COI
1. What is a certificate of insurance for moving and do you need it?
If you and your family are planning to move in a new apartment or a new building, it’s likely for the property owners to ask you for a Certificate of Insurance (COI) from your moving company while you’re in the process of finalizing your local move or even a NYC move. Most building and property management in both New York and most areas require these COIs to ensure that the moving company you’re hiring is insured to handle all potential damages that may happen during moving activities. This also ensures that the building management won’t be held liable for anything that happens inside their property while your things are getting moved to your new unit.
In order to avoid any hassle, you’ll want to make sure that your moving company possesses such a certificate even before hiring them.
Unfortunately, this is also because moving companies who can’t show this certificate won’t have their teams allowed in the premises of requesting buildings. In order to avoid ruining months of planning your move, this is something you should secure as soon as possible. However, here are things you need to know about such certificates first.
2. Certificate Of Insurance: What does it cover?
A Certificate of Insurance can cover various aspects of the moving process, and some buildings require this insurance to cover a specific amount.
COIs usually cover umbrella coverage, cargo insurance, workers compensation, automotive liability, and liability insurance.
COIs usually have coverage of around USD 1-million to USD 2-million per move. You may want to check with your building manager how much they would need a COI to have and check in with your moving company to make sure they have a COI for this specific amount.
Some buildings require much higher coverage, depending on the kind of building you’re moving into. For instance, commercial spaces often need larger insurance coverage.
3. What Information Is Inside A COI?
As an official certificate, the COI contains multiple pieces of data that the building manager will want to see before you move in.
The COI should be addressed to the person authorized by the buildings you’re giving the COI to – in turn you should get their name, office addresses, and contact information such as email addresses, office phone numbers, and fax numbers.
The COI specifies that the movers are indeed insured, and specifically for that particular building.
The COI will have the address of the building you’re moving into, and sometimes even the building or place you’re moving out of.
The COI will mention how the certificate should be used and how much the certificate covers.
4. How Do I Procure A COI?
Ask for COI samples or templates from both the managers of the building you’re moving out of and the building you’re moving into.
If not, you can just get the certificate holders and any additional insured, as well as the person the certificate should be addressed for.
5. What Happens If There’s Damage On Moving Day?
If there’s damage on moving day, this is where the COI comes in. The movers should meet the minimum state requirements for liability, and they should get in touch with the building manager immediately.
6. Do We All Need A COI To Move In NYC?
It’s always a good thing to have a COI from your moving company, especially if you’re planning to move into a building or a condo. In the case of buildings in NYC, most of them require COIs to ensure that their property is also protected during the moving process. Here are some factors you might want to consider:
Check in with your building property management to clarify if they’re going to request a COI from you by the time you move to the property.
Check your move-in paperwork to see if there’s any mention of a COI in the documents. Sometimes, these move-in papers also include a required template, so make sure to keep an eye on this.
Check with your moving company if they can fulfill the requests the building property management is asking with regards to the COI.