Insurance

If it is worth storing, it is worth insuring.  We think so, which is why Move It requires tenants to have insurance to cover their goods.  Tenant's items stored inside of your unit remain in the tenant's control, and it is the tenant's responsibility to obtain insurance.  Your storage provider can provide good security measures and practice protections like a smoking ban, but you still want to protect your items against accidents, fires, and natural disasters.

It is recommended that you check your insurance options carefully before signing your storage rental agreement and placing your items into self storage. Your first step should be to contact your homeowner/renter insurance agent to see if the items placed in the self-storage facility will be covered under your current policy. It may be that you are fully covered for items stored away from home or you may be able to pay an additional premium to get such coverage. This option could be cheaper than taking out a separate insurance policy, but make sure to consider the cost of a deductible under your homeowner/renter insurance versus a seprate tenant insurance policy.

If you do provide your own insurance coverage, be aware that the self-storage facility you choose will need to see proof of your policy before renting you space.  This proof can be in the form of a declarations page for your homeower/renter insurance.

Should you purchase insurance? Ask yourself these six questions:

1. Are my items already covered under my current insurance policy?  
   This would include vehicles and boats as well as household items.  
    
2. Does the self storage facility offer any type of coverage?  
    
3. If an accident occurs and the facility is at fault, will your items be covered?  
    
4. If a natural disaster occurs, will your items be covered?  
    
5. Will the policy need to be updated each time an item is added or removed from storage?  
   Be sure to keep a detailed list of what is in your self-storage unit and each item's value.  
    
6. Are the items being stored of high monetary or sentimental value?  
   If so, it may be worth the extra cost to rent a climate-controlled storage unit with a larger policy coverage.