TSI / Moving Insurace - avoid at all costs - Moving Review

TSI seemed pleasant to work with and set up a move, including packing, for a pair of antique china cabinets on very short notice. I was assured that they could move the cabinets safely and was told that the maximum I could insure them for was $3,000. The actual value of the cabinets is difficult to determine as they are over 100 years old and have been in my family the entire time. The cabinets were picked up as scheduled, but the crew had a single blanket to protect the cabinets and said they don't usually move furniture. I called Tom and after speaking with the movers he assured me that they could get the cabinets to the terminal and they would be well packaged at the terminal.

When my cabinets arrived in CA they were basically destroyed - legs broken off, four beautiful wood lattice/glass doors broken (really broken) and one of the door frames was snapped in half. A local, reputable, repair shop has quoted $7,000 to repair the damage and no matter how good he is, they will never be the same. I understand that the insured value was less than the damages, but expect to receive an apology and the full insured amount. TSI's partner for insurance is Moving Insurance and here is the response to my claim:

The amount of insurance purchased must be not less than the Replacement Value of the property. If it is, the Insurance Carrier will not pay for the full value of any item lost or damaged. The Assured shall, to the extent of such deficit, bear his, her or their proportion of the loss. If a valued inventory has been submitted with the insurance document, the maximum liability shall not exceed the indicated amount. In no instance shall the Insurance Carrier's total liability exceed the insured value declared on this document.

You have stated that the replacement value is $10,000. The items were insured for $3000. We divided the insured value by the replacement value for a co-insurance factor of .3. The $3000 insured value by .3 is a total allowed amount of $900. After applying your deductible of $100, we are extending to you an offer of $800. To accept our offer, please sign and have notarized the attached release, and return to me via email, fax or mail.

The math here baffles me. Ignoring the fact that there is no specified deductible amount in the contract, the whole concept of saying "you under insured, therefore we owe you less than the insured value" makes no sense. By their logic, if the cabinets had been worth $100,000.00, I would receive 0.90 cents before the deductible.

Net-Net - don't trust TSI or Moving Insurance with anything of value. They will commit to anything to get your business and you'll need to take them to court if something goes wrong.

Photos posted by Jim