Should you double-up on insurance when you ship?

There are any number of things that can go wrong when you ship a car. Bad weather, detours, damaged roads – a huge number of things can stand in the way of your vehicle getting to its destination unharmed.  That’s why we assure our customers that we carry insurance. But if you’re super-nervous, you might want to look into purchasing shipping insurance.

 

Shipping insurance is in effect during the time of shipment only. It takes into account the value of the vehicle, the distance being traveled, and weather conditions that the shipper expects to encounter.

 

You already know that protecting your car while you’re driving it is required by law. Most  drivers in the United States carry comprehensive driver’s insurance in addition to liability insurance, to make sure they’re covered no matter what happens, but most of us forget, or don’t know, to take advantage of insurance for the crucial hours when a car changes hands.

 

That’s understandable: how often do you ship a car, really? There are only a few things to remember, and the first one is to take pictures of the car when it changes hands. If it suffers any damage during the shipping process, you’ll want to be able to prove the car was clean and undamaged before it left your possession. (You’ll also have your Bill of Lading from the shipper to back up your photos.)

 

Before you send your vehicle, check with your insurance provider and see if they will cover accidental damage when your car is shipped. (Be aware that if your shipper carries this insurance too, then only one of the insurance companies is likely to pay compensation.)

 

Make sure the car is empty of anything valuable or suspicious looking, or that might cause damage in transit. If something left in the car moves around to cause damage, or raises questions about why the car was shipped, it’s your responsibility.

 

DIY’s transporters will make an assessment of your car when you drop it off (they’ll give you a Bill of Lading that documents its condition), and again when it arrives at its final destination. This is the best way to ensure you’ll be protected if there is need for a claim.

 

If you won’t be there to take the delivery, and you’ve designated a neighbor or a friend to do so, make sure they’ll know to look over the car, and provide them with copies of all the paperwork you have should something go wrong. Be sure to let your designated pick-up person know what condition to expect it in, and ask them to inspect and document the car’s condition on arrival, in case any damage has taken place during shipping. Check this.

 

Chances are good your vehicle will come back to you in the same condition in which you dropped it off.  But if you are faced with placing a claim, don’t panic. DIY Transport and our drivers are insured against issues like this, and if you purchsed shipping insurance your agent is familiar with the routine, so you should be able to recover any losses quickly.