Boosting the number of tenants with insurance coverage is first and foremost about protecting the reputation of your self-storage facility.
For example, If an unexpected event damages several of your units, tenants without insurance are left without compensation for their stored items. Even though the rental contract makes it clear that you are not responsible, customers will still often put the blame on the facility.
A risk management-based approach seeks to avoid such reputational harms by looking out for your customers’ best interest. By making sure every tenant has coverage, you can protect your business and your customers at the same time.
But consumers these days are watching their budgets, and some might resist any fees that they see as unnecessary. So how can you overcome this predicament and get more of your tenants enrolled in an insurance plan?
Here’re are four practices to help you close the coverage gap:
1. Require proof of insurance
It may seem like a hassle, but requiring proof of insurance could potentially save you from dealing with bigger problems down the road. If a customer doesn’t want to enroll in the plan you offer, they can provide proof of coverage from their homeowner’s or renter’s policy.
2. Train your staff
Training your staff to properly explain the benefits of tenant insurance is essential to success. An overly strong sales pitch will likely cause customers to retreat. Instead, make it clear that tenant insurance is required for the rental and everyone gets it.
Furthermore, tenant insurance often provides better coverage and a lower deductible than some homeowners policies. In some cases a tenant’s deductible may be more than the value of their damaged items when using their own insurance. Being able to explain this value to the customer at the point of sale is something that you must train your staff to do well.
3. Upgrade your website
If you are offering online move-ins on your self-storage website, make sure you can enroll tenants into tenant insurance as part of that process. Getting them to sign up or provide proof at a later time can be a pain in the neck, and will have your employees spending too much of their time trying to chase down tenants for paperwork.
4. Use technology to your advantage
If tenants slip by without providing proof of coverage, this can create a risky situation for you. Using a tenant insurance platform that integrates with your facility management software makes it easier to keep track of each tenant’s coverage status and find those that aren’t complying with your policy.
Take steps to boost enrollment now
The bottom line is, the more renters you can enroll into a tenant insurance or protection plan, the better insulated you’ll be from any blowback that might occur in the event of a cataclysmic event. Use the tips above to help you close the tenant coverage gap.