Question: I have been living in Dubai for the past five years and have a nice home with fairly expensive furnishings and appliances. However, I am planning to move to Singapore and need to know how best to estimate the moving costs involved?

 

Answer: Moving to a new country is an exciting prospect, but the logistics of that move can be a daunting and costly business. To minimise this potential stress the best thing to do is to sit down and write a plan for the move, setting out all the items you wish to take with you to Singapore and all those that you can happily leave behind, the funds you have available for the move, and a timetable of events.

The main cost of the move will be shipping your furniture from Dubai, an expense that will depend on how much furniture you want to move and how many containers you require. As a rough estimate, one container costs around Dh30,000, but you may get a better quote by shopping around. One container is usually sufficient for a houseful of furniture and once you have bought one you may as well fill it.

Packaging your valuables so they are protected from breakage is important and you may want to hire professionals to pack and move for you. Most relocation companies offer packing as part of their service.

You will also want to ensure that all your valuables and goods are insured against unexpected loss or damage during transportation. An independent financial adviser can set up a ‘relocating insurance' policy for you, which is specially designed to protect your personal possessions against any loss or damage, including damage due to an unexpected disaster. There may be a lot of terms and conditions in relocating insurance covers that list areas or goods that cannot be covered under the policy. Taking out a specific insurance policy for the move is necessary as home and contents insurance policies do not normally apply during overseas transportation. And while relocation companies say they will pay a percentage of the costs of any damage or loss, this agreement is often ineffective unless you have proper insurance cover. If you are moving your possessions by sea then certain marine laws add complexity to the shipment — your financial adviser will also be able to explain this to you.

 

The writer is director general, Insurance, Nexus Insurance Brokers LLC. Opinion expressed is the writer's and do not reflect the views of Gulf News. If you have any questions, please email to advice@gulfnews.com