If you are a tradesman, you will probably be familiar with these scenarios. Your garage or the back of your van is full of tools and spare materials, your spare room is your office and your job has taken over your house! Many tradesmen have acquired a collection of tools worth a small fortune over the years and all to often, they are stored insecurely at home. Aside from the impact on your home and work/life balance of having work tools and materials stored at home, the ramifications of losing valuable tools and equipment, if you are unlucky enough to be robbed, can be catastrophic for small businesses. Tradesmen are often targeted by unscrupulous thieves as they are generally, easy to spot. It has been reported that tool theft has increased a massive 30% year on year since 2014. Worse still, these items may not always be covered on your home insurance policy, so if you are unlucky enough to be robbed, you may even find yourself footing the bill. The excess of home insurance may also be more than the average storage insurance policy.
A huge increase in tool theft may be part of the reason why tradesmen are increasingly using secure self storage facilities to house their tools and equipment. An accredited self storage facility will have far superior security than the average garage or van, complete with 24 hr CCTV, pin protected entry and great access. In addition to this, tools stored in a self storage facility are likely to remain in better condition. Electric tools in particular need dry storage and garages and garden sheds can be damp, cold and prone to leaks, especially in the colder winter months. In addition to this, using a storage facility means that you do not always need to be driving around with a van full of tools you are not using, which can also limit the potential for damage. Some self storage facilities even offer special rates for tradesmen.
When using self storage, as always, it is vitally important to ensure that you maintain adequate insurance for your stored goods. Business goods in storage should always be insured for their full replacement value – which may be more than you think. Before looking at putting your tools in to storage, you should make a full inventory of what you will be storing and tot up the cost of replacement at today’s values, rather than what you think you paid for them. This is the minimum amount you should use for your sum insured. Before storing you should also make sure that you are not planning to store any unsuitable items or those prohibited by the storage facility as that may invalidate your storage insurance policy in the event of a claim.
If you are a tradesman considering using self storage for your tools and equipment, get a quick quote for your storage insurance here. Our industry leading storage insurance policy offers peace of mind when storing your business goods away from home. For more information see our website – or contact us by email or via the website.