Moving company and insurance: who pays if something breaks?

STEP BY STEP

How to check your cover

1. 01

   Check the agreement and terms before the move

   Ask for a written agreement showing what is included: addresses, packing, any storage, price and timing. Ask whether the company uses Bohag 2010. Under those terms, you are to receive a copy of the agreement before the job begins.

   Also check that the company holds a transport permit from the Swedish Transport Agency. The Swedish Consumer Agency points out that without one, the company's insurance may not apply if something happens, such as a traffic accident. Bohag 2010 states that the company ought to hold carrier's liability insurance covering the terms. Ask the company which insurance it holds.

   [2][3]
2. 02

   List valuable and fragile items

   Bohag 2010 expects you to provide the information that matters for the move, including particularly valuable or fragile items. Particularly valuable there means an item that can be assumed to be worth more than half a price base amount. Fragile includes glass, porcelain, older items and electronics, for example. If you have made a list, the company is to check against it when the job starts and when it is completed.

   Cash, securities, jewellery and similar valuables are not part of the job unless otherwise agreed. The Swedish Consumer Agency describes photographing or filming your belongings before the company collects them. The images can show their condition before the move if you later need to complain.

   [3][2]
3. 03

   Inspect your belongings and complain in writing

   Bohag 2010 says you ought to inspect your belongings and check for transport damage as soon as possible after the move is finished. Keep damaged items and packaging, or photograph them. According to the Swedish Consumer Agency, you need to be able to show that the moving company caused the damage in order to make a claim.

   Contact the company in writing, by email for example, describing the damage and what you are claiming. Attach photographs. Under Bohag 2010, you must complain within a reasonable time after you noticed or ought to have noticed the damage, and no later than three years after the job ended. The three-year limit does not replace the reasonable-time requirement.

   [3][1]
4. 04

   Read what the company's compensation covers

   Under Bohag 2010, the company is liable for damage to or loss of your belongings unless it shows that the event was due to something beyond its control. The company is also liable for damage to other property during the job, in your home for example, unless it shows that the damage was not caused by its negligence. Compensation is based on the item's market value when the damage occurred.

   Compensation is capped at 20 price base amounts per household and does not cover sentimental value or indirect loss. It can be reduced or lost if the damage results from your own packing, incorrect information or sensitive electronics damaged despite professional handling. Read your agreement to see which terms apply if the company does not use Bohag 2010.

   [3][1]