Mould and Mildew - pay for this extra cover??

[Imma]

Hi there,

We are shipping our items to NZ through Crown. Does anyone recommend paying the extra amount for Mould and Mildew cover?

Thanks

[mylesdw]

When we shipped our container from the UK it did not turn up with any mould or mildew at all.

[Super_BQ]

It depends on the travel route the container is going through? My uncle many years ago had a car shipped from the US (California) to NZ and the container went on a safari. It travelled to all different parts of Asia and changed boats and to Australia - some 2 months later, the container was so riddled with mould that in quarantine, MAF required his car to be clean treated 2 times before it could be released (including methyl bromide treatment).

The issue is you don't know where your container will be in the stacking on the vessel. It could be on the bottom of the pile where all the rain could settle inside and have a very slow evaporation. There really isn't a for sure way to know unless you safeguard by using an insulated temperature controlled container $$$.

[Imma]

Thanks for the advice, unfortunately the temperature controlled container is out of price range. After some discussion with Crown they have added mould and mildew cover for free :-)

[girlwithanewf]

And you do know that it is usually a lot cheaper not to use the removal company insurance but to use Letton Percival (UK based) who do marine insurance?
We didn't have any problem with mould/mildew. (despite our container from the UK to NZ being packed basically outside as we were snowed in at the time. A lot of the boxes came out very muddy looking but no problems at all).

[Dell]

My items came out of the container as if they had just been packed in there the day before. No signs at all of the long sea voyage. I expected, at least, the scent of exotic places...but nothing.

[Super_BQ]

You should check the shipping lines and see if the container will take the most direct route to NZ, rather then relying on the shipping company's trust that it will arrive in NZ no matter which route the container goes through. I recently had a motorhome shipped from the UK and knew which vessel and route it went (by date schedule too) - no problems at all upon arrival though this was a RORO rate.

Insurance coverage for mold is a hard one and I would be sceptical on what can be claimed (a cleaning isn't the solution).