Self Storage Insurance
Are you in the process of moving? Well if you are, there’s a good chance that as part of your moving experience, you will need to rent a storage unit. Whatever your reason for using self-storage, it can be a very simple solution to your moving problems. Although, there’s a pretty good chance that before you finishing renting your unit, that the manager will ask if you you have insurance, which most people know little or nothing about.
The question you might ask yourself, “What is storage insurance?” or “Is storage insurance a real thing?” To explain storage insurance simply, your valuables are sitting in a storage unit in the middle of a storage facility and, if some natural disaster like a flood, tornado, or earthquake happens, the facility is not legally responsible for the wellbeing of your things. This may or may not spark your interest, but at least you know what it is now.
Something that you should know, that your facility manager most likely didn’t explain, and what they probably don’t want you to know, is that in almost every circumstance your pre existing homeowners, renters, or business insurance will cover every possible case in which you might need storage insurance in the first place. So the reality of the matter is that you already have coverage. So as long as those items are listed on your policy, it usually doesn’t matter if you move them out of your house and into a unit, there are still covered.
So if you are already covered, why are the managers trying to upsell you on the insurance?
Because it’s an upsell. The facility is just trying to make more money. Of course, if you don’t have homeowner’s insurance in the first place, storage insurance might be a good idea, but if they fail to mention that your existing policy probably covers everything already.
There have been some reported cases of facilities that require proof of insurance, but won’t tell the renter until they are at the facility moving in, and then demand proof immediately. This forces the customer to purchase a policy from the facility, as most people aren’t able to easily back out of such a situation. If this happens to you, ask the facility manager if your policy could be refunded once you return with proof of coverage. If they say no, notify the owner immediately. The smart thing to do can be to show up with proof of insurance just in case.
Finally, in case you’re still considering purchasing storage insurance, know what policies are available before signing any paperwork.Two things you can do to make sure you are taken care of are: 1. Verify with your insurance agency that your items are on your policy and that the policy still applies when they’re moved offsite, and 2. Bring proof of your policy with you when you move into the storage unit.
If you do these two things while keeping in mind everything mentioned above, you should have a smooth process of renting a storage facility.