Moving insurance and valuation: 60 cents a pound, two full value minimums, and one Long Island mover's printed terms

• 60c/lbreleased value, the most the mover owes per pound per articleFMCSA record, 49 CFR 375.303(a)
• $15FMCSA’s own example payout for a 25 pound television under released valueFMCSA record
• $6.00/lbfull value protection minimum in the October 2022 handbook; the online glossary says $4.00FMCSA record
• 9 monthsdeadline to file a written claim after an interstate deliveryFMCSA record

It covers what New York law says for a move inside the state, where the per pound figure sits in the mover’s filed tariff rather than in any statute we could find. It then prints the terms one Riverhead mover, Samonas Prime Moving, publishes on its own FAQ, down to the $12.50 minimum charge. It ends with the claim clocks, which also disagree between a NYSDOT web page and the regulation, and a list of what to photograph before the crew arrives. Everything here was read on 21 October 2026.

Released value pays 60 cents per pound per article, so a 25 pound TV is worth $15

FMCSA’s Liability Protection page calls released value ‘the most economical option because it doesn’t cost anything.’ The limit is set by weight. Under it the mover is liable for ‘no more than 60 cents per pound per article.’ The page’s example is a 25 pound, 50 inch television. You ‘would only receive $15 (60 cents x 25 pounds).’ FMCSA says the payout turns on the weight of the item rather than its value.

The figure is in the regulation. 49 CFR 375.303(a) describes released value ‘at a value not exceeding 60 cents per pound ($1.32 per kilogram) per article’. The 2022 handbook says the mover ‘assumes liability for no more than 60 cents per pound, per article.’

The released value box on the bill of lading is the signature that caps a 25 pound TV at $15

Full value protection is the default, and FMCSA prints two different per pound minimums

FMCSA’s Liability Protection page says ‘Under Full Value Protection, your mover is responsible for the replacement value of lost or damaged goods’. Deductibles may apply. Movers may limit liability for ‘items that are valued more than $100 per pound’. The exception is when you ‘specifically list these items on the shipping documents’.

Now the two figures. The Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move handbook is FMCSA publication FMCSA-ESA-03-006, revised October 2022. It says ‘The minimum level for determining the Full Value Protection of your shipment is $6.00 per pound’ and that ‘Your mover may have a higher minimum value’. FMCSA’s online Protect Your Move glossary, read the same day, says ‘The minimum declared value of a shipment under this option is $5,000 or $4.00 times the actual total weight’ in pounds, ‘whichever is greater.’

We print both and name each. We do not average them. The handbook is the newer document and the one 49 CFR 375.213 requires the mover to hand you with the estimate, so it is the one to carry to the conversation. Ask the mover which minimum its tariff uses, and what the deductible choices are.

For a move inside New York, the per pound figure lives in the mover’s filed tariff

A move that starts and finishes in New York is NYSDOT’s, and the state rule is written differently. NY Transportation Law section 199 says ‘a carrier may limit such liability to the value declared in writing by the shipper or agreed upon in writing’.

NYSDOT’s Summary of Information booklet, page 42, says movers ‘are not liable for the full value of lost or damaged goods’ unless special arrangements are made. Page 48 says you will not come near the value of your goods unless you ‘declare the actual cash value’ on the bill of lading or buy ‘full replacement value protection’.

We looked for a New York minimum in cents per pound. TRA 199 has no such figure. Neither do the booklet’s pages 42 to 49 or NYSDOT’s Moving page. NYSDOT’s licensing page says a tariff ‘must be filed with New York State Department of Transportation with all rates shown’ before a probationary certificate issues, and cargo insurance is filed on Form H.

The per pound figure for an in-state move therefore sits in each mover’s tariff. That is why the booklet tells you to have the mover explain ‘what the minimum standard liability is’ and how to buy more.

Samonas Prime Moving prints $0.30 per pound for local moves and $0.50 per $100 of declared value to raise it

Three companies in our set of 38 print a per pound figure (first party, read 21 October 2026). The remaining 35 print no per pound figure, which is why valuation reads not published on most of our company pages.

Samonas is the clearest example. To raise the local figure it sells declared value cover ‘calculated at $0.50 per $100 of declared value, with a $2,500 minimum value required (minimum cost: $12.50)’. It offers a Full Value Protection upgrade with ‘three deductible options’ and states, in its own words, ‘By law, we are not permitted to offer insurance’.

That last line is the distinction this whole page turns on. Valuation is the carrier’s own liability for your goods under its tariff. Insurance is a policy from an insurer. Samonas’s SAFER record shows USDOT 1292731, MC-502447, interstate household goods authority and 4 power units (FMCSA record, 21 October 2026). Whether its $0.30 local figure matches its filed New York tariff is could not check, because no NYSDOT lookup worked for us that day.

The claim clocks: 9 months to file federally, and New York prints both 90 and 120 days to resolve

Interstate first. FMCSA says a written claim must reach the mover ‘within 9 months of delivery.’ It also says it ‘does not have the authority to resolve claims’ against a mover. What it does require is arbitration. 49 CFR 375.211 says arbitration ‘must be binding for claims of $10,000 or less’ when the shipper requests it. The arbitrator must decide within 60 days of written notice. The carrier may not charge you more than half the cost of starting the proceeding. Above $10,000 the mover may decline.

New York prints two numbers for the same step. NYSDOT’s Moving page says movers must ‘respond to a written claim within 30 days and resolve the claim in writing within 120 days.’ The regulation reads differently. 17 NYCRR 814.8 says acknowledge ‘within 30 calendar days’ and pay, decline or offer settlement ‘within 90 days after receipt of the claim’. The booklet, page 49, also says 90 days.

On a court judgment the web page and 814.8 say the mover pays within 30 days. The booklet page 49 says ‘within 60 days’. We print all of them with their sources and do not reconcile them.

Maffucci’s FAQ says claims are acknowledged within 30 days and resolved within 120 days (first party), which tracks the NYSDOT web page. NYSDOT ‘cannot adjudicate loss or damage claims.’ The Department of State’s 19 August 2025 alert says to notify the company in writing as soon as possible and to file loss or damage complaints with its Division of Consumer Protection.

Photograph the inventory sheet and the valuation box before anything leaves the house

The Department of State’s alert says to create ‘an inventory of your belongings.’ The BBB says to carry cash and jewelry yourself, along with important papers. The FTC says to ask each mover ‘what they charge to insure your goods and what they pay if things are damaged.’ Our list is the practical version of those three sentences.

1. 01
   Every room from the doorway so the count of boxes and pieces is on record before the crew starts.
2. 02
   Each item you would claim for close enough to show condition, with the serial number plate where there is one.
3. 03
   The television switched on FMCSA’s own $15 example is a 25 pound TV under released value.
4. 04
   The inventory sheet, every page after the crew fills it in and before you sign it.
5. 05
   The bill of lading including the valuation choice and your signature line; FMCSA says the released value election must be a specific signed statement.
6. 06
   The order for service on a New York move with the maximum amount due at delivery (17 NYCRR 814.3(e)).
7. 07
   Walls, floors and stair rails at both ends before and after.
8. 08
   The truck’s door with the company name and USDOT number; FMCSA’s tenth red flag is a rental truck arriving instead of a marked fleet truck.