We were recently contacted by the Better Business Bureau in regards to our position on charging insurance deductibles for claims caused by movers.

The  British Columbia Motor Carrier Commission  (BC MCC) issued a memo many years ago to moving companies of British Columbia. In that memo they stated that movers cannot charge an insurance deductible because this was something that only a licensed insurance company can do.

In our opinion if a mover damages or destroys something during the moving process, then provided that the consumer has declared a value for insurance purposes and has paid an administration fee for this declared value on their goods; and provided that the mover was negligible, the mover should either repair or replace the damaged item; depending of course on the type of coverage the consumer has. This process should not involve an insurance deductible fee.

Should movers be charging insurance deductibles? According to the BC MCC they should not.

Make sure you review your movers contract and make sure they do not have a clause with a fee for an insurance claim deductible.

For the record, Great Canadian Van Lines does have an insurance deductible fee clause in our contract.