Protection & claims · Georgia intrastate moves
Almost every guide to this question explains the federal interstate rules. A move inside Georgia is not governed by those. Here is what actually applies, what the numbers really come to, and the list of things that are excluded before a claim is ever filed.
Quick answer
Basic protection on a Georgia intrastate move is $0.60 per pound, per item — calculated by weight, not by what the item is worth. That floor comes from state regulation. The rest comes from the contract you sign: under LIOO Moving’s terms, total liability is capped at $2,000 per move (or $1,000 on labor-only jobs), damage must be reported within two calendar days, and a specific list of items is excluded outright — particleboard and IKEA-style furniture, marble and stone, anything you packed yourself, and unboxed electronics. Other movers set their own limits, so read theirs too.
An intrastate Georgia move — both addresses inside the state — runs under the Georgia Department of Public Safety’s Maximum Rate Tariff, not the federal FMCSA rules most articles describe. Under that system the carrier’s basic liability is released value: $0.60 per pound, per article. It is included at no cost, and it is the legal floor rather than real protection.
Two different layers, and it is worth keeping them apart. The $0.60-per-pound floor is set by state regulation and applies to Georgia intrastate household-goods carriers generally. Everything else on this page — the per-move cap, the claim deadline, the exclusion list — comes from LIOO Moving’s own Terms of Service. Those are contractual, they are not identical across companies, and another Georgia mover may set very different ones. Read whichever contract you are actually signing.
Run the regulatory floor against things you actually own and the gap is obvious. The weights below are rough illustrations chosen to show how the calculation behaves — they are not official or guaranteed weights, and your item’s actual weight is what any calculation would use.
| Item | Rough weight | Paid at $0.60/lb |
|---|---|---|
| Flat-screen television | 50 lb | $30 |
| Laptop | 4 lb | $2.40 |
| Marble-top side table | 60 lb | $36 |
| Upholstered sofa | 150 lb | $90 |
Weight is the only input. A $3,000 television and a $200 television of the same size are worth the same under released value, because the calculation never looks at value.
The second limit, which almost nobody publishes
Per-item math is not the only ceiling. Our terms cap total liability at $2,000 per move — and at $1,000 for labor-only jobs, where we are loading a truck or container you control. That ceiling applies to the whole move, not to each item. Ask any mover you are considering what their per-move maximum is. Many will not have it written down.
Carrier liability and insurance are different products. What is included with your move is limited damage protection for items damaged directly by the crew during the move — not a policy, and not something that pays out at replacement value.
Three things get confused with one another, and they are not the same:
For anything of real value the decision has to be made before the crew arrives — there is no way to add coverage to an item after it is damaged. Our local moving page sets out how Georgia intrastate moves are regulated more broadly.
This is the part that decides most claims, and it is the part almost nobody reads. LIOO Moving’s terms exclude a specific set of items and situations from damage protection outright — these are contractual exclusions, not statutory ones, so another mover’s list will differ. Here is ours, with the practical response to each.
| Excluded under LIOO Moving’s terms | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| Particleboard, pressboard and IKEA-style furniture | Ready-to-assemble furniture loses structural integrity every time it comes apart and goes back together. Decide honestly whether a five-year-old flat-pack dresser is worth the hours to move. If it is, expect it to travel assembled and accept the risk, or replace it at the other end. |
| Marble, stone and glass tops | These crack from vibration and flex, not impact. Transport them separately in your own vehicle where you can, or have them professionally crated — crating is priced per item. |
| Items packed by the customer | If you packed the box, what happens inside it is outside the protection. This is the single biggest quiet exclusion in any move. For anything fragile and valuable, having it packed professionally moves it inside the covered set. |
| Electronics that are not boxed | A television handed over loose is excluded; the same television properly boxed is not. Original boxes are best; a proper TV carton is the next thing. |
| Appliances that are not disconnected | Have washers, dryers and refrigerators disconnected before move day, and use a licensed technician for anything on a gas line. |
| Items over 300 pounds, narrow staircases, tight doorways | Flag these at booking so the crew and equipment are sized for them. A piece that has to be forced through an opening is the classic excluded scenario. |
| Pre-existing damage and minor scratches | Photograph your furniture before move day. Five minutes on your phone is the only thing that separates “this was already there” from an argument. |
| Items of extraordinary value | Fine art, jewelry, collectibles, instruments. These need third-party insurance and, where possible, should travel with you. |
Two more that catch people
Because protection is calculated by weight, a claim resting on an item weight we judge inaccurate or misrepresented can be denied on that basis alone. And loss or theft of an item that was never documented on an inventory or recorded as loaded is not covered — there is no way for either side to establish it was ever in our possession.
