Well, you just signed up for a storage unit at All Seasons Storage, in Needles (thank you very much!) and the manager informed you that you should either check into your homeowners &/or rental insurance policy or obtain self storage insurance. And you are thinking why? What for? Do I really need it?
The reasoning behind insurance is because when you signed the contract for your rental unit, there were several clauses in your contract which stated that All Seasons Storage is not responsible for anything that happens to your belongings. This is the "norm" in all contracts of all self storage facilities whether you are renting a mini storage unit in Needles, Ca or a self storage unit in Mohave Valley, AZ. You are simply renting space from the storage facility and it is your responsibility to:
- Place a good lock on the unit
- Not give your key or access to your unit to anyone else
- Obtain insurance either through your homeowner's policy, renter's insurance policy or via a self storage insurance policy.
All Seasons Storage has tried to maintain a secure property by placing perimeter fencing around the entire property, having surveillance cameras, resident managers, limited access time and lots of lights. However, we cannot guarantee against things like flooding, rodents, fires, etc. Our philosophy is that if your items are good enough to store, then they should be good enough to be insured.
With that in mind, if you have a homeowner's policy already, read it and or discuss the ability of having insurance of your stored goods with your insurance rep. In a blog by Carrie Reynolds (entitled "How Homeowners Policies Provide Coverage for Items in Storage"), Ms. Reynolds says that in the 3 different insurance policies that she researched, each one contained at least one statement which gave a certain amount of coverage to stored items. Ms. Reynolds stated that in each policy, there was a statement similar to the following: "we provide up to 10% of your personal property amount for items usually situated at any residence owned or occupied other than a residence premises". This statement was translated to mean "residence premises" is where you've been living and "other than" is your storage unit. Thus, if you have $50,000 in contents in your unit, you would be insured for $5,000. If you needed more coverage it could be arranged through your agent. Ms. Reynolds did note that homeowner's policies also have internal limitations for certain types of personal property, thus your 10% provision could actually translate into a much smaller number. Personal property with limitations include (but are not limited to) jewelry, guns and silverware/goldware. All of this should be discussed with your insurance agent.
If you feel that it would be easier and better just to obtain specialized self storage insurance, there are a lot of companies that handle storage insurance. I read in one insurance brochure, that for twenty cents/day, you can obtain $4,000 coverage. Insurance is very inexpensive. Three examples of insurance companies are as follows:
- MiniCo Customer Storage Insurance - www.tenantone.com
- Safe Store, Self-Storage Insurance - http://www.safestor.com
- Dean's & Homer Insurance - http://www.deanshomer.com
It's your responsibility, not the storage facility's, to protect your personal items. Please take just a few minutes to research your insurance options. You may be glad that you did!