Business Storage Insurance

What is Business Storage Insurance?

The last 12 months have seen many of us change our business practices. Homeworking, zoom meetings, remote pitches and even office closures have meant that people and belongings have been moved around a bit. Teams have changed, and storage of equipment, tools and products have had to be reassessed based on availability and cost.

Storage on your business premises

What if you have to start storing anything on your business premises? In that case, you will need to ensure you have the correct insurance policy. Business contents insurance can be added to an existing business insurance policy and ensures everything is covered in the event of a fire, flood, other damage or loss or burglary.

If your premises have become unoccupied because of lockdown and look set to remain that way, you will need to ensure everything is still covered. Business interruption policies were created to cover loss of income during the pandemic but not specifically to cover goods being stored. Existing business cover should protect your goods, but it is worth checking with your broker and considering extra security measures for additional peace of mind.

Insurance for storage units

If you choose to use a bespoke storage unit, you will need to look at storage insurance instead. This is a specialist insurance policy designed to provide cover against the specific risks associated with storing them away from your home or business location. Also known as self-storage insurance, this policy will protect against a range of threats including fire, flood, vermin, civil commotion, theft and lightning. There is also "off-premises" personal property coverage in a homeowner's policy if you are a small business based at home and need to move things into storage. Perils covered typically include fire, lightning, theft and vandalism.

How much is storage insurance?

The cost of storage insurance really depends on the individual insurer. You can go down the route of using a storage company's insurer, but taking out a bespoke policy keeps you in control. It is also worth noting in advance that storage companies will not provide cover during transit when items are being loaded or unloaded, or left in public areas.

Policies can start from just about £1.50 per £1,000-worth of products per month. It depends on the value of the products being protected, but there is no doubt that it is vital.

You may be pressing pause on elements of your business: recalibrating interiors to suit post-Covid rules, looking for storage while you close an office and manage homeworking - the reasons are wide-ranging. Regardless of the detail, every element of your business still needs the right protection to enable you to carry on with your operation's day-to-day running.