COI Movers in NYC — Certificate of Insurance for Your Building

Almost every managed building in New York — co-ops, condos, high-rises, doorman buildings and most loft conversions — will not let a moving truck load or unload until it has a certificate of insurance from the mover on file. Buildings are strict about it because their own insurance requires them to be.

It is also the single most common reason a New York move gets delayed on the day. Not because the mover is uninsured, but because nobody asked for the COI until the morning of the move.

Building types

Buildings We Issue COIs For

Requirements vary more than people expect. A condo may accept a standard template while the high-rise across the street wants $5,000,000 umbrella cover and a booked elevator window. We work from whatever your building sends us.

What almost never varies is how firmly it is enforced. A doorman with no certificate on file will not let the truck unload, regardless of how reasonable the request sounds on the day. Getting the sample early is the whole job.

Manhattan high-rises

The strictest requirements in the city, frequently $5,000,000 umbrella coverage and a booked service elevator window. See Manhattan movers.

Co-ops

Often want the certificate two weeks ahead and may require board acknowledgement as well.

Condos

Usually a standard management-company template, straightforward once we have their sample.

Doorman buildings

The doorman will physically stop the move without a COI on file. There is no negotiating on the day.

Loft conversions and pre-war

Freight elevator rules and narrow service entrances, often with their own additional insured wording. Common in Brooklyn.

Commercial and office

Office moves almost always need a COI plus a booked freight window — see commercial movers.

Our coverage

Licensed and Insured in New York

Big Apple Moving has operated in New York since 1979. We are USDOT licensed, we carry general liability and workers’ compensation, and we can issue certificates at the coverage levels New York buildings ask for, including umbrella cover where a building requires it.

That matters beyond the paperwork. A building asking for a COI is really asking whether the company coming into their lobby is a real, insured operation.

If you are comparing movers, ask two questions: can you issue a COI for my building, and how fast. A mover who hesitates on either is telling you something.