Insurance
How to Read a Moving Inventory (and Why It Decides Your Claim)
The inventory is the most important document in your move and the one people sign without reading. Here is what it actually says.
If something goes wrong with your move, the inventory is what settles it. Not the contract, not the conversation you had with the supervisor, not the photographs on your phone — the signed, itemised list made at loading and checked at delivery. It is worth five minutes of your attention.
What a real inventory contains
- A numbered line for every item and every carton. Furniture individually; boxed goods by numbered carton with the room and contents category.
- Condition noted per item. Existing scratches, dents, chips, water marks, loose fittings.
- Photographs of high-value and already-damaged items.
- A flag on anything you packed yourself.
- Signatures from both sides, at loading and again at delivery.
If the list says "10 cartons, assorted" for a family household, that is a receipt, not an inventory. It will not support a claim and it should be redone before the truck moves.
The condition codes
Most inventories use short codes rather than sentences. They vary between companies, but the common ones are:
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| SC | Scratched |
| D | Dented |
| CH | Chipped |
| W | Water-marked or stained |
| L | Loose or wobbly — fittings, legs, hinges |
| R | Rubbed or worn finish |
| PBO | Packed by owner |
Codes are usually paired with a location — "SC top left", "CH front right leg". If your dining table already has a scratch across the top, you want that written down at loading. It protects you from being blamed for it and it protects us from being blamed for it, which are the same thing.
PBO is the code that matters most
"Packed by owner" means the mover could not inspect what went into that carton or how it was packed — and goods packed by the owner are excluded from most transit policies. That flag is not hostile; it is an accurate description of what can and cannot be underwritten.
The practical consequence: if you are packing your own crockery, understand that you are self-insuring it. That may be a perfectly good trade for clothes and books. For the good dinner service, it is worth reconsidering.
Checking it at loading
- Read it while it is being written, not at the end while the crew waits
- Make sure every condition note is accurate — over-noting is as unhelpful as under-noting
- Count the cartons yourself and confirm the total
- Query anything marked in a way you disagree with, then and there
- Take your own photographs of high-value items as well
- Keep your copy with you, not packed in a box on the truck
Checking it at delivery
The same list, in reverse, before you sign anything. Tick items off as they come in, count the cartons, and open anything that sounds wrong. If something is damaged or missing:
- Write it on the delivery sheet before signing — this is the step that matters
- Photograph the damage and the packaging it came out of
- Keep the item and the packaging until the claim is settled
- Report it in writing within the policy window, usually 24–48 hours
Signing a clean delivery sheet and reporting damage the next day makes a claim very hard to pursue, no matter how genuine it is. Thirty seconds of writing prevents that entirely.