Contents Insurance When Moving Home: What to Do Before, During and After

Do I need to tell my contents insurer that I’m moving?

Yes. Tell your insurer in good time, usually before or shortly after moving day. Your new address can change your premium (a different region or burglary risk), and a bigger or smaller home often changes the right sum insured too. Many policies cover your belongings at both addresses for a transition period — how long is set out in your policy wording.

Does contents insurance cover damage in transit?

Not automatically. Many contents policies cover fire, water, burglary and natural hazards — but not necessarily the mirror that cracked in the van. Before you move, check:

• whether your policy includes transit or removal damage,
• how far a removal company is liable (often limited, for example by weight or up to a cap),
• whether separate transit cover is worth it for valuable or fragile items,
• which deadlines apply: damage usually has to be reported very soon after delivery.

If friends are helping you carry, the situation is even less clear. When in doubt, ask your insurer beforehand.

Before the move: make a home inventory

The most important step happens before the first box is packed. An inventory helps twice: afterwards you know whether anything is missing, and if something is damaged you can show what condition it was in before.

• Go room by room and photograph larger and valuable items, ideally from several sides.
• Note brand, model and serial number for electronics.
• Keep receipts and warranty cards with each item instead of in a folder you’ll never find.
• Photograph existing damage, such as scratches on furniture, so it isn’t mistaken for transit damage.

During the move: number and assign every box

Give each box a number and a destination room, and record what’s inside. It sounds pedantic, but it saves hours when unpacking and makes a missing box obvious immediately. Carry valuables, documents and your laptop yourself rather than loading them into the van.

After the move: check, report, adjust your cover

• Check straight away: unpack fragile and expensive items first and inspect them for damage.
• Report damage on time: to the removal company and, where relevant, your insurer — with photos.
• Review your sum insured: new furniture, a bigger home or an extra storage room change what your contents are worth. A move is the best moment to recalculate.
• Security at the new place: ask whether your insurer has requirements for locks or windows.

How Vavaro helps when you move

In Vavaro you create rooms and, inside them, containers such as boxes, drawers or shelves. So for every moving box you can see which items are in it, and after the move you drag them into their new room. Photos, receipts and warranty documents sit right on the item, and the app works offline — handy in a new flat where the internet isn’t connected yet. With multiple properties on Pro, you can keep the old and new home side by side.