Don’t leave these personal belongings out in the cold
9.4% of all Americans rent one of the 50,000 self-storage units nationwide with over 2.311 BILLION square feet in storage space (SSA Self Storage Demand Study, 2017). That means there is a little over 7 square feet of mini-storage space for every man, woman, and child living in the U.S. today. That is a startling amount of personal property that may not have the coverage it needs.
Individuals that rent these units often don’t realize that their standard homeowners insurance may not extend off-premises to the storage unit at the limits that would cover the full replacement costs of their possessions.
For example, a homeowners policy with a dwelling coverage limit of $100,000, may include $50,000 of personal property coverage in the homeowners policy, but off-premises items – in mini-storage for example – may be capped at only $5,000. If the contents of a mini-storage space exceed that amount, it’s worth considering an Inland Marine policy for mini-storage like that offered by JSA.
Covered perils include named perils and burglary. Damage exclusions may include insect infestation or damage caused by animals, floods, earthquakes, mudslides, landslides or damage and loss due to mold or rot.
Contents covered would be blanket coverage for household goods. Contents that would NOT be covered include automobiles, jewelry, furs or other scheduled items.
Because many times mini-storage is a temporary solution, JSA can provide policies that are 3 months, 6 months, or 9 months long, as well as typical annual policies. This applies to both indoor climate-controlled storage units or outdoor units. It also applies to contents in contained within a portable “mini-pod” type of storage units, if they are at occupied premises.
Please note, for JSA to bind coverage, there must be at least one means of security for the mini-storage facility. Either a fence, guard, guard dog or manager on premises will be necessary, so be sure to ask your insured.
And if you’d like to contact Michelle Rupard, Personal Lines Underwriter, she can answer any questions you may have. To download a flyer on the program, click HERE.
