Storage Rental Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Storage Rental insurance must be included in the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by insurance against accidents and all the other kinds of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unexpected happens.

Like any business owner, for your Storage Rental enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

Business Insurance for Storage Rental

If your Storage Rental business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous chance not just of losing some money but of a final wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the results of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for growing businesses to outline what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where available, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Storage Rental business?

What this means, for any Storage Rental business owner, is that if some person claims that your business caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your Storage Rental business is not sheltered by laws in the same way as states are, where laws can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Texas, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a court can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the privilege of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a person more than they have sort.

When you are running your Storage Rental operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the results of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent beforehand the money necessary to have your business running as a corporation, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does Storage Rental insurance protect you from?

For your Storage Rental business, the most important kinds of insurance are meant to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

In addition there are some mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will outline the most important points any Storage Rental business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main headings of insurance for your Storage Rental businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Storage Rental business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them themselves or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can sue you for compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Storage Rental business insures you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your Storage Rental business from the claims themselves and in addition to any follow-on court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it can also help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts insist on proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your Storage Rental business would be with a upper limit of $1 million for a single submission and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your Storage Rental insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Storage Rental business

In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Storage Rental business for them, you can quickly face a law suit.

Even if the lawsuit against you is ruled in your favor, the cost of defense can be large, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Most small Storage Rental business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a once-off claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of Storage Rental insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Storage Rental operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that buyers may claim that what you delivered didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

You need to understand the explicit laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held responsible for damages caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any possible lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Storage Rental

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you should get.

Best advice is to contact experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for help.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Storage Rental business

Beware! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence like theft or accidental damage when the vehicle is being used for business purposes.

The proper way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a direct commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial van policies cover the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

In addition, in case of any accident, the van itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is covered if your van is involved in an accident.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, insist on this type of insurance.

The required value of the insurance is worked-out for the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your declared level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Storage Rental business needs specific and expensive equipment, you can appreciate how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The tools may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unpredicted acts.

As well, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can wipe-out your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specialized gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your Storage Rental business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your Storage Rental business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Storage Rental business that owns or rents space in a building must have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the property, you certainly have a substantial capital investment, along with a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Your physical building location must carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against accidental occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Storage Rental business operates in areas of high risk, like Texas or North Carolina, supplementary coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Storage Rental business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas the level of cover depends mainly on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of Storage Rental insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Storage Rental business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Storage Rental business

Is your Storage Rental business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Storage Rental – are special policies where you can cover a nominated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having less premiums but still having the same risk cover.

The essential feature of short-term insurance is that you buy the cover for a defined period – a nominated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of better business activity, get the existing cover improved.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Storage Rental business

You have the option to combine several of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP integrates commercial property and public liability insurance by incorporating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will protect you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is often the right choice for small and medium-sized Storage Rental businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will dictate whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs will not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle policies.

Also, the size of your business will dictate whether you are allowed to take out BOP cover.

The normal business that can take out a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual revenue.

In addition, you must separately take out the necessary worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your Storage Rental business employees

In most states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Storage Rental business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the operation against any costs that arise if a worker experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits provide for medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s requirements in this regard can leave you as the employer having to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only allow coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you cannot obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

Workers compensation charges are calculated based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must see the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Storage Rental insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of average quotes from insurance companies for us to give approximate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with an agent what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have collected for the main types of insurance your Storage Rental businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
General liability insurance $740 – $1155
Commercial insurance $1030 – $2545
Commercial vehicle insurance $1870 – $2620
Product liability insurance $200 – $765
Equipment insurance $340 – $1455
Public liability insurance $325 – $690

Cost of insurance for your Storage Rental operations depends on many different factors.

We have calculated these figures for small freelance Storage Rental businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, whereas in smaller states like Utah, they will be about 20%-30% less.

The location and size and type of your Storage Rental business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

Also you can let the internet do the work for you by looking for insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another reliable source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your town.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Storage Rental operations?

This is an umbrella term used to describe standard insurance policies designed to protect Storage Rental business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Storage Rental business have to have insurance?

Some of the forms of insurance are not mandatory for you to run your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Several other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small Storage Rental business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a customer for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The specific cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the best policies for Storage Rental insurance.

How much will Storage Rental business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, certain other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

You can search for more information insurance for Storage Rental, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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