Are Storage Units Responsible For Water Damage?

Hi there, thanks for joining us again on Flex TV. My name is Hope and I will be answering all of your storage related questions. Today I got a question from Rachel who wants to know whether storage facilities are responsible for water damages if they should occur. So this is a really important question for a lot of us. Some of us live in really rainy areas. Some of us live in areas that have flooding quite often and you want to know that your stuff is protected inside of your storage unit. So this is a really, really crucial point. Honestly, I don’t think I can think of anything worse than getting to your storage unit, unlocking it and discovering stuff inside has been ruined by water damage. It’s the worst and we don’t want that. So basically there are three kinds of storage providers. The first kind will have you pay a monthly fee to protect your things. It’s like a protection fee, usually pretty negligible and you’ll see it on your monthly billing and then they will cover damages up to a certain value according to what you’ve paid. And if something should happen in terms of water damage, they will take care of it. You want to make sure that they cover water damages specifically. So check the policy. Be smart about this. You don’t want to get this one wrong. The second kind of provider will provide a pamphlet when you come in to book your unit and the pamphlet will direct you to an external insurer. So they will be in charge of insuring your storage and you communicate with them directly and not with your facility. In this case too, you want to check the policy, make sure it covers all water damages, whether it be flooding or rain, because you know they’re not always going to be totally sealed and some storage units can be really susceptible to water damages. The third way to go and sometimes the most convenient is you speak to your homeowner’s and cover your unit as an external part of your house. You can extend your insurance, add a little bit of a premium and then you don’t have to worry about it and you can have your peace of mind. But honestly, to avoid it altogether, check what your facility is like. Check what your unit is like. You want to make sure it’s sealed and weatherproof and built smart in a way that can give you peace of mind so that you don’t have to worry whether it rains or shines or it’s hot or cold outside. You want to have a unit that protects your things no matter what. No matter what state you’re in, no matter if there’s snow or hail or God forbid a fire breaks out. So it’s really important to check what kind of materials your unit is built out of, whether it has insulation or any special controls or climate control to help you avoid any damages no matter the weather, no matter the situation. Trust me on this, you don’t want to skimp on this one. It’s super important to know what your storage unit is actually made of. So a lot of portable storage companies will have basic kind of steel containers and those accumulate rust and they can have leaks. You don’t want that, especially if you’re in a particularly rainy area or if there’s any flooding in your region. Don’t go with that. Go with something that you know is insulated, that’s protected against the elements. Go weatherproof and go safe. Thank you so much, Rachel. I hope I answered your question and thank you guys for joining us again.