Thread: Mandatory Tenant Insurance

Does anyone make mandatory tenant insurance a condition to rent at your facility?

If so, how do you approach it? Is the price rolled in with the rental rate or an add-on? Do customers accept or grumble about it? Has it hurt closing sales?

If you don't, would you consider it? Why or why not?

you forgot an important question Amy....if you do require that they have tenant insurance, do you do so even if the insurance specifically does not cover the particular items they are storing? (that's the one that always "gets my goat")

Good point, Lisa!

We just ran a trial month of mandatory insurance. We reverted back to required to have insurance as of 9/1.. There is a difference in required and mandatory....We did lose a few rentals but the biggest issue I had was how the customer's reacted to us demanding they buy or provide proof of insurance on their own items at time of signing the lease...We strive to excel in customer service and you could feel the tension and negativity it created. We work very hard to make customers feel "good" about renting from us and make it a positive experience...We get a large number of rentals from referrals from current or previous customers...

Sounds like a bad idea to me. Good way to drive your business into the ground IMO. Most have homeowners coverage and storage contracts generally limit storage to a value of $2,500 or so anyway.

Check out the poll (and vote!), as well as the older, related discussion we have going on already: Does anyone else mandate that tenants have insurance?

We just started manditory insurance here. I did have a lot of move outs this past month (Not sure if because of insurance) If they told me they were leaving because of it, then I got their rent fixed and they were happy.
When new customers come in, I will quote the price including the insurance. Seems to make it a lot better. I tell them it is a special price with insurance included (makes it sound like its free)

From what I understand you can not quote it together. It must be clear they are two totally different charges..I questioned this recently, I suggested we give them X amount of insurance and increase rental rates accordingly but told this is not allowed.. Also we say we are offering insurance not selling because we are not licensed insurance agents...

Originally Posted by delsolrp13

From what I understand you can not quote it together. It must be clear they are two totally different charges..I questioned this recently, I suggested we give them X amount of insurance and increase rental rates accordingly but told this is not allowed.. Also we say we are offering insurance not selling because we are not licensed insurance agents...

Yes, it is two totally different amounts. I just let them know it is a special price. I also let them know what the street rate is so they see the difference. Their move in packets also show the different amounts.

delsolrp..you don't happen to work for SSSS? (if you do, you should know the initials)

No, I don't work for SSSS yet!!!! How much does it pay?? LOL