Insuring a private storage facility through OOM Verzekeringen

In brief

For storage space away from the home the regular market is thin. Finass Advies compares several insurers objectively and uses OOM Verzekeringen where a small building or an interest does not fit a home or contents product. A private storage unit is such a case: a shed on a separate plot, an old stable, a lock-up garage or a rented unit in which you keep what does not fit in the house. The starting point is the question of who insures what. If you rent a unit, the landlord insures the building and not your contents. If you own the building yourself, you need buildings cover alongside cover for what is in it.

The distinguishing point is that ordinary home contents insurance assumes belongings in the home. For items in an outbuilding, a shed or storage space elsewhere, a restriction almost always applies: only certain perils, a considerably lower sub-limit, or no cover at all. Valuables, money, jewellery and collections are almost always excludedoutside the home. What you store therefore determines whether separate cover is needed; see also insuring contents in storage and ordinary home contents insurance.

The second theme is supervision. A storage unit stands closed for weeks or months, is unheated and is rarely checked. Two consequences follow. First, insurers set requirements on the lock, the door and sometimes on detection; theft without signs of forced entry is not paid. Second, slow processes fall outside the cover: condensation in an unheated space, mould, wood rot and damage gnawed by vermin are not insured perils. Storage for business purposes is subject to a different regime; see the business storage unit.

This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare holiday home and chalet insurance.