Article from The Telegraph by Sam Barker
26 August 2018 9:30am
Customers who buy contents insurance through their self-storage firm are routinely overpaying by an average of three times more than they could get elsewhere.
Telegraph Money has seen examples where customers were charged up to seven times as much, or told they could not shop around for a better deal, and in some cases were charged more for insurance than for the storage itself.
Britain is a nation of self-storers. Almost half, or 1,430, of the self-storage sites in Europe are in this country, according to the Self Storage Association UK trade body.
Contents insurance is normally compulsory when goods are placed in a self-storage unit. Some household contents policies extend to cover this, but most do not.
A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said: “Not all household insurance will cover you while your possessions are in a self-storage facility, particularly if they are being stored for an extended period of time.”
People whose home insurance does not cover self-storage can either buy a policy through their storage company or go to a separate specialist insurer or broker.
But if you choose to rely on your storage company for cover, be prepared to pay above the odds.
Self-storage firms normally have a preferred insurer or broker that provides the cover, to which the storage business can add commission.
IMG CREDIT: RICHARD ALLEN FOR THE TELEGRAPH
