When moving to a new home or apartment, it may be necessary to take pieces of art, jewelry or other items that are expensive to fix or replace. Therefore, it is important that your moving company has protocols in place to be sure that nothing is lost or damaged during transport. Let’s look at some steps that can be taken to protect valuables during a move.

1. Have Them Packed Separately

It may be possible to either have valuable items shipped separately or kept in their own section of the moving truck. This reduces the odds that they are damaged, and it also makes them easier to find when the truck arrives at your new home or apartment.

2. Inventory Valuables Before Shipping Them

Before items are packed onto the truck, you should make a list of anything that can’t afford to lose or replace. You should also take picture of those items to better keep track of them. When you finish unpacking, you can go through the list to make sure that everything is accounted for. Taking pictures of items makes it easier to compare their condition before and after the move. If anything seems off, you can ask your mover if anything happened while in transport.

3. Have Items Wrapped to Keep Them Safe

If you have items that you want to keep safe, ask your moving company to pack them with special materials. Alternatively, you could ask that they be covered in multiple layers of foam or bubble wrap. Furthermore, be sure that your moving professionals understand that an item needs to be handled carefully while being loaded and unloaded as well.

4. Move the Items Yourself

Let’s say that you have a car collection or another collection of large items that needs to be transferred. Instead of having a moving company drive your cars or otherwise handle your belongings, it may be possible to simply move the items into storage before the move. If you don’t have time for that, ask your moving company to hire professionals with specific experience with cars or other prized possessions that you have.

While your moving service provider will take steps to make sure that your belongings are handled with care, mistakes can happen. By communicating your needs clearly, a moving company can make arrangements to wrap, handle and store goods as safely as possible. That can eliminate the need to file an insurance claim or otherwise pursue compensation to replace items damaged through no fault of your own.