Under our terms, damage claims have to be reported within two calendar days of the job being completed, and claims submitted after that period are denied. If your move finishes on a Saturday, the clock does not politely wait for Monday. This deadline is contractual rather than statutory, so check the figure in whichever contract you sign — it is one of the terms that varies most between movers.
That short window is the strongest argument for doing the final walk-around with the crew before they leave, while everything is still visible and nothing has been stacked in a spare room. Our terms require a claim to include the move date, the order number, a description of the damage, photos and supporting documentation — and repairs, reimbursement, replacement or third-party repair work must be approved by us before any expense is incurred. Paying a repairer first and asking afterwards is how an otherwise valid claim gets denied.
Unpack the fragile things first. You have forty-eight hours, and the boxes you leave for next weekend are the ones that will be outside the window.
Separate from damage protection, our terms put some work outside the job unless it has been agreed in writing beforehand:
None of this is unusual for a moving company, but it is worth knowing in advance, because these are the tasks people assume are included and then discover at 8 a.m. on move day. Flagging them at booking is free; discovering them on the clock is not. Our moving preparation page lists what to have finished before the crew arrives.
Every one of those is free. Together they matter more than the difference between one mover’s liability terms and another’s.
Everything above is published in our terms of service, in full, before you pay anything. If a mover you are considering cannot show you their liability limit, their claim window and their exclusion list in writing, that is the answer to the question you were asking.
For items damaged directly by the crew during the move, yes — but at a limited level, and the limits come from two different places. Basic released-value protection under the Georgia DPS Maximum Rate Tariff is $0.60 per pound per item, calculated by weight rather than value; that floor is regulatory. The rest is contractual: under LIOO Moving’s terms, total liability is capped at $2,000 per move ($1,000 on labor-only jobs), a specific list of items is excluded outright, and claims must be reported within two calendar days. Another Georgia mover’s contract may set different caps, deadlines and exclusions.
Not at replacement value under basic protection. A 50-pound television works out to about $30 at $0.60 per pound — an illustration of the arithmetic, using a rough weight. Worse, under our terms a television that was not properly boxed is excluded from protection altogether. If a screen matters to you, box it properly and look into third-party insurance before move day; for high-value items our terms specifically recommend obtaining additional coverage.
Ready-to-assemble furniture built from particleboard or pressboard loses structural integrity each time it is disassembled and reassembled, so a joint can fail on an ordinary lift that solid wood would survive. LIOO Moving’s terms exclude particleboard, pressboard and IKEA-style furniture from damage protection, and also exclude damage arising from assembling or attempting to assemble those pieces. Most movers treat this class of furniture cautiously, but the exact wording is contractual — check the terms you are signing. It is worth deciding before the move whether a well-used flat-pack piece is worth the hours to transport.
Under LIOO Moving’s terms, two calendar days from completion of the job — not two business days — and claims after that period are denied. You will need the move date, order number, a description, photos and supporting documentation, and any repair, reimbursement or replacement must be approved by us before you spend anything on it. This deadline is set by contract rather than statute, so confirm it with any mover you book.
It saves time on the clock, which is real money on an hourly move. But under our terms items packed by the customer are excluded from damage protection, so what happens inside a box you sealed is on you. The sensible split is to pack your own books, linens and clothes, and let the crew pack glassware, artwork and anything fragile you would be upset to break.
Your next step
Read next
Cancelling or Rescheduling a Move: What Happens to Your DepositMore in Moving Guides.What a Move Does to Your Home: Floor and Wall Protection, and What Counts as DamageMore in Moving Guides.Do Movers Disconnect Appliances? What Happens With Your Washer, Dryer and FridgeMore in Moving Guides.When to bring in the pros: stairs and long carries, heavy or fragile pieces (pianos, safes, glass), a building that requires a COI, or a timeline that slipped. See how a LIOO crew runs it →