Are you paying too much for your self-storage insurance? Or is your insurer just not giving you the service you want – for example, you are storing goods that they won’t cover. It’s time to change insurance providers.
Changing insurance providers should be a simple matter of cancelling your policy (or not renewing it) and buying insurance from your chosen provider. It’s worth getting a few quotes ahead of your renewal date so that you can have a seamless changeover. Get a quote from S&I right now with our online form, and tick an item off your list.
Do I have to take my storage provider’s insurance offering?
Many storage companies offer insurance to their clients as a nice little side-line, with some managers of multi-branch companies getting an incentive to encourage them to sell insurance. They are supposed to let you know that they are adding this item to your bill each month, but often, in all the excitement of getting your unit, this detail gets lost.
We are pretty sure this practice is unfair and goes against the spirit of The Competitions Act (1998) and The Consumer Rights Act (2015). You are not obliged to accept this insurance offering, and an insurance certificate from a specialist storage insurance provider (like Store and Insure) will meet the terms of your contract.
If you are not sure whether you are already paying for self-storage insurance, check your bill or give your storage provider a call and ask them.
What should I do if the storage company won’t accept my insurance certificate?
If your storage company refuses to accept insurance from an independent insurer, it may be worth pointing out that this is in breach of The Competitions Act (1998) and The Consumer Right Act (2015) and that the Financial Conduct Authority would be interested in hearing about this. Your chosen insurance company should be willing to back you up, too.
How do I save money on my self-storage insurance?
Hands down the best way to reduce the cost of your monthly self-storage premiums is to shop around at renewal time – or even before. Some insurers will give you a rebate on the premiums you’ve paid. Other companies will not do this; but set a calendar reminder for the renewal date so you are ready to make a change at that point.
A good self-storage inventory will help you to save money and time because it will give you certainty about what you have in your storage unit.
We’d also advise a good decluttering so you are not paying to store and insure goods that you don’t want. Sometimes it can take a bit of time to decide whether you want to keep a particular item, so it’s worth reviewing what you have in storage from time to time. Once you’ve decluttered, use your inventory to work out the new value of your stored goods and inform your insurer.
Do I need storage insurance?
You might be wondering if you can save money by not insuring your stored goods. This is not an option for most people. Reputable storage companies will insist on you insuring your stored goods as part of your service agreement with them. When your goods are insured, you have peace of mind knowing that you won’t be out of pocket if the worst happens, such as a fire, flood or break-in. Good self-storage insurance is not costly, so the right policy won’t add much to your monthly budget.
A very few household contents insurance policies will cover domestic goods stored outside the home, but don’t assume this is the case with yours. A quick call to your home insurance provider should clear this up.
Changing your storage provider is a small admin task that could save you a good sum of money over the year.
