Flooding is very much in the news again following three significant storms in quick succession in February and yet more wet weather on the horizon. Much of the UK is currently covered by flood warnings ranging from mild to severe and these kinds of events seem to be happening more regularly in recent years with sharp, intense downpours happening more frequently.
If your belongings are in storage, making sure that your insurance provides adequate cover for flood damage is essential. When flooding occurs it is likely that everything will be damaged and require replacement – some recent footage filmed in Halifax showing a storage container being carried along in floodwater and another video showing a storage container wedged under a bridge in Leeds prompted us to write this post.
So, what can you do to protect yourself from losses due to flooding?
In the case of flooding, as with all risks, attempting to limit your exposure in the first instance is a good strategy. So, how can you mitigate your risk when choosing a storage location?
One obvious first step is to look at the location of the facility in relation to The Government’s flood risk map. You can search by postcode to see whether the location is within a risk area or not. As well as flooding from rivers and the sea, you can also check whether specific locations are at risk from flooding from surface water or reservoirs as well as the likely depth and speed of any possible flood water.
Once again, don’t be afraid to ask questions about the potential for flooding and what contingency plans are in place to deal with flood risks when you are looking into self-storage facilities.
Another way to limit your exposure to the risk of flooding is to look at the type of storage you decide to rent – it seems logical that external metal containers – similar to the one floating down the road in Halifax, are more likely to suffer flooding than internal storage space.
Check your belongings after a spell of wet weather or flooding – even if there has not been any actual flooding in the area, periods of particularly wet and stormy weather may have allowed some water ingress into your storage unit – especially if it is outside storage. If left, dampness inside your storage space could well cause mould and mildew problems which won’t be obvious immediately. Damage caused in this way may not be covered by your insurance as storage insurance policies tend to exclude damage caused gradually.
Make sure you have adequate insurance
As ever, making sure that you have sufficient storage insurance cover to full replacement value of your belongings is the best way to protect yourself from loss should the worst happen.
Make sure that your chosen policy includes cover for flood. Storage Insurance from Store Insure covers damage from flood as standard, both in the storage location and whilst in transit to and from the storage location. For more information or to get a quote, visit our website.