Self-Storage Commercial Insurance

Self-Storage Facility Insurance

When owning a business, it’s important to have the appropriate insurance to provide coverage for the unexpected. Self-storage facility insurance should reflect the different insurance needs of these businesses.

A specialty BOP, or business owner policy, is a package of self-storage facility insurance coverages that are commonly necessary for facility owners. These policies are convenient and typically easily customizable for small business owners when compared to other larger insurance plans. A basic BOP consists of three main parts: property, general liability, and business interruption.

1. Property
   Property coverage provides protection for property owned, leased, or rented by a self-storage business including buildings, equipment, inventory, furniture, and fixtures as well as coverage for loss of accounts receivable and valuable papers and records. Most self-storage facility insurance BOPs also cover business-owned items and items owned by a third party but kept temporarily in the care, custody, or control of the business or business owner.
2. General Liability
   General liability covers a business's legal responsibility for the harm it may cause to others (bodily injury or property damage) as a result of the company's negligence. This includes costs related to litigation and court judgments if a customer or other third party files suit against a business or its employees.
3. Business Interruption
   Business interruption coverage helps to replace a business's lost net income that it normally would have earned should an event cause a temporary shutdown of operations. This coverage can be a critical factor in the self-storage facility's ability to recover from a catastrophic event and continue operations.

Insurance for Self-Storage Businesses

Most facility owners understand the importance of having the right general liability (GL) insurance for self-storage businesses but may not understand that a GL policy is not all-inclusive and doesn't provide protection for losses association with business personal property and other critical coverages. A BOP is an affordable option for insurance for self-storage businesses that need both liability and property insurance. Compared with stand-alone coverages or larger commercial package policies, BOPs are often the ideal choice for smaller operations.

Advantage 1: Convenience
By packaging property and liability coverages together, the insurance process is simplified, resulting in a single policy and premium bill. It can also simplify the process of filing and resolving a claim.

Advantage 2: Cost-Effectiveness
In many cases, purchasing various stand-alone lines of insurance for self-storage businesses or going with a larger commercial package policy is less affordable than a BOP.

Advantage 3: Customized Coverage
BOPs can be customized for particular industries and types of businesses including self-storage. The coverages included in a BOP can be modified to create a custom policy to meet your operation's specific insurance needs. This flexibility means that BOPs also can grow as your business grows and changes.

Speak With Your Agent
For self-storage business owners, it is important to work with their insurance agent to identify a BOP that includes coverages suitable to address exposures and flexibility to customize the policy as needed to meet the individual operation's needs. It is also important to identify a BOP that offers specialty coverages designed specifically for self-storage operations such as customer goods legal liability and sale and disposal liability. Your agent will help you determine if a BOP is the most effective option in insurance for self-storage businesses for your specific needs.

Coverage Highlights

View Coverage Highlights for more detailed information. Some coverages may not be available in all states.