Are Your Clients Aware of Fire Risks?
Fires can be a very serious risk for self-storage units. While your clients may be responsible storage tenants, the tenant in the next unit may not be. Self-storage facilities do not provide insurance for your clients’ items stored in the rented unit. They need to provide their own insurance coverage to protect them in the event of damage resulting from fire or other perils. It’s a good idea to sit down with each client at least annually to review their homeowner’s or renter’s policy to ensure they have adequate coverage for items in storage. Another option is to advise them to purchase the tenant insurance available through the storage facility.
Fire Hazards
- Causes of fire
- Prohibited items
- Regular inspections
A fire can start in many ways. While some fires begin as a result of lightning or other natural causes, most are started by people either accidentally or intentionally. Facility owners should post signs notifying tenants about hazardous items that are prohibited from being stored inside units such as gas-powered tools, flammable liquids, and chemicals. You also may wish to advise your clients to ask about daily inspection practices when selecting a self-storage facility and encourage them to carefully observe the facility’s landscaping and maintenance. Operations that don’t take the time to perform maintenance tasks may not be observant about other important issues as well.
Fire Prevention
- Overcrowding
- Fireproof safe
- Sprinkler systems
Share with your clients a few precautions to observe when storing items in a rented unit. While it makes financial sense to rent the smallest space needed, overcrowding can be a fire hazard. Photographs, paper items, and valuable documents should be stored in a fireproof safe, which can also be a benefit in case of burglary. If the unit has a sprinkler system, be aware of potential damage to items stored in cardboard boxes and protect larger items, such as furniture, by wrapping them in heavy-duty plastic bags or tarps.
Fires aren’t the only hazard to worry about when it comes to renting a self-storage unit. MiniCo Insurance Agency offers specialized, short-term self-storage tenant insurance to provide your clients with affordable coverage to protect their valuables in the event of fire, smoke, burglary, lightning, windstorm, hail, water damage, earthquake, building collapse and more.
