Homeowners and Renters Insurance: Are Your Items in Storage Still Insured?
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September 27th, 2023
If you own a home or rent an apartment, you may have opted to get homeowners or renters insurance. While this insurance will typically cover your home and the belongings inside of it, you may be wondering: Does homeowner’s insurance cover belongings I’ve put in a self storage unit? The answer is…It's complicated. Throughout this blog, we’ll walk you through some of the typical homeowner’s insurance policy limitations and tell you how to keep your valuables covered when you choose to rent self storage.
What is Homeowners Insurance?
Though you may be required to have it, many homeowners and renters don’t truly understand their homeowners or renters’ insurance policies. Generally, these insurance policies cover when something unexpected happens to your home, apartment, or rental property and the items within. Similar to car insurance or health insurance, homeowners or renters insurance plans typically have a deductible for you to pay before your insurance company pays for their portion. Make sure you talk with your agent to learn about any exclusions or exceptions to your policy.
Examples of Homeowners Insurance Coverage Types
The NAIC, or National Association of Insurance Committee, gives some examples of homeowners insurance coverage types:
- Dwelling: Pays for damage to the house and attached structures.
- Other Structures: Pays for damage to structures not attached to the house (fences, sheds).
- Personal Property: Pays the value of damaged or lost possessions (furniture, electronics, clothing).
- Personal Liability: Covers financial losses from property damage and personal injuries to others, if found legally responsible.
What is Renters Insurance?
Renters insurance is similar to homeowners insurance but protects tenants renting a single-family home, condominium, apartment, or other rented dwelling. The process of getting coverage and filing a claim is similar to that of homeowners insurance. Some landlords require renters insurance before they’ll hand over the keys.
What is Off-Premises Property Coverage?
Many homeowners insurance policies allocate a certain amount of coverage to belongings stored outside of your home. According to the I.I.I, or Insurance Information Institute, personal belongings coverage includes items stored off-premises, with limitations on the amount of coverage.
Examples of Off-Premises Homeowners Coverage Scenarios
Off-premises property can include items stored outside the home in a variety of different scenarios, such as:
- Travel: For instance, if your luggage is lost and never recovered.
- Storage Units: Storage units are often included in off-premises coverage, and so are items that may be damaged while in transport on a moving truck.
- Student Lodging: If you or your child experiences theft or other harm to your valuables while they are being used or stored on campus, off-premises coverage will typically take care of it.
- Items in Your Vehicle: For example, if you find that a thief broke into your car to steal your laptop.
The Bottom Line: Are Items in Storage Covered?
Most of the time, yes, but with limitations. While personal property coverage includes items stored off-premises in storage units, you’ll need to contact your insurance agent or double-check your contract to see what types of items are covered, what the maximum value covered is, and more. We recommend getting storage insurance to fill in any policy gaps and ensure that you’re covered. FreeUp Storage offers on-site insurance at our many storage facilities to make the storage process simpler.
Limitations to Renters Insurance and Homeowners Insurance
While your policy may cover items that are not kept at home, there are typically limits to how much coverage you can have for these items. The I.I.I. or Insurance Information Institute, emphasizes the limits of your insurance when it comes to off-premises items: “Some companies limit the amount to 10 percent of the amount of insurance you have for your possessions.” For example, if you have $50,000 of homeowners or renters insurance coverage, only $5,000 of coverage would be allocated to items in storage units or other places out of the home.
Keeping Your Belongings Covered While in Storage
Knowing the limitations of homeowners insurance and renters insurance when it comes to items kept in a storage unit, it’s important to take the necessary steps to protect your valuables in case the worst happens. Our storage experts recommend storage unit insurance to supplement gaps in your renters or homeowners insurance policy.
Secure Storage and On-Site Storage Insurance With FreeUp
When you need to secure self storage, FreeUp Storage is the place to go. Our self storage units are complete with video surveillance, gated storage facilities, and full fencing on our premises. We go the extra mile to grant our tenants peace of mind by offering on-site storage insurance through our partnership with Bader. These insurance policies are made specifically for items in storage, allowing you to store them with confidence even if your homeowners or renters’ insurance is limited.
Storage Insurance: What’s Covered and What’s Not Covered?
Some events covered by Bader’s storage insurance include:
● Fire or lightning
● Windstorm or hail
● Weight of ice, snow, or sleet; or collapse of building
● Smoke
● Vandalism, malicious mischief, or burglary
Bader’s storage insurance covers many items, but not all. Some items not covered include:
● Gold and silver
● Vital documents or records
● Vehicles
● Illegal or stolen items
For more information on our storage insurance coverage through Bader, including items we do not cover, please contact us.
Rent Secure Self Storage From FreeUp Today
To rent secure self storage online today, select one of FreeUp’s premier storage facilities near you, choose the self storage option you need, and rent online with our easy-to-follow prompts. For more help renting storage and to inquire about our storage insurance, call your local storage facility or contact us and we’ll get back to you ASAP.