Have you ever rented an apartment? Most of us have. The legal liability both parties assume when you rent a storage unit is much the same as the liability that exists when renting an apartment. The landlord is responsible for maintaining the outside of the unit but, with rare exception, is not responsible for any damage that might happen to your possessions inside your unit – by law. If a water pipe breaks, your landlord’s insurance does not cover damage to your possessions. Theft? It’s unfortunate, but without insurance, you have to replace the items at your expense.
That is why renting a well maintained and secure property is a contributing factor in keeping your possessions safe. But even though there is a perimeter fence, gate code access, asphalt maintenance, pest control measures, routine roof maintenance, good lighting, cameras, and other services that contribute toward providing a safe and secure location, a roof can still spring a leak, pipes can still freeze and break, someone can break into a tenant’s unit, or a car can run into a door, damaging the contents on the other side. Any number of mishaps can occur that could damage your possessions.
A typical storage unit rental agreement between owner and tenant is that the owner offers a storage space for the tenant to store their personal items in exchange for a monthly rental fee. A tenant is wise to seek out insurance to cover any damage that might happen to their belongings.
Some storage companies offer insurance and require tenants to have insurance when they move in (it is included as a line item to their rent). However, once a tenant moves in, many of them pay late or only send in their rent portion which cancels out their insurance policy. For this reason, Alameda Mini Storage does not offer or include tenant insurance. However, we consider it a very wise investment for tenants to fully investigate their options and make sure they will not endure any undue hardships should something catastrophic happen.
Because the tenant is not insuring the external portion of the building, renters or storage space insurance is usually less than homeowner’s insurance. Some homeowners or apartment renter’s insurance policies might cover some of the belongings in a storage unit but be sure you understand how much coverage that might entail. It may not cover your storage unit possessions 100%. If you have high ticket items in storage you will no doubt want to talk to your insurance agent about what is and is not covered and possibly purchase supplemental coverage.