Stored Property Insurance: Worth It?
When you entrust your items to a storage facility, you are relinquishing some control over the safety and security of your posessions. This can be a bit intimidating, especially when storing valuables. While any storage facility worth its salt will have security measures and precautions in place, sometimes vandals, thieves, weather, or other unforeseen circumstances can still find a way to ruin your items (and your day). But never fear! This blog post is not meant to scare you out of using a storage facility. Rather, this post is to inform you of another way to protect the investments you’ve made in your valuables: Stored Property Insurance.
What is Stored Property Insurance?
Stored property insurance is designed specifically for your posessions that are stored outside of your home. You may have renters’ or homeowners’ insurance that secures the items in your home, but your insurance plan may not cover items stored outside of it. Stored property insurance makes sure that the items you have in self-storage are insured and can be replaced by the insurance provider in the event of damage of theft.
What’s Usually Covered?
Most stored property insurance covers your items in the following cases:
- fire
- theft
- vandalism
- wind
- hurricane
- tornado
- water damage
- lightning
- smoke
- hail
It is important to note that most don’t cover earthquake, pests, flooding, or mold and mildew. If you live in area that has prevalent earthquakes or flooding, you may want to find insurance that specifically covers this if you can. As far as pests and mold and mildew go, there are other preventative measures you can take to protect your items from these while they’re in storage. Visit our post here to learn about pest control.
Why Should I Invest in Stored Property Insurance?
This insurance is a great way to give yourself extra security when surrendering your posessions to a storage facility. If you are nervous about any of the issues that are covered, investing in property insurance may help ease your concerns and give you peace of mind while your items are in storage.
When would I need Stored Property Insurance?
If you are not concerned about your items’ safety in storage, you may opt not to invest in the insurance. However, some storage facilities require some kind of insurance before renting out space in their facility. In that case, you may opt to purchase this insurance from an insurance provider, or directly from the facility itself. They mayalso have a third party insurance that they direct you to instead. Make sure whatever plan you agree to has adequate coverage to ensure you are reimbursed for not only the cash value of the items lost, but of the full replacement cost.
So yes, while sending your posessions off somewhere you can’t keep an eye on them is scary, stored property insurance can mitigate your fears. Anything can happen, but if you’re covered you can ensure peace of mind that whatever is lost will be replaced. Happy storing!