Insurance while travelling to the U.S
 

My husband and I had our visa interviews last week and it all went well, we got our passports back this morning with the visas in them so our move to California is going ahead in June - woot!

One question I haven't been able to find the answer to yet is about insurance - how do you insure your belongings you're taking with you on the plane and for when you first arrive? I'm talking about stuff that falls under personal possessions in our home insurance policy - laptops, jewellery etc. Our current home insurance won't cover it because we're moving countries and I don't think travel insurance will cover it either as we're not travelling, we're moving.

What did everyone else do to cover this? I don't really want to travel with suitcases full of clothes, jewellery, laptops and not have them insured. Thanks!

Re: Insurance while travelling to the U.S
 

I hand carried every item that I considered valuable/irreplaceable with me onto the plane. A laptop, digital SLR and lenses, family keepsakes, external hard drive, three concertinas, ...can't remember what else I shoved in those bags now. Except for when they were in the overhead bin or under the seat in front of me they never left my hand. Some clothes went in the checked bag - they're not important. Anything that I wouldn't be devastated about losing was shipped by boat.

I suppose if the plane went down I could have lost them but as I also had a cat in the cargo hold I was trying to hope that that wouldn't happen!

Re: Insurance while travelling to the U.S
 

Ha, yes you wouldn't want to lose your cat!

This is what I'm thinking we'll have to do, carry valuables in our hand luggage. It would make me feel better if we could get insurance though in case my wedding ring falls down the drain in the toilet on the plane or something!

Re: Insurance while travelling to the U.S
 

Don't wear it if you're worried - put it in a ziploc bag and put the ziploc bag in a pair of socks and stuff the socks down the middle of your carryon.

I highly recommend the sock part - I put a necklace in a ziploc in my suitcase once and couldn't find it after the trip...found it about six months later when I was packing for another trip, as it had wedged itself under a layer of fabric in the back of the bag! By then I had already replaced it, so now I have two :D

By the way - the cat seems very happy to have come to America:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net..._4858678_n.jpg

Re: Insurance while travelling to the U.S
 

We insured everything through the company who did our move. We were given tons of very detailed forms to fill out and value everything, including watches/rings. It then had tick boxes as to whether it was sea freight, air freight, or carry on.

Re: Insurance while travelling to the U.S
 

Aw, very happy! We're looking to get a couple of Californian kittens when we're all settled in.

Re: Insurance while travelling to the U.S
 

Ah, that would be very good, I don't know why it didn't occur to me before! I will check with the company doing our move if they'll do that.

Re: Insurance while travelling to the U.S
 

I checked with our moving company and they don't offer insurance for the stuff we'll be taking on the plane. I'm looking into one way travel insurance.

Re: Insurance while travelling to the U.S
 

What an adorable kitty cat!