Does homeowners insurance cover storage units?

If you need to store some of your belongings in a storage unit, your homeowners insurance will provide some coverage. Home insurance covers personal property off premises at 10% of the total personal property coverage on your policy.

There are limits on the coverage provided by home insurance for a storage unit, so you may need to consider buying additional storage unit insurance.

Consider the value of the items you’re putting and storage and read the fine print on your home insurance policy to determine whether you need additional insurance.

What is storage unit insurance?

Storage unit insurance covers the belongings inside your storage unit. When you rent or lease a storage unit, it is important to ensure that your belongings are protected.

It is likely that you already have coverage if you have homeowners insurance or renters insurance. However, it is possible to buy a standalone policy if you do not already have coverage.

How homeowners insurance provides storage unit coverage

Home insurance includes personal property coverage that protects your belongings no matter where they are. Many policies include language that provides protection for property stored off-premises and outside of the home and a storage unit usually qualifies. 

“You may be able to buy a special policy that covers items in a storage unit, and you want to make sure that the coverage is broad enough to cover what might happen, like theft or weather-related events. Most of these facilities will make you sign a waiver acknowledging they won’t be responsible if your stuff gets damaged,” says Amy Bach, Executive Director of United Policyholders, a consumer group.

Coverage limits on off-premises contents

The amount of coverage you receive for off-premises contents in storage depends on your policy. Most policies cover personal property off-premises at 10% of the total personal property coverage on the policy. You may have the option to increase coverage as needed. Make sure you know the value of the items in your storage unit to determine if you have enough coverage.

“[Many] insurers typically limit the off-premises coverage for possessions to 10 percent to 15 percent of the overall amount of coverage that they have, so it’s wise to double-check with your insurance company,” says Bach.

Coverage limitations for perils

Home insurance covers personal property for a specific list of perils, but may not cover every possible type of damage. To expand coverage, many storage units will give you the option to purchase coverage for your storage unit. It may be a facility requirement before you are allowed to move your belongings into the unit. Coverage is typically provided either in-house or through a third party, but review the agreement carefully as coverage limits and restrictions will likely apply.  

Special limitations for high-value items

High-value items should always be kept in the home whenever possible to keep them safe. However, if you do decide to store them off-site, it is important to know that high-value items, such as jewelry, antiques, collectibles and art, may all require additional coverage beyond what the standard policy provides. A personal property endorsement offers a solution by providing the extra coverage you need for these more expensive items. 

“Homeowner policies also have internal caps. They might have a cap of $1,000 on jewelry or $200 on comic books and trading cards. If one of the items you’re storing in the unit has this cap, you have to think about this,” Bach says

How much is storage insurance? 

The cost of storage insurance varies significantly based on the value of the items you store inside. For example, if you have $10,000 worth of items in storage, you could pay anywhere from $8 to $38 for your insurance. It all depends on what you store inside. 

As an example, below are the average rates advertised by MiniCo, one of the largest companies in the U.S. for storage unit insurance. Rates from other companies will vary.

Average cost of storage unit insurance at MiniCo

The cost of storage unit insurance varies based on the company you choose, so always compare multiple quotes to find the most affordable rates for your needs. 

How much storage unit insurance coverage do you need?

Calculate the value of everything you’re putting in storage to determine exactly how much coverage you need. If your home insurance does not provide adequate coverage to match what you need, you can ask your home insurance company for an expanded quote to allow for extended coverage.  

What is not covered by storage insurance? 

There are some events where your storage insurance is woefully inadequate. Some of the events that typically require additional coverage include:

• Normal wear and tear
• Floods
• Earthquakes

You can fill some of the gaps by getting additional coverage from a policy endorsement.

Buying storage insurance

Whether you are shopping for a new homeowners policy or simply adding a new storage insurance policy, you should shop around for multiple quotes from different insurance companies. This way you can compare home insurance quotes to find the best and cheapest home insurance policy for you. 

“It’s an important purchase, and you want to protect yourself and your valuables and make sure that your needs are being met,” says Jim Whittle, Assistant General of the Counsel and Chief Claims Counsel of the American Insurance Association. “You have to shop around for coverage. There is insurance you can buy for stored items and you want to ask for that. The amount of coverage depends on the individual and how much you want to pay and what you have in your storage unit. There may also be coverage that the storage facility has, so you’ll want to explore that. Some facilities might offer that as an extra charge.”

If you’re young and have few possessions, you may not need an expensive policy, “but you need something,” says Eric Cutler, Director of Personal Lines at Oregon Mutual Insurance in McMinnville, Ore. “As you become an adult and get out on your own, you need to know what’s covered and not covered.”

Storage at a parent’s house

What if your stuff is stored in your parents’ driveway in a storage pod? How about if your belongings are at their house? Are they fully insured? To be sure, read the insurance policy that protects the home.

“A lot of carriers cover this, and we do as well,” says Cutler. “We cover personal property, whether it’s in a storage pod in the driveway, in your house or in your backyard. It just can’t be on the street or across the street from your house.”

Check your policy or consult your insurance agent to find out what is covered for your belongings.

The bottom line

Most home insurance policies cover storage units, but coverage may be limited. If you need to purchase additional coverage, storage insurance can help protect your belongings. Just be sure to itemize and document each of your belongings with receipts and photos, so you can file a claim for reimbursement should they be destroyed from a covered loss.

Whether you have home insurance or specific storage insurance, your overflow items may be protected even if they are not at home with you.

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