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Why removal insurance is a must in Hong Kong
Moving home is one of the most stressful experiences anyone can go through. With any move, there are so many things to arrange, including packing up your precious belongings, selecting new furniture, disposing of old furniture that is too small for your new apartment… The list goes on.
To reduce the stress levels of moving home, many people in Hong Kong hire removal companies to quite literally do the heavy lifting for them. This often saves time for busy Hongkongers who have many other aspects of the move to arrange, and gives them peace of mind knowing that their household items, furniture, artwork, and other belongings are being handled by professionals.
The same is also true of office removals in the city. Businesses of all sizes, ranging from multinational corporations to smaller SMEs, will often hire professional companies to move desks and other furniture, IT systems and other essential equipment. Removal is often carried out during evenings or at weekends to minimise business disruption.
The problem
Many moves are trouble free – at least when it comes to the actions of a removal company – but sometimes household or office belongings are accidentally damaged or get lost during the removal process. In fact, this scenario is not uncommon and, although removal companies will always do their best to ensure your possessions are protected, accidents can and do happen.
A common misconception in Hong Kong is that if a removal company damages or loses one or more of your belongings, then that company’s own insurance will compensate your loss. However, this is not the case.
When you sign a contract with a removal company, that contract is subject to the standard trading conditions of the company. What this means is that in the event of a claim, you will be required to prove that any loss or damage was solely the fault of the removal company’s negligence. Furthermore, as the removal company has no idea of the value of your possessions, then it could be the case that their own insurance just isn’t comprehensive enough to cover the cost of your very valuable or rare, treasured possessions – such as artwork, sculpture, expensive musical instruments or irreplaceable antiques.
Another thing to consider is that, although many reputable removal company will arrange a detailed removal plan to enable a smooth and accident free removal, there are situations which just can’t be avoided. For example, if a typhoon strikes, or there is a period of heavy rainfall that leads to a Black Rainstorm Warning, this could disrupt all your removal plans and lead to further expenses.
The answer
The solution is to take out your own removal insurance to cover all eventualities. Once you are insured, in the event of a claim you won’t waste time and energy pursuing your removal company and can expect the full amount to be paid by your own removal insurance policy. And at least that’s one less thing to stress about!
To find out more about MSIG’s removal insurance solutions, please feel free to contact us by filling in the product enquiry form.
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