The Importance of Insurance for Your Self-Storage Unit

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(Newswire.net — June 23, 2023) — We’ve got life insurance, property insurance, and even work insurance. So why then underestimate the insurance for your personal belongings?

This topic is significant if you keep your items in a self-storage unit.

Although this popular private service in the UK is quite well-protected, having some additional guarantee that your expensive or delicate belongings are in a safe place and covered for incidents is not just smart, but it might be mandatory in many cases.

Don’t close this page, but read this material till its end to find out why experts keep reminding us how important self-storage insurance is.

How safe is self-storage?

Self-storage services, as we have already mentioned, are comparatively safe. Yet, even their providers understand that something can always go wrong.

Who would eventually pay the price for the damage, whether it’s a fire, theft, or something else? If you don’t have self-storage insurance, you are the one to pay and probably suffer for lost or destroyed belongings.

Storage companies often include an insurance clause in your service contract to ease your life. And even if some of them don’t, you have the full right to purchase one.

What is self-storage insurance?

Self-storage insurance is a way for the company to guarantee your things are carefully protected, but in case of unforeseen circumstances, your loss will still be covered.

The service provider determines this coverage depending on his own business insurance policy, as well as on your items, the storage unit you use, the duration of this use, and you name it.

When you are backed up with insurance, you will know that someone will compensate you with an equal or fixed price for the damaged and lost items in case of:

  • Fire;
  • Theft and robbery;
  • Explosions;
  • Technical mistakes made by the company’s employees;
  • Inappropriate lighting;
  • Vandalism;
  • Earthquakes and floods. Attention: these risks are rarely included in self-storage insurance. You should ask your provider about them. If they are not covered, you can buy extra insurance for them – either from the company or from another insurance agent.

Why do I need self-storage insurance?

Self-storage insurance is something you need if you want to be confident about the strict protection, the safety of the storing conditions, and the company team’s decent work.

Since an accident can always happen in real life, we cannot guarantee it won’t happen in the storage space. The necessity of insurance becomes even higher and more demanding when you keep valuable, antique, expensive, fragile, and rare items.

So, simply ask your storage provider about the insurance coverage. If it’s at a price smaller than your valuable item price, get some extra insurance measures.

How and where can I get self-storage insurance?

About 90% of the British self-storage companies will not require you to search for insurance companies to protect your items. Instead, you will see this extra included in the price.

However, if it’s not there or you aren’t satisfied with the contract, you have some more work to do. You want to protect your belongings for as much as they cost.

You can do that by purchasing insurance or by increasing its coverage through:

  • The self-storage company;
  • Independent insurance agent or company;
  • The business owner, if you take care of its equipment as a manager;
  • Your homeowner.

We strongly recommend you consider the three options at once. Try to make a comparison and select the most suitable and profitable, especially for your needs. Of course, your actions as to the insurance are supposed to be conducted with the self-storage unit provider.

What else is to be done to ensure safe self-storage?

Apart from legal insurance, there are many other actions to improve your self-storage module’s safety feature.

Don’t hesitate to try these:

  • Rent a storage unit that’s suitable for your belongings, and if they require special conditions, look for a climate-controlled module.
  • Pack your items safely to avoid transportation damage, as well as to be sure that while stored, they will not crack, break, or fade, you name it.
  • Follow the company’s tips and the consultant’s instructions in the most precise way. Read your contract and guides on storing your items to avoid any accidents and minimize damage in case of a natural disaster.
  • Use your storage space in a smart way. When laying out the boxes, don’t forget where the most fragile items are and put them at the top of the line.
  • Note that there are items for which you cannot get insurance from the company – illegal and things that are prohibited for storage. Even if you still keep them in the self-storage module, any damage won’t be covered.
  • Remember that the company won’t provide any insurance for any vehicles kept in a self-storage unit. So, you should buy one separately. The list includes boats, cars, and motorcycles.
  • War is a risk that almost any insurance can be covered. So you should not search for a separate insurance service for such a risk.
  • The storage company doesn’t cover mold, but you can avoid such by ensuring that your belongings are taken 100% dry in the unit and stored in suitable cardboard boxes or wooden bins.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, in life, we are not insured by default against bad events and incidents.

Using insurance services to lessen the effect of such conditions and penalties can make these events less costly and painful, which is a great idea to consider.

Storage units are indeed very safe and reliable, but thieves love them, too. Natural disasters or a fire can sometimes occur too. So, being backed up by an insurance clause in your storage contract is not only common sense but also a necessity when using such services.