Having all of your self-storage customers’ belongings covered by insurance should be a goal of any storage operator. Sometimes it can feel like it is easier said than done.
As inflation rises, consumers are growing more price-sensitive. Many are looking for any way to shave off costs, including declining any coverage you may provide. If your facility requires insurance, and it should, then those customers will need to provide proof of off-site property coverage from their homeowners or renters’ policy.
But what do you do if that customer doesn’t have proof of coverage on them? Do you still rent them the unit, or do you tell them to come back later and risk losing the move-in? It can be a tough decision, but it doesn’t have to be if you have the right technology in place.
Another challenge operators face in achieving full tenant coverage is the growing shift to online rentals. While you can train your front office staff to properly explain tenant insurance to walk-in customers, that won’t help you much when the customer is renting a unit from you online using their phone. How does one get online customers to opt-in to tenant insurance?
Our conversation with Storable’s Chuck Stringham, national client development specialist at Storsmart Insurance, continues below as he explains how operators can use Storable to bridge the coverage gap at their facility. (Read Part 1 here.)
How can operators make sure that customers who move-in online opt-in to an insurance policy?
Chuck Stringham: Automation in our industry is being used more and more. It has its challenges and getting customers to enroll for insurance coverage is certainly one of them. If insurance is offered as an optional add-on, the majority of customers will skip it in order to keep their total monthly price down. Unlike at your physical rental office, your online website doesn’t have anyone there to explain the need and benefits of having coverage to the customer.
One option is to provide a list of coverage options for tenants to choose from when completing their online rental. If they want and feel their own insurance is enough, they can provide that info in a field online in order to move forward in the rental.
Often a customer will think they are covered by another policy, but oftentimes that coverage is either insufficient or non-existent. Or the customer just doesn’t provide proof of coverage when they say they will. How can that gap be closed, especially when it comes to online rentals?
Auto-Protect is a Storable feature that ensures a new customer has proof of insurance on file for their storage unit. It allows the customer that chooses to provide their own coverage to show proof of coverage within 14 days. They are notified of the need for proof three times (at time of rental, one week after they rent and then at two weeks after rental). If they don’t provide proof to the facility or online after those notifications, they will be automatically enrolled in the minimum coverage you provide. Having Auto-Protect enabled provides a great process to easily have the customer follow your facility’s insurance requirements.
That sounds like it can be useful in the front office as well. How does Auto-Protect help onsite storage facility managers?
This process for me is about taking the pressure off the manager. If managers are requiring proof, many at times have had to chase customers for proof—or sign up the customer for tenant insurance until they provide it. Some customers feel like they don’t need to enroll in tenant insurance, and some managers are reluctant to require proof of insurance because they don’t want to cause issues at rental time. Having this in place provides the manager an easier way of preventing uninsured tenants without putting a burden on the customer to prove they are covered at the time of rental.
Interested in growing tenant insurance enrollment at your facility? Check out everything Storable Insurance has to offer. Insurance provided by Storable-owned affiliate and licensed insurance agency, Property First Group, LP
