How to Prepare your Possessions for Relocation

Moving to a new house can be difficult under any circumstances but when you arrive at your new home only to discover your furniture has sustained damage in transit, it may be disastrous. Good preparation may be the key to help prevent a moving related claim being made against your Pennsylvania home insurance policy.

Consider buying twice as many packing supplies as you’ve calculated you might need - too many boxes is a much easier problem to deal with than not enough. Also, with plenty of boxes at your disposal you won’t be forced to overload each box. Buy bubble wrap, tissue paper, packing tape, a black marker, blank labels and a box of re-sealable sandwich bags.

Don’t be tempted to toss everything into a box thinking you’ll sort through it at your new residence. It’s a much simpler option to do the sorting before you pack. Be ruthless with your sorting, if you haven’t used something in a year it may be time to seriously think about tossing it out.

Some of your furniture may take up less space and transport more safely if disassembled. Screws, nuts and bolts for each item should be packed in a re-sealable plastic bag and taped to the item. For things that have a lot of pieces you should label and mark each component to make reassembly easier.

Before you move, it may be a good idea to check the terms of your Pennsylvania home insurance to be sure your possessions are covered while being transported from one house to another. Your insurance agent will be happy to discuss extending your coverage if necessary.

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