I know from experience that preparing to up sticks and move to another country can be a nightmare of lists of things to do. A friend of mine got a post as Assistant Professor in Russian at a University in the Southern States of America – they decided to move house and she went off to start her new job whilst my husband and I helped get the household goods ready to move. There was a lot of throwing away; a lot of giving away; many visits to Oxfam.
A number of container shipping companies offering services for shipping my items to the USA were approached for advice and quotes, and one was chosen. It appears that the companies prefer to do all the packing themselves so things had to be got ready for them to pack. One of the things that was nearly overlooked was the shipping insurance – our friend had thought that this was included in the shipping charges.
But, it seems as though the householder is, in fact the shipper and the receiver of the household goods and therefore needs to arrange the moving insurance for the international transportation and has to include all household goods, personal effects, artwork, etc. Evidence of purchase of the item or photograph or such should be made of all major items together with an inventory list of all things being shipped and taken in hand luggage.
Goods should be prepared ready for packing by the shipping company and the freight forwarding company or shipping to USA specialist booked. The shipping insurance should be obtained based on the inventory and booking information. You will need a receipt from the moving company and check your shipment as soon as it arrives and immediately tell the insurance company of any problems. Luckily our friends had no problems except for shoehorning some of their stuff into a tiny kitchen.