Insurance for operators
Your cover limit decides which jobs you see.
Movesmith doesn't pool insurance across operators — each of you carries your own Goods-in-Transit cover, and the limit on your policy is recorded on your supplier profile. When a Movesmith customer books a move and declares their goods value, we only offer the job to operators whose recorded cover meets that value.
That means there are two practical tiers — the floor that gets you on the platform, and the level that puts every Movesmith job in front of you.
Floor — the must-have to start
Typically £10,000–£20,000
This is the minimum we need on file before we'll dispatch any Movesmith job to you. With cover at this level you'll see jobs where the customer's declared value is at or below your recorded policy limit — standard household moves, single items, smaller flats.
Jobs you'll see
Standard household moves under your declared limit. Larger / higher-value jobs won't appear on your job board.
Recommended — wider job access
Higher recorded limit
Your recorded Goods in Transit limit decides which jobs you can see. We only offer jobs where your recorded cover is suitable for the customer's declared goods value. The higher your recorded limit, the wider the range of jobs that are suitable for you.
Jobs you'll see
A wider range of jobs and value bands. Best fit if you want maximum dispatch volume and don't want to lose a job because your recorded cover came up short.
Cover limits are recorded by Movesmith admin or operations once we've verified your policy schedule. Operators can't self-edit their recorded limit — that integrity is what makes the matching rule trustworthy for the customer.
What else we require
Public Liability insurance
Covers third-party injury and damage at the customer's premises — typically already part of a commercial motor / business policy if you're trading professionally.
Vehicle taxed and MOT'd
Every van that runs a Movesmith job must be road-legal. We verify this during onboarding via DVLA lookup.
How onboarding handles it
- 1
Apply
Submit your supplier application — you don't need insurance sorted to apply. Your application is accepted; we'll guide the insurance step separately.
- 2
We review your existing policy
If you already have Goods-in-Transit cover, send us the schedule on your onboarding call. We confirm the cover limit and the limit gets recorded on your account — that's the figure the job board matches against.
- 3
Need cover, or want to upgrade? We point you to a specialist
If you don't have a policy in place — or you want to move from the floor to a higher recorded limit to access a wider range of jobs — we introduce you to a removals-specialist insurance broker we work with. Quotes typically come back within 24 hours.
- 4
First job offered once cover is in place
We don't dispatch jobs to an operator with no Goods-in-Transit cover on file. Once your policy is confirmed and the limit is recorded, you're live in dispatch.
What it typically costs
Goods-in-Transit premiums vary widely with vehicle size, claim history, cover limit, and operating area — a London-based 3.5t van solo operator pays different rates than a multi-van outfit running the Home Counties. Stepping up from the floor to a higher recorded limit is usually less expensive than operators expect; the brokers we work with quote both tiers head-to-head so you can see the trade-off before you decide.
Common questions
- What happens if I bump my cover later?
- Send us the updated schedule and we'll update your recorded limit. From that point you'll see the higher-value jobs you were previously filtered out of.
- Can I claim a job above my recorded limit if I'm willing to take the risk?
- No. The matching rule is a hard rule, not a heuristic — a job above your limit won't appear on your job board, and the claim endpoint will refuse it. The cover limit needs to be lifted on the policy and the new figure recorded before the job is available to you.
- What if my policy lapses or my cover drops?
- Tell us before it happens. We'll update the recorded limit (or set it to nil if you're between policies), and you'll see only jobs that match the new state. We can re-enable dispatch once cover is reinstated and the policy doc is on file.