Any thoughts on the best way to transport furniture, etc from the UK to South of France?

Passporting is one of the biggest Brexit issues. I’ve no idea how a “no deal” Brexit would impact existing policies. Not well I imagine, unless the company concerned has opened an office in the EU and transfers the policy.

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Oh gosh don’t open the no deal can of worms . It’s the stuff of nightmares and for me sleepless nights. Goodness knows what we will do if that happens. We don’t have a limitless amount of money and could find ourselves sleeping on the streets if the worst happened :see_no_evil:. I’ve threatened to go and camp outside leave voter’s house if we end up not being able to stay. In a perverse way at least once we’re in France we won’t be bombarded from all angles by news of the “preparations” our so called shambles of a government is now scrabbling together”.

He should still be able to take out insurance. You could also do an internet search for companies who specialise in insuring forces families’ belongings when they move between the UK and Europe.

So, I managed to find a UK Van rental place that was happy to allow me to take it to France. That way, I was in charge of everything. Not enough to necessitate an HGV licence.

As Stella says, any accident with blame apportioned would be dealt with by their insurers. Personally, I trusted to luck and careful driving on my part.

The alternative, I guess, would be to use a logistics company who would take it when they had a lorry going and (I’m guessing) would include any insurance on your bill.

I would trust your neighbour’s careful driving and just go for it.

Good luck

Thanks for the tip David . I did see them online but they looked like they only dealt with hauliers. I’ve made an enquiry and they’ve asked some questions by return. I guess I won’t hear any more today but fingers crossed and thanks again.

My guess is, in actuarial terms, the expectation is that a professional haulier will be be doing the move of your worldly goods (in the case of forces families, it is probably the MoD who self insure) and getting a mate to drive the lorry will not overly impress them. They’ll take your dough for sure, but if push comes to shove, they’ll find every excuse in the book not to pay out.

Their cover can be quite open ended. I suggested them because they deal with people who regularly move between countries and don’t consider that life stops at Dover. The larger removal firms usually offer their own in-house insurance cover but some people prefer to look elsewhere.
The MOD self insure (or rather don’t insure) their own belongings but do not cover personal goods.

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Well thanks for the tips guys (& gals) but not found insurers who will cover our DIY move. I’ve spent hours searching the Internet with every parameter i can think of but it only comes up with companies who insure if you use a professional “affiliated “ removal company. It’s too late to change the arrangement my OH made - at a minimum we’d lose the £400 for Eurotunnel & I doubt we’d find a reliable company at such short notice. I tried the company David recommended. They got back to me quickly with a list of queries. I replied straight away but not heard any more so presuming they aren’t interested or can’t do it either. Anyone any other suggestions please ? Also just saying but either prices must’ve gone up hugely or OH didn’t research properly but even “logistics” companies - who take your stuff off with others wanted £2800. “Professionals” upwards of £3800. We don’t have a massive amount of stuff - we’ve a small 3 bed semi here. Just seems a lot as our house is tiny.

I have moved far more than average during my life and have used professional companies, hired vans and used my car. Only once has my property suffered any damage, a sideboard got scratched but it can’t have been that significant because, sitting here in the kitchen, I can’t picture where the damage two rooms away actually is. Are you sure that you need insurance? If you were using a commercial mover you would lose control over your belongings, you wouldn’t know if they were going to be moved from one lorry to another or stored short term in a warehouse. As it is you are under control of your things, you will be packing, loading, moving, unloading and unpacking. The window for catastrophe is very small indeed. If you are worried about small, delicate or valuable goods don’t pack them in the lorry, take them with you in the car. I hope your load doesn’t suffer a major tragedy but the only person who I know who has had a major loss, the contents of their container along with others was destroyed when an arsonist set fire to them in Ramsgate harbour said that having some cash was useful but it didn’t replace the sentimental value of a lifetime of living around the World’s odds and ends.

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Obviously it depends how deep into France your place is but I would hire a small van and do multiple trips. A great adventure

Thanks Chris but not feasible unfortunately as we’re 1200 kms from Calais via the shortest route and about 2 hours drive from Folkestone (on a good Dartford Crossing/M25 day). . It took me 2 days by car - sole driver as my daughter didn’t fancy driving a Lhd. Plus OH has already hired the lorry! Hindsight is a much overused word but I am starting to wish I’d organised it myself. I’ve done virtually everything involved with our “big adventure “ so far because OH had been working long hours . Since he’s recently stopped working I thought it was time he did some of it…:see_no_evil:

Thanks David . You’re probably right. It’s the ex project manager in me doing risk assessment in my head and trying to cover all eventualities :see_no_evil:. We’re taking our cats down first so there won’t be much room for much other stuff . I’ve already packed all my “precious” bits of memorabilia into a box to take with us in the car and will take my clothes too. Thanks for the calm words of reassurance. :blush:

What are the risks? Are they really worth spending thousands of pounds to cover? I’ve recently been changing several insurance policies and am amazed by the additions added in by the companies and paid for by the customers. Do I really need €10,000 cover for my heating pump, air to heat exchange compressors and the contents of my freezer. My house has no central heating to break down and my freezer contains nothing more than home cooked meals, total value possibly €20 yet standard policies seem to include this cover as standard. Do a risk assessment for your move, move the risky bits yourself (like the cats) and cross your fingers.

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Hear, hear.

Well said. If you really are worried about it, why not get a monthly quote and put that much aside every month anyway. If something happens, you’ll have a sum to put towards repaying the damage. If nothing happens, you haven’t had money swallowed up by an insurance company that peddles off your fears AND you have a nice little nest egg to spend elsewhere!

Chris - I take your point but we move in less than 2 weeks so no time to do as you suggest and in any event I doubt I’d be able to put away enough to replace all my worldly goods. Others on here have told me not to take a chance but at this stage I guess I have no choice but to “wing it” . I’m not a “possessions” person and have nothing of significant value but it would still be immensely upsetting to lose all my possessions & tohave to replace them at my own expense would put a huge dent in our small “reserves”.

As I have said… be alert… and all should be well.

Keep us up to speed with your progress… oh… and don’t forget to have a word at the Mairie about blocking the road…

good luck…

If you are desperate to insure your worldly goods get in touch with Lloyds, I’m sure that their underwriters would be queuing up to take your money.

This can’t be an unsolvable problem. Maybe it’s worth contacting @fabien our resident insurance expert to see what he thinks.

I would (and will) be winging it - there isn’t z great deal of value - and what’s the worst that can happen!

Hi @ChrisR001, I’m jumping in thanks to @anon92567933’s tag. Your situation can probably be fixed quite easily depending on the rental company you use. If you are the one driving the vehicle then you just need to make sure that the vehicle is also insured for content (and then you negotiate the value with the renting company to make sure it matches the value you’d like). If it’s a sub-contractor or a professional driving the vehicle, then just make sure they have a public liability covering that activity and you’re all set up.

Hopefully this will bring some answers. Cheers,

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