What Is Your Standard Liability Coverage?

Every move we do comes with standard liability coverage, called Released Value Protection, included at no extra cost. It is the baseline level of protection required of every licensed mover by the Illinois Commerce Commission. Here is exactly what it covers, how the number is figured, and when you might want more.

How the coverage is calculated

Standard coverage is based on the weight of an item, not on what it is worth. The rate is set at sixty cents per pound, per article. In other words, if something is lost or damaged, our liability comes to $0.60 for every pound that item weighs.

An example makes it concrete. Say a 50-pound television is damaged. Under standard coverage, the maximum compensation would be $30 (50 pounds times $0.60), and that figure holds whether the TV cost $500 or $1,500. The payout follows the weight, not the price tag.

That is the single most important thing to understand about standard coverage: it is a weight formula, not a value formula.

How you get it, and what it costs

Nothing, and nothing. This protection is automatically included on every move at no charge, and the coverage level you are choosing is acknowledged when you sign your bill of lading before the work begins. There is no separate form to chase down. It is simply the floor of protection that comes with hiring a licensed, regulated mover.

The reason this baseline exists is to keep the cost of a standard move affordable. Building full replacement coverage into every job would raise the price for everyone, including the many people moving mostly ordinary household goods. So the state sets this weight-based minimum as the included default, and leaves the choice to upgrade up to you.

Where standard coverage falls short

Because it pays by weight, standard coverage works out fine for heavy, lower-value items and poorly for light, expensive ones. A cast-iron table might be well covered at sixty cents a pound. A laptop, a flat-screen, or a small piece of fine art almost certainly is not, since they weigh little and cost a lot, which is the worst possible combination for a weight-based formula.

So if your home includes electronics, antiques, jewelry, or art, standard coverage alone is probably not the protection you want on those pieces.

When to consider more

For anything light-but-valuable, or simply for broader peace of mind, we offer Full Value Protection for an additional fee. Instead of a flat per-pound figure, it bases our responsibility on the actual value of your items, repair or replacement rather than weight. It is the level most people choose when they are moving things that would genuinely hurt to lose.

We are glad to walk you through both options and help you land on the right one for what you are actually moving. Point out your high-value pieces during the estimate and we will make a clear recommendation.

Call (773) 275-4100 or email info@wcmoving.com to talk through your coverage, or read more in our FAQ. Whatever level you choose, you will know exactly where you stand before we load the first box.