Insurance
At F Smith & Son the handling of your goods is of utmost importance to us. We work hard to ensure that your goods are looked after from the minute that we enter your property until the completion of the removal and this is achieved by careful packing and professional handling.
Unfortunately it is not possible to eliminate all of the risks that are associated to a removal. For this reason, we are able to arrange for a specialist removals insurance to be in place whilst we are in possession of your goods. We are insured through Basil Fry & Company brokers who are experts in providing this type of cover.
Our broker places our insurances with the following underwriters, Lonhams & Royal & Sun Alliance covering the following areas of risk:
- Goods in Transit – protecting your possessions all the whilst we are in control of them
- Public Liability – protecting those around us as we work
- Employers Liability – protecting our staff against the risk of injury
- Commercial Fleet – protecting our vehicles
We have 2 different types of cover we can offer, giving you a choice of product:
1. Indemnity Cover: (Click to view)
a. Covering up to £250,000 of goods, claims considered on an Indemnity basis.
- We have an insurance policy in place. Our ‘Indemnity Cover’ sets up a contract between you and us and we afford you the ability to claim off of our insurance should you need to do so. Additional charges for us to extend our liability will be highlighted on your quotation and are based on the value you declare. Cover is provided up to a value of £250,000.
- Please note that an overall valuation of the goods must be declared in writing by you ‘the client’. This should be stated on the acceptance form that you return to our office.
- Claims would be considered on an indemnity basis meaning fair wear and tear and age of the item will be taken into account upon settlement. Generally items will depreciate over time.
2. New for Old Cover: (Click to view)
a. Covering up to £250,000 of goods, claims considered on a New for Old basis.
- We have an insurance policy in place. Our ‘New for Old Cover’ sets up a contract between you and us and we afford you the ability to claim off of our insurance should you need to do so. Additional charges for us to extend our liability will be highlighted on your quotation, and are based on the value you declare. Cover is provided up to a value of £250,000.
- Please note that an overall valuation of the goods must be declared in writing by you ‘the client’. This should be stated on the acceptance form that you return to our office.
- For goods under 10 years old, claims would be considered on a New for Old basis meaning the cost of replacing or reinstating the article would be taken into account upon settlement providing the article is substantially the same as but not better than the original when new.
- New for old cover shall not apply to Household Linen, Clothing, Floor Coverings or Curtains.
- For goods over 10 years old or those listed in above (iv), claims would be considered on an indemnity basis, meaning fair wear and tear and age of the item will be taken into account upon settlement. Generally items will depreciate over time.
If you have indicated in writing that you wish to accept the insurance aspect of the quotation but no overall value is declared, the insurance charge quoted will still be payable upon completion of the work however our liability will be heavily restricted. Our liability will be similarly restricted in the case that you have arranged your own insurance cover for whilst your goods are in our possession.
Please remember the following message: The maximum cover offered in the included section of our quotation is not sufficient to put the insurance in place for you.
Should you wish for us to insure your goods, we will require YOUR declaration of the OVERALL value of your goods on our acceptance form.
Cover will apply only where the due insurance charge and Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) has been paid.
As responsible BAR Members, we are keen to point out the restrictions and exclusions that are present. Please ensure that you pay special attention to clauses 8 to 11. We have listed a few common questions and answers that arise from these.
Q: Will my goods be covered if I have packed them?
A: Please note that items packed by the client into a box or package will not be covered against breakage under normal handling. They may only be considered as part of a claim if damage has clearly been caused as a result of our negligence or breach of contract and would have occurred irrespective of the quality of the packing (with a maximum liability of £100).
Q: Is there anything that should not to be submitted for removal?
A: Please note that the following goods should not be submitted for removal. Furs exceeding £100 in value, Jewellery, Watches, Precious Stones and Metals, Money, Coins, Deeds, Bonds, Securities, Stamps of all kinds, Manuscripts or other Documents or Electronically held Data Records, Mobile Telephones, Perfumery, Tobacco Products, Foodstuffs, Wine, Spirits and the like, Firearms and Explosives, Livestock, Plants or Perishable Goods of any kind. Please ensure these items are not present at the point that our staff are on site as they can be easily mistaken for goods that we are due to carry.
Q: Is there a time limit for submitting an insurance claim?
A: From receipt of the goods at your destination address there is a limitation period of 7 days in which to report any claim to us. This period can be extended at our discretion if a written request is submitted within the 7 days by the client (consent by us will not be unreasonably withheld). In the unlikely event of damage being incurred you should first request a claims form from our office and advise us in writing of any loss and/or damage, including photographs of the damaged goods will increase the speed of any claim settlement.
In the event of a claim, working within the terms of this contract, we will endeavour to put the item(s) back to its/their former condition or compensate you accordingly for your loss.
Please note:
You should not dispose of damaged items until after any claim has been settled as the insurers may wish to view or take possession of the items.
Please see our terms and conditions for further details.
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