It's always best to have insurance on the obvious things in life such as your car and home. However, how often do you think about your storage unit? You pay a company to rent out space in order to store your goods, but do you have an idea of the security precautions the storage company invests in or insurance coverages? Making sure your insurance policies cover your assets in these units can save you a great deal of strife later on. Why should you pay so much attention to this attribute of life?
1. Lack of Security - Many storage unit facilities do not go the extra mile to secure possessions of their patrons. In some rural areas, the owner may not see the practice to be a worthwhile venture to invest in. However, the criminal element will still attack these units - especially if they know there is no real method of security. Just a month or two after loading a storage unit up, someone can come in and take away the better part of your life in memories and possessions. Depending how the contract was designed for the facility, the entire loss could fall on your own shoulders.
2. Compensation - While some of us may have a few things loaded in a storage unit that we really won't miss; many more will have a large portion of their life locked up behind its door. Without the proper insurance coverage, you may have to pay for everything that you lost. Although the insurance company can't replace the memories of your daughter's first tooth that someone decided to take, it can help you recuperate some of the more important items such as furniture and tools. Many of us will store seasonal items in a storage unit, and replacing an entire wardrobe of winter clothes could be quite costly.
3. Frequency - While some storage unit providers go to great lengths to protect the assets of patrons, the criminal element will still take advantage of the situation. Even if those responsible for stealing your goods are caught, the return of all of your items may not be possible. They could have been sold, given away, or even thrown into the trash for lack of selling value. It happens more often than you would think and you never believe it could happen to you - until it does.
4. Affordability - For many insurance policies, protecting your assets in a storage unit is rolled in with your homeowner's or renter's policies. If not, it may not be a bad idea to include insuring your collection of memories. Most insurance companies offer affordable rates on insuring the items you are saving in storage and may be a worthwhile expense considering the dollar amount of goods you may have stacked inside one. As the adage goes, "It's better to be safe than sorry."
You should always have a list of items you have in your storage unit in case of emergencies such as this. If your unit is broken into, it makes it easy to list the items you had for the insurance company and police report. It's also convenient if you are looking for something that you thought was in the house when you actually placed it in the unit. Do you have an insurance plan to cover your life collections of possessions and memories?
This is a guest post by Liz Nelson from WhiteFence.com. She is a freelance writer and blogger from Houston. Questions and comments can be sent to: liznelson17@gmail.com.
