You may think your items are safe in a storage facility. But they’re still at risk of fire, water damage, accidental damage, and theft. Stored items aren’t normally covered by your ordinary home contents insurance as they are away from the property. Luckily storage insurance gives you peace of mind that you’re covered financially if the worst does happen. Read our seven-step guide to storage insurance find out what you need to know to get the best price quote.
1) What is storage insurance?
Storage insurance is a product designed to pay out if any items that you are storing away from your home are damaged or stolen.
2) Who needs storage insurance?
There are lots of reasons why you might be putting items into storage and will need storage insurance. The main three are:
You’re taking out temporary storage
Temporary storage can be useful if you are a student and have to pack up your room at the end of each term but don’t want to lug all your things back home. You may be surprised when you tot up the value of all your items – from bedding and crockery to your computer and course books. Temporary storage insurance is essential to prevent you from getting a nasty financial shock when its time to head back for the new term. You might also be looking at temporary storage if you’re moving house or planning on living abroad for six months.
You need to free up more space in your home
It’s easy to accumulate things and that can take up valuable space in your home. Growing families need more room – but the cost of moving can be prohibitive. Putting items that you don’t need every day into storage is one way to reclaim more space. Whilst TV shows and magazine articles encourage us to ‘cut the clutter’ it can be very hard to throw away items, especially anything with a sentimental value or that you’ve inherited. Taking out longer-term storage is the ideal solution.
You store items for your business
Storage can be useful for businesses who don’t have space to store extra equipment or stock.
In most cases, insurance won’t automatically be included in your storage unit cost. Items in storage are also not normally covered by your ordinary home contents insurance or business premises insurance either. Double-check if you are covered first to avoid paying out for the same thing twice. But don’t opt for no storage insurance or you could be left substantially out of pocket.
3) What does storage insurance cover?
Storage insurance can cover a wide range of eventualities whilst your items are in a storage facility, including:
- The theft of your possessions from your storage unit.
- The loss of your items due to a fire.
- Destruction or damage of stored items as a result of a fire, flood, earthquake, and other incidents.
- Water damage (flooding or leaking).
If you’re going to be storing any high-value items, make sure you double check if there are any single item limits on your storage insurance policy.
If you don’t need the full range of cover, look for policies that can be tailored to your specific needs. These will normally represent the best value for money as you won’t be paying for anything you don’t need but will have the level of cover you require.
4) Where can I buy cheap storage insurance?
Storage insurance is a specialist insurance product. You’re unlikely to find it offered on price comparison websites. Instead, you’ll need to contact specialist storage insurance providers or use an insurance broker, like Park Insurance.
5) Can I get instant cover storage insurance?
If storage insurance is an afterthought don’t worry. Park Insurance can arrange for an instant quote and for cover to start right away for your peace of mind.
6) How can I reduce my storage insurance premium?
- Don’t automatically buy storage insurance from your storage provider. It may seem convenient, but it can sometimes cost up to seven times more. That’s a lot of money that you could save just by calling your insurance broker.
- The golden rule of insurance ‘shop around’ is just as applicable to storage insurance as it is for your car and home insurance. Get quotes from as many different insurance companies as you can or ask your insurance broker to do this for you.
- Tell your broker if you have added security at the storage facility that you’re using. Extra locks and cameras could help reduce your premium.
- Pack smart. You should try to carefully organise your unit so items are stored safely whilst maximising the space you have. For example, make use of empty space inside a wardrobe or chest of drawers by filling it with other items. That way you can keep the size of the unit you’ll need to rent to a minimum. And that will mean lower storage insurance premiums too.
- Store valuable items, like jewellery, in specialist units. The cost of your storage insurance premium will increase according to the value of your contents. If you need to store high-value items, such as jewellery, it’s worth looking for specialist facilities with extra security. The extra security will help to reduce the cost of your insurance.
- Stay claim-free. One of the best ways to keep storage insurance premiums low is to stay claim free. Follow our tips below to help keep your items safe in storage
7) Top 3 tips to keep your items safe in storage:
- Don’t overfill your unit. Stacking boxes on top of each other can easily lead to falls and damage.
- Invest in strong containers. Storage boxes with lids can help to keep your stored items dust and damp free. Stronger plastic boxes with lids also offer a little extra protection if something is knocked over or dropped.
- Make sure all items are totally dry before storage. This can help to prevent mildew and mould forming and damaging your goods.
Contact our trusted team for low-cost storage insurance
At Park Insurance, we provide tailored storage insurance, which will cover you against most eventualities. Whatever reason you’re using storage, insurance gives you added peace of mind that your belongings are protected. Park Insurance has been helping customers to get the best deals on insurance for over 30 years. Call our friendly team on today or get a quote for your self-storage insurance here.