Free Moving Quote

What You Need When Comparing Moving Companies

Getting a free moving quote is one of the best ways to find out the actual rate cost of your move when hiring professional movers. Whether you're moving across the country or just down the road, working with a moving company might be necessary for a stress free moving process. With a free quote, you can compare moving costs from multiple moving companies to have an idea of the average cost and to also decide which one is the right one for you.

Depending on the type of moving company, your free moving quote might vary a bit. Let's look at both online free moving quotes and in-person free quotes.

Getting a Free Online Moving Quote

A fast way to get an idea of how much your move will cost, a free online moving quote typically provides a price range. It's harder to get a solid quote online from a full-service moving company because they need to know what you will be moving. However, they can give you an estimated range based on the distance and the size of your home.

For example, you can get a free online moving quote for moving a two-bedroom apartment from Chicago to Orlando. This will give you a range of about $3,496 to $4,413. If you choose partial or full packing services, you can expect to pay more.

Other types of moving companies, such as long distance moving companies delivering a moving pod or trailer for you to load can provide a more accurate online moving quote. Since these types of moving companies charge based on the space or number of pods you need, they can accurately estimate the total cost for your move.

For example, for the same move from Chicago to Orlando, if you were to rent two cubes for moving your two-bedroom apartment, you get an exact quote of $3,638. These moving companies can be more exact because they base the quote on the space and the distance the cubes will travel.

With a full-service moving company, a free online moving quote will need to be verified to become more exact. This type of moving quote is an in-person free moving quote.

Getting an In-Person Free Moving Quotes

With a long-distance move or even a local move, most full-service moving companies will provide a free moving quote. Someone will come to your home and provide an estimate based on what you need to move.

They have to verify the items you will be moving to estimate the correct size truck and crew.

For example, if you need to move a large piano, it will cost more than just moving some boxes. This is due to the need for extra crew members to handle the piano correctly compared to just moving some boxes.

A specialist from the moving company you choose will provide the estimate after figuring out what you need to move and how far it is going. If there are any specialty items, you opt for packing services, or you need furniture disassembled, they will factor these services into your free moving quote.

You can start with a free online moving quote to narrow the options down. Then, when you have a company you want to work with, have them do an in-person free moving quote to give you a better estimate of the cost.

What You Should Know About Free Moving Estimates

As you interact with moving companies to request for moving quotes, there are some things you need to understand in order to make sense of what they are giving you. Here are a few things to note.

Don't make decisions based on online estimates

An online moving quote is not reliable, it is vague and can in no way represent an actual moving cost. Besides online moving estimates are non binding to a moving company, only a signed written estimate can be legally binding. Besides, it's only an inventory based estimate that can be close to an actual moving costs. It itemizes the moving services that will be required in the entire moving process and what the company will be charging on each item on each service.

Know the differences between estimates

There are typically three types of estimates you can get from movers. These are:

Binding estimate which means your bill and the estimate will tally provided you maintain the items that are listed on the inventory list.

Non-binding estimate is the movers' guess of what your moving expenses will be. The final price will be determined by the moving company, and you can pay as much as 10% increase after the moving process. Because companies take advantage of customers with this kind of estimate, you should never accept a non-binding moving estimate.

Binding-not-to-exceed enables customers to pay less of the estimate if the items weighs lesser than the initial estimate.

Never sign an incomplete estimate

An estimate is not valid unless signed, therefore before signing any estimate, ensure that it contains all the details about the moving process. If not sure about anything, ask for clarification and be clear about the minutest details before you sign. You may also want to hire a moving broker to assist you with the process.

Quotes can be hourly-based or flat rate

Whether your estimate is hourly based or flat rate depends on whether your move is local or long distance. Most local moving companies charge by the hour and according to the number of movers. Long distance movers prepare their quotes based on the estimated weight of your items, labor costs, and distance between your current and new locations.

Both local and long distance moves attract extra costs based on requested additional services such as or specialized needs.

Know the type of insurance coverage provided by a mover

When you hire professional movers, you should get basic protection on your moves. By moving industry standards, moving companies are expected to be licensed and insured and also provide coverage on each move. At the least, movers should provide basic liability coverage (released value protection). You should check your estimate whether there is a clause that mentions the coverage for your move.

Many movers will not include the basic liability coverage until you request for it during the estimate process. If you don't ask for it and any thing happens during the moving process, they may not pay any compensation.

Apart from the basic coverage you can also pay premium for an additional coverage, especially the one that offers full value protection.

You are not bound to a mover

You can obtain free estimates from different moving companies and you are free to choose to either use them or contact other ones. As long as you have not signed an estimate, you are free to walk away to contact anothter company. It is best produce to get at least three estimates for comparison.