Do You Need Storage Unit Insurance? (2024 Guide)
Get a quote from local moving experts
Clicking “Get Your Estimate” submits your data to Home Service Quotes, which will process your data in accordance with the Home Service Quotes Privacy Policy.
Ad Disclaimer
Written by
Storage units are helpful to homeowners and renters alike who have a limited amount of space. Still, it can be stressful to store your personal property—in some instances a long distance away—because you can’t protect it yourself from theft and damage.
Many storage companies and insurance providers offer storage unit insurance to offer peace of mind. While renters and homeowners insurance often cover stored items, storage unit insurance offers additional protection and higher dollar limits on reimbursement.
Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Belongings in Storage Units?
According to the Insurance Information Institute, standard homeowners insurance covers items you keep in a storage unit. Personal belongings coverage applies even if your belongings are stored off-premises—that is, somewhere other than your dwelling.
Insurance often covers personal belongings at a rate of 50–70% of the insurance on your home’s structure. You must take in account that some insurance companies limit off-premises personal belongings coverage to 10% of your dwelling coverage, even after you meet your deductible. You may be able to increase this for an additional fee.
Likewise, there may also be limits in the case of theft. Your insurance may only reimburse you around $2,000 for stolen high-value items, such as jewelry, firearms, electronics, or collectibles, regardless of how much they’re worth. Even in the case of a covered natural disaster, an insurance company may limit coverage of these items to $2,500–$3,000. Be mindful that you can raise this coverage limit by purchasing scheduled personal property coverage, which will also apply to items in storage.
No matter where your high-value items are stored, your personal property coverage can protect you from the same financial losses as your homeowners insurance policy.
Does Renters Insurance Cover Belongings in Storage Units?
The answer for a renters insurance policy is the same—personal belongings are covered even if you keep them in storage units, but coverage limits apply. To get more information on your personal property coverage, look at your Coverage C limits.
- For most renters insurance, belongings coverage is anywhere from $10,000–$50,000, but off-premises items are subject to the 10% limit. That means if you’ve insured your rental dwelling for $25,000, your renters insurance will only cover your stored items up to $2,500.
There may also be sub-limits for certain valuable items, such as furs, gems, silverware, gold, or business property. As with home insurance, you can cover individual items by adding an insurance rider to your policy.
Do I Need To Get Storage Unit Insurance?
Many storage companies require you to provide proof of insurance before they will rent you a unit. Both home and renters insurance meet this requirement, but the coverage limits are often so low that it makes sense to purchase additional coverage, particularly for high-value items. You can do this by adding riders to your existing policies with your current insurance company. Depending on where you live, you may also consider adding coverage for typical exclusions, such as damage from flooding and earthquakes.
Alternatively, you may be able to go through the storage company itself or a trusted third party. Many companies offer some insurance based on the size of the storage unit and additional coverage for an extra fee. Some storage companies will even offer coverage for events excluded by renters and homeowners insurance, including mold, mildew, and flooding.
Yet another benefit of opting for storage company insurance is that claims won’t count against your other insurance policies. In other words, your home insurance premium won’t go up if you file a claim on stored items with a separate policy.
Cost of Storage Unit Insurance
The cost of self-storage insurance will depend on your current policy, your insurance provider, and where you live. In general, adding personal property coverage to an existing policy will add about $100 per year to your premium for every additional $10,000 in coverage.
Insurance requirements and costs will also vary by storage company. Here are some popular nationwide companies and their rates:
- U-Haul: According to U-Haul, Safestor insurance plans range from $7.95 to $35.95 per month and provide $1,000 to $15,000 worth of coverage
- Extra Space Storage: Offers $2,000 to $10,000 of insurance coverage on your belongings for a monthly fee of $11 to $52
- Public Storage: $15 per month for up to $5,000 of coverage through SnapnSure
- MakeSpace Storage: This company offer four levels of coverage, according to their website. See below for details and prices.
MakeSpace Storage Coverage Levels
- Basic: Basic protection does not reimburse you for the actual value of items, but rather reimburses you on an item-by-item basis for $0.60 per pound of the item’s weight. For example, if one item weighed 10 pounds, it would be covered at $6.
