worth doing this vetting properly before you commit a deposit, not after.
What to do if items are damaged during your move
Mistakes happen even with the best crews – it’s how a company handles the aftermath that tells you whether they’re any good. If something arrives broken or goes missing:
Note it on the day, in writing. Most goods-in-transit policies expect damage to be reported either on the delivery paperwork itself or within a short window afterwards – commonly 24 to 48 hours, sometimes up to 3 days depending on the insurer. Leaving it a week weakens your claim significantly.
Photograph everything before you move it further. Shoot the damage, the packaging it arrived in, and the item’s original position if you can. Timestamped photos are the single strongest piece of evidence in any dispute.
Don’t throw anything away. Keep the broken item and its packaging until the claim is resolved – insurers may want to inspect it.
Submit a written claim promptly. Most removals firms want notification within 7 days and a full written claim within a set period after that, often between 14 and 30 days – check your contract terms rather than assuming.
Know your statutory backstop. Under UK consumer law, you generally have up to 6 years (5 in Scotland) to bring a claim for breach of contract, but your strongest right to a straightforward refund or repair sits in the first 30 days after the fact, so don’t sit on it. Full detail on these timeframes is set out in the government’s consumer protection guidance.
Escalate if you’re stuck. If a company disputes a legitimate claim, Citizens Advice can help you put together a formal complaint, and BAR members are also subject to an independent dispute resolution scheme.
How much cover do you actually need for an average UK house move?
There’s no single number – it depends entirely on what you own – but here’s a sensible way to work it out rather than guessing:
Walk through room by room and put a realistic replacement value on the contents of each – not what you paid, what it would cost to buy again today.
Add up big-ticket items separately – sofas, white goods, TVs, beds – since these are what actually move the needle on total value.
Flag anything genuinely high-value – art, instruments, antiques, designer items – because these often sit outside standard per-item limits and need declaring separately, sometimes with their own valuation.
Round up, not down. Underestimating the total value is one of the most common reasons a payout ends up lower than expected – most goods-in-transit policies pay out proportionally if the declared value was understated.
For context, a typical three-bedroom UK house move often carries a total contents replacement value somewhere in the £30,000–£60,000 range once you actually total up furniture, appliances, electronics and everything in the loft. That’s usually well within a reputable firm’s standard goods-in-transit limits – but it’s exactly why declaring an honest total value at the quote stage matters more than people assume.
If you’re moving further afield – say relocating to removals in Manchester from the South East, or anywhere involving a long-distance leg – ask specifically whether cover extends for the full journey duration, including any overnight storage if the move spans more than one day.
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Checklist: sorting insurance before moving day
Run through this in the two weeks before your move, not the night before:
Call your current home insurer and ask directly whether goods-in-transit or temporary removal cover applies, and what the limit is.
Confirm your new address is added to your policy from the day you get keys, not the day you move in.
Check unoccupied-property terms on both properties if either will sit empty more than a couple of weeks either side of the move.
Request the removals firm’s insurance certificate and check the expiry date and named insured.
Confirm the per-item and per-load limits on the goods-in-transit policy, and ask about excess.
Declare high-value items honestly at the quote stage – don’t round down to save on premium.
Ask about Full Value Protection if you want new-for-old cover on anything expensive.
Photograph valuable and fragile items before the crew arrives, for your own records.
Keep the mover’s written terms on how to report and claim for damage, and the reporting deadline.
Save this alongside your wider moving checklist – insurance is one line item among many, and our planning your move guide covers the rest of the pre-move tasks in order.
If you’re moving a business rather than a home, the same logic applies but the numbers and risks shift – office equipment, servers and archived documents carry different liability considerations, which is worth reading up on if you’re arranging office removals in London or anywhere else with a commercial fit-out involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my home insurance automatically cover a house move?
No. Most standard contents policies are written for a fixed address and don’t automatically extend to goods in transit. Some include a temporary removal clause with a capped limit, usually only when a professional removals company handles the move – but you need to check your specific policy wording, since plenty of standard policies say nothing about transit at all.
Do I need separate insurance if I hire a removals company?
Usually not extra insurance you pay for yourself – a properly insured removals firm should already carry goods-in-transit and public liability cover as standard. What you need to do is check the certificate, confirm the limits suit the value of your belongings, and ask whether you should declare any high-value items separately.
What happens if my old house is empty before completion?
Once a property has been unoccupied for around 30 consecutive days, most standard home insurance policies exclude claims for theft, escape of water and malicious damage. If your move involves either property sitting empty for several weeks, contact your insurer and ask about extending cover or a short-term unoccupied property policy.
How long do I have to claim if the movers damage something?
Report it the same day if possible, ideally in writing on the delivery paperwork. Most removals firms expect formal notification within a few days – commonly 24 to 48 hours for the initial report – and a full written claim within a couple of weeks after. Beyond the contractual terms, UK consumer law gives you up to six years to pursue a breach-of-contract claim, but your strongest, simplest remedies apply within the first 30 days.
Is a DIY move covered by my home insurance?
Often not. Many insurers only extend temporary removal cover when a professional company carries out the move, meaning a hired van and friends helping out may leave you with no cover at all if something’s damaged or goes missing en route.
What’s the difference between goods-in-transit and public liability insurance?
Goods-in-transit covers your belongings while they’re being moved – loss, theft or accidental damage. Public liability covers damage the movers cause to the property itself, like a scuffed wall or door frame, plus injury to anyone present during the move.
Cover gaps are far less likely when the mover carries proper insurance in the first place. EcoGreen Movers is fully insured on every job and will send the certificate before you book, not after you have asked twice.
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