“Fully insured” is the most abused phrase in Sydney removalist marketing. Some operators carry a single $2 million public liability policy, put it in the footer of every email, and call themselves fully insured. Here’s what the actual cover should look like, what’s excluded, and how to verify what you’re being told before you book.
Two policies, not one
Sydney removalist insurance is two separate policies. A removalist who is genuinely “fully insured” carries both.
Public liability insurance covers damage the removalist causes to physical property during the move. Floors scratched by a dolly. Walls scraped by a wardrobe. A lift door dinged by a bedframe corner. A neighbour’s car hit by the truck in the driveway. In strata buildings, the lift itself is a common claim — $15,000 to refinish a brass-faced lift is not rare.
The insurance does not cover your stuff. It covers other people’s stuff — the building’s, the neighbour’s, the corridor’s.
Industry minimum for public liability is $10 million. Most serious Sydney operators carry $20 million. Hartmann’s cover is $20 million. Strata buildings in the CBD and Eastern Suburbs routinely require $20 million cover before they’ll let a crew in.
Goods-in-transit insurance covers damage to your furniture and belongings during the move. The mattress torn by a staircase nail. The dining table legs snapped off in the truck. The couch with the upholstery ripped.
This is a completely separate policy, with its own premiums, its own insurer, and its own exclusions. Some Sydney removalists carry only public liability and still describe themselves as “fully insured” — that’s misleading, because the most common type of damage (to your stuff) isn’t covered.
Ask specifically: “Do you carry goods-in-transit insurance on top of public liability?” If the answer is vague, the answer is no.
The exclusions nobody volunteers
Even with full cover, these four things are almost universally excluded.
Owner-packed boxes. If we didn’t pack the box, we can’t insure what’s inside it. The crew doesn’t know how you wrapped the wine glasses or whether the vase had padding. We cover external damage we caused (the box crushed, the side split) but not the glassware inside. About 70% of Sydney customers pack their own boxes, so this matters — the workaround is paying us to pack the kitchen and wardrobes (the fragile rooms) while you do the rest.
Compressed-wood and flat-pack furniture. IKEA-style furniture — particleboard bookshelves, MDF bedframes, flat-pack wardrobes — isn’t engineered for repeat disassembly-and-transport cycles. Insurers treat these as consumables. If your IKEA bookshelf comes apart at the joints during a move, we replace the damaged dowels but not the whole unit. Proper timber furniture (mid-century, antique, solid-wood) is fully covered.
Pre-existing damage declared on walkthrough. At the start of every move, the crew does a quick walk with you and notes anything already damaged — the scratch on the coffee table corner, the stain on the couch, the chip on the dining chair leg. If you sign off that a piece is already damaged, that specific damage isn’t covered afterwards. Worth photographing everything valuable the week before so you have a record.
Electronics that stop working with no external damage. A TV that was in fine shape yesterday and won’t turn on after the move, with no visible crack or dent, is almost always not covered. Insurers argue (and courts generally agree) that there’s no way to prove the fault was caused by the move. Pack electronics flat, between mattresses if possible, and power them on at the old place the morning of the move so there’s a baseline.
Other near-universal exclusions:
- Cash, jewellery, watches, passports, legal documents. Transport in your own car.
- Plants. Sydney summer heat in a truck routinely kills plants in a 3-hour transit.
- Live animals. Not a removalist’s job.
- Items in a self-pack that are listed on the contract as “high value” but not declared separately — insurance caps per-item payouts (typically $1,000–$2,500) unless the item is separately scheduled.
- Damage caused by the customer directing the crew to do something unsafe. If you insist we lift a concert piano down a staircase the building manager said wasn’t rated, that’s on you.
How to verify what you’re being told
“Fully insured” in an email means nothing. A certificate of currency means something.
Ask for a certificate of currency. It’s a one-page PDF from the insurance broker that states:
- The insured entity (should match the ABN on your quote)
- The policy type (public liability, goods-in-transit — ideally both, sometimes on separate certificates)
- The cover amount ($10M, $20M, etc.)
- The policy period (must cover your move date)
- The insurer’s name and AFSL number
Hartmann provides this on request before every move. Strata buildings almost always ask for it before approving the lift booking.
Match the entity name. If the certificate says “ABC Logistics Pty Ltd” but the quote is from “Smooth Movers Sydney” with a different ABN, that’s a red flag. Some sub-contractors operate under trading names that aren’t the insured entity, which means their insurance doesn’t apply to the job you’re booking.
Check the expiry date. Policies are usually annual. A policy expiring two days before your move isn’t cover.
For apartment moves: give the certificate to strata. Most strata contracts now require it, and some have insurance-amount thresholds. If you give the building manager a certificate showing $20M public liability, the move goes through approvals faster and the bond is sometimes reduced.
How much cover is actually enough
Public liability:
- $10M is the industry minimum. Acceptable for walk-up houses and low-rise apartments.
- $20M is the apartment-building standard. Required by most buildings over 4 storeys in Sydney.
- $50M+ is rare and rarely necessary unless you’re moving a heritage-listed property or a commercial office in a landmark building.
Goods-in-transit:
- $50,000 per job is the typical minimum. Fine for most residential moves.
- $100,000+ is worth having for moves with furniture worth more than the typical contents.
- The insurance market doesn’t typically sell goods-in-transit above $250,000 per job for residential removalists — if you have art or antiques worth more than that, ask your own contents insurer about a separate rider for the move day.
What to do if something does get damaged
- Note it on the day, before the crew leaves. Photograph the damage, the packaging it was in (if relevant), and where the item was in the truck or corridor.
- Email the details to the removalist within 7 days. Later than that, insurers get hesitant.
- Don’t repair it before the claim is assessed. The insurer may want to send an assessor.
- Keep the receipt for the original item if you have one. Speeds up the market-value calculation.
- If the removalist won’t engage, lodge directly with their insurer. The certificate of currency has the insurer’s details — you can lodge a third-party claim against the removalist’s policy even if the removalist is uncooperative. It’s slower but it works.
Reputable Sydney removalists handle claims quickly because the alternative — a poor Google review plus a stressful claim process — isn’t worth the handful of hundred dollars most residential damage claims come to. Hartmann’s average claim (handful we’ve had) has been settled within two weeks of the move.
The “Am I actually insured?” checklist
Before booking any Sydney removalist, confirm in writing:
- Public liability cover amount (minimum $10M; $20M for apartment buildings)
- Goods-in-transit insurance is included, not just public liability
- The insured entity name matches the ABN on the quote
- A certificate of currency is available on request
- What’s excluded — specifically, owner-packed boxes, flat-pack furniture, electronics
- Claim process if something is damaged (who to email, timeline)
- Whether the hourly rate includes insurance or if it’s a separate fee (it should be included — most Sydney removalists do not charge a separate insurance fee)
The removalists who answer these questions directly and in writing are the ones worth booking. The ones who deflect, get vague, or send marketing rather than documents are the ones to avoid.
For our part: Hartmann carries $20 million of public liability plus goods-in-transit insurance on every move. We send a certificate of currency on request within the hour — ask for it on the quote form or when you call, and it’ll be in your inbox before the crew arrives.