Whatever the reason you store
your stuff, living with parents, or to store unneeded items when you move into
a smaller home, obtaining the proper amount of insurance for belongings in
storage is a necessity.
If an item is important enough
that you're willing to pay for its storage, it should be insured, advises the
Insurance Information Institute (III).
Check your homeowners or renters insurance
policy
Before
you buy storage insurance, check your homeowners or renters insurance policy
to find out how much protection for stored items you may already have. When it
comes to home insurance, "many insurers typically limit the off-premises
coverage for possessions to 10% to 15% of the overall amount of coverage that
they have, so it's wise to double-check with your insurance company," says
Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders in San Francisco.
"Homeowner policies also
have internal caps," Bach adds. "They might have a cap of $1,000 on
jewelry or $200 on comic books and trading cards. If one of the items you're
storing in the unit has this cap, you have to think about this."
If you don't have homeowners or
renters insurance "you may be able to buy a special policy that covers
items in a storage unit, and you want to make sure that the coverage is broad
enough to cover what might happen, like theft or weather-related events,"
Bach explains. "Most of these facilities will make you sign a waiver
acknowledging they won't be responsible if your stuff gets damaged.
Don't forget to make a list of
what you put in your storage unit, she adds. That way, you won't have to rely
on your memory. A list will help you determine the value of stored items.
"It will also help you make sure that you have enough insurance on your
items."
What about my motor vehicles?
For
the most part, motor vehicles- from cars, to, ATVs, and motorcycles- are not
covered by a homeowner’s insurance policy and would require that you insure
them separately. A few exceptions to this would be a car in dead storage,
anything that is used to service your residence- like a riding lawn mower or a
vehicle designed to assist disabled persons, but these would only be covered to
10% of the property limit.
GREAT NEWS our facility offers
Storsmart Insurance which not only covers your valuables in storage but your
motor vehicles as well. If you already
rent from us and are not insured contact us today, if you are thinking about
using a storage facility, consider us as we can offer this great insurance
coverage because we care about your stuff.