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> "I don't need insurance." While they do earn revenue for selling insurance, they need you to have it to protect themselves. Arson, theft, and storm damage is
by dahdum 6y ago
> "I don't need insurance."
While they do earn revenue for selling insurance, they need you to have it to protect themselves. Arson, theft, and storm damage is very common and the last thing they want is to get hit with a bunch of costly
lawsuits from people who refused to insure themselves. Basically the same concept as renters insurance.
You usually don't have to buy theirs though, you can buy more comprehensive policies online for less and just provide proof of insurance.
- JoshTriplett 6y ago> they need you to have it to protect themselves. Arson, theft, and storm damage is very common and the last thing they want is to get hit with a bunch of costly lawsuits from people who refused to insure themselves. Then they should be the ones paying for the insurance, because they're the ones who need it. And given the small number of people who will file a lawsuit, versus the number who will make an insurance claim, that seems likely to be cheaper.
- dahdum 6y agoSome people may store items worth $500 while another stores items worth $25k in the same size unit. A one sized fits all policy isn't competitive on the low end, and many people already have coverage through homeowners/rental insurance they can use instead.
- JoshTriplett 6y agoExactly. If people want insurance they can get insurance. If the storage space wants to get liability insurance, they can get that insurance themselves (and if they choose to pass through the fee, they can bundle it into the advertised price and not try to pretend like it's for the benefit of the customer).
- istjohn 6y agoI'm sure that's what the industry would argue. However, the insurance offered does not cover theft, damage due to rodents, mold, or water damage. I imagine these are the cause of the vast majority of losses to self-storage tenants, so I'm skeptical.
- dahdum 6y agoUhaul's SafeStor claims to cover: Fire, Hurricane, Tornado, Wind, Vandalism, Vermin, Lightning, Smoke, Earthquake, Hail, Burglary, Building Collapse, Explosion, Leaking Water My insurance covers the same, including named storms.
- joveian 6y agoI'm fairly sure the one I had covered many of those as well... for the building, not just my stuff. IMO, the issue isn't that insurance is required or not but that they are using it to outright lie about prices in published advertisments. If a minimum level of insurance is required, that needs to be included in advertised price (and not just small print). For the one I used they let you check a box that said you have external insurance that provides sufficient coverage, at least for a while until maybe 6 or 7 years ago when they stopped allowing that. It is possible that others are making that kind of transition and are violating existing laws or possibly existing laws aren't covering this type of case sufficiently. Centurylink lost a lawsuit a few years ago for similarly outright lying about prices (to the point of saying "this is your final cost" with a tiny asterisk leading to a long page that described additional fees). It seems like it can be hard to tell when this type of common unethical buisness practices crosses the line into the deadly form described in the posted article. It also depends on where you are and in some places it is not that unusual for large international corporations to kill union organizers, for example.
- BeetleB 6y agoMy buying insurance doesn't prevent me from suing them.
- amscanne 6y agoThe contract could include a provision that you can only pursue damages from them after relevant insurance claims.