The National Moving Insurance Crisis: 60% of Licensed Movers Have No Insurance Filings

Trunk analyzed FMCSA MOTUS insurance filing data for 25,863 licensed moving companies across the United States. The finding: 15,656 movers (60%) have no active insurance filings on record. This represents a significant gap between what consumers expect (their belongings are insured) and what actually exists in the regulatory record.

25,863 movers scraped from MOTUS. 10,207 (40%) have active insurance filings. 15,656 (60%) do not. Median coverage among insured movers: $750,000. 414 movers carry less than $100,000. 1,152 carry $1,000,000 or more.

Filing rates vary significantly by state. Maryland leads at 41% of movers with filings. Florida at 29%. Georgia at 19%. The variation suggests different regulatory enforcement environments and different market compositions (more brokers = lower filing rates).

By default, every move is covered at "released value": $0.60 per pound per item. A 50-pound flat-screen TV worth $2,000 is covered for $30. A 200-pound antique dresser worth $8,000 is covered for $120. This is the only guaranteed protection when a mover has no insurance filing on record.

A missing MOTUS filing does not necessarily mean a mover is uninsured. Some movers carry insurance but fail to file paperwork with FMCSA. Others let filings lapse between renewals. And some genuinely operate without coverage. The filing is the only way for consumers to independently verify.

Movers are required to offer Full Value Protection, where they must repair, replace, or pay current market value for damaged items. This typically costs 1 to 3% of the declared shipment value. For a $50,000 shipment, that's $500 to $1,500 for actual protection. Most consumers decline it to save money. Most regret it.

Every mover profile on Trunk now displays insurance filing status from MOTUS. City and state pages show the percentage of movers with filings. The insured-movers service pages rank movers by coverage amount. This data is updated with each MOTUS sync.