- Silver Protection: The Silver Protection plan reimburses you up to $1,000 for eligible items that are lost or damaged. The cost of the Silver Protection plan is $15/month.
- Gold Protection: The Gold Protection plan reimburses you up to $2,000 for eligible items that are lost or damaged. The cost of the Gold Protection plan is $20/month.
- Full-Value Protection: The Full-Value Protection plan reimburses you for the actual cash value or repair costs of your eligible item(s), up to your stated value in aggregate. The cost of a full protection plan is a function of your total stated value. For this one, you must reach out to their customer care team.
How To Document Storage Unit Contents
No matter what kind of insurance you purchase, it is wise to have an inventory of your stored belongings. This will help you determine how much insurance to buy, make filing a claim much easier, and allow you to quantify losses should an unexpected event occur. Making an inventory of stored items is often easier than inventorying your entire home. Here are some \ steps to get you started:
- Document basic information about each item, including a description of the item such as its make and model, where you bought it, and how much you paid.
- Document and/or take a photo with your mobile phone camera of serial numbers for all electronics and appliances.
- For bulk items, such as clothing, make counts by general category, such as the number of shirts or pairs of pants, making more detailed notes for anything valuable.
- Keep proof of value for big-ticket items. Proof includes receipts, purchase contracts, and appraisals.
What Does Storage Unit Insurance Cover?
If you opt not to purchase additional storage unit insurance, your coverage will depend on the types of damage your home or renters insurance policy covers and how the company reimburses you. The catastrophic events your policy covers are called “covered perils.” Most home and renters insurance covers the following:
- Lightning strike
- Burst steam or water pipes
- Damage from vehicles and aircraft
- Falling objects
- Fire and smoke
- Fire sprinkler system water damage
- Theft and vandalism
- Weight of ice, snow, and sleet
- Windstorms and hail
Be mindful, however, that renters and homeowners insurance does not typically cover the following perils:
- Damage from lack of maintenance, including wear and tear, mold, mildew, and vermin
- Ground movement such as earthquakes, landslides, and sinkholes
- Flooding and water damage
- Sewer backups
- Infestations of bedbugs, termites, mice, and other vermin
- Government action to confiscate or condemn a home
- Nuclear hazards
- Dog bites
- It’s important to understand how your insurance company will calculate value and payment when covered damage occurs. Some policies cover the actual cash value of the items damaged minus depreciation. Others will pay for replacement items at today’s market cost. Replacement cost value policies pay more, but they also come with higher premiums.
What Happens if I Don’t Have Insurance?
A storage company might refuse to rent you a unit if you can’t provide proof of existing insurance coverage. Keep in mind that if the company will rent you a unit without insurance, all your stored items are at the mercy of hazards such as fire, weather, water, and theft. If your property is damaged or destroyed, you won’t have any options for reimbursement.
This can be troubling if you have valuable items in storage units because you don’t have control over the environmental conditions the same way you do in your home or apartment.
Our Conclusion
Storage companies often require some type of property insurance to rent a self-storage unit. Homeowners and renters insurance usually covers your possessions no matter where you store them but at a lower dollar limit than your dwelling coverage. It often makes sense to buy additional coverage for your storage unit, especially if you plan to store high-value items there. These policies are low-cost and may cover types of damage not covered by other insurance.
FAQ About Storage Unit Insurance
Do storage units require insurance?
Most storage companies require proof of insurance to rent a unit. If you don’t have renters or homeowners insurance, many companies offer coverage for an additional fee.
Is Safestor Insurance Legit?
Safestor Insurance is a legitimate company. It’s one of the largest storage unit insurance companies, and it’s owned by Ponderosa Insurance Agency, which has been in business since 1973.
How does personal item insurance work?
Personal item insurance, also called personal property coverage, is the portion of your homeowners or renters insurance policy that applies to your belongings rather than the dwelling itself. If your belongings are damaged by a covered peril, the insurance company will reimburse you for them, though at a substantially lower dollar cap than the full insurance policy.
Does storage insurance cover water damage?
Standard insurance policies typically only cover water damage that results from fire sprinklers. However, specific storage insurance policies are more likely to cover water damage from flooding, rain, or other sources.
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.
