Packing. Lifting. Carrying. Placing. Moving involves a lot of different segments that can unfortunately sometimes result in the accidental breaking of precious items. From dishes and plates to a variety of fragile items, a break is a break, raising the question of what you should do if an item breaks during your move.

In the event, you experience a broken item or two during your moving process, here are five helpful tips on what you should do.

Obtain Moving Insurance Before You Move
Waiting until something happens is usually too late, and it is always a good idea to have insurance coverage in place prior to your move. Not only is this helpful in case something breaks, but it is also helpful with the process of getting your items replaced or repaired. Moving insurance is often included on homeowner insurance plans, and many moving companies also offer moving insurance that will help you to compensate you in the event items break during a move.

Open Your Boxes As Soon As You Can
We have touched upon this idea in past blogs, but we can’t stress enough the importance of unpacking your moving boxes as soon as you can. This will allow you to check the contents of each box for any items that may have broken during the move. Waiting too long to open your moving boxes can result in items sitting, broken, and not being discovered until it is too late for insurance to cover the costs.

If you discover that an item has broken, contact your moving company right away so that they are aware of the broken item. The sooner you are able to report the problem, the sooner you can receive a solution.

 
Assess the Value of Your Items Prior To Your Move
Let’s face it, some items cannot be replaced and special care should be taken to ensure that they are protected from breakage during the move. Special family heirlooms, keepsakes and breakable, fragile antiques, are all valuable and it’s a good idea to exercise caution and carry with you, any irreplaceable items that may possibly be broken during the move. This way, you can control the transport of your irreplaceable item, avoiding transport by other means.

Keep Your Cool
Experiencing the breakage of an item during a move can bring out a variety of reactions and emotions, but still try to keep your cool. The calmer you are when you approach the responsible party for the breakage, whether it is a moving company, friend or relative, the easier it will be to deal with a solution that provides you with replacement, repair or compensation for the broken item.

Salvage What You Can
Just because an item breaks into pieces does not mean that it can’t be salvaged. In fact, there are many instances where items can be repaired and pieced back together, almost like new. Of course if something completely shatters beyond repair, that is a different story, but there are times when salvaging pieces helps you to keep the original item you own without having to get a replacement. This is especially significant for meaningful items. 

We hope that you will never have to deal with any broken items during a move, and we encourage you to browse through our website for additional moving resources that will help you during your moving process.