General & Premises Liability
General & premises liability is the foundation of self-storage coverage. It protects against third-party claims of bodily injury or property damage occurring anywhere on your property — driveways, hallways, elevators, gates, and unit rows.
General & Premises Liability for Self-Storage Facilities
A self-storage facility is a premises-liability business. Customers, prospects, delivery drivers, and contractors come and go around the clock — often unaccompanied, hauling heavy items up ramps and through corridors. A slip on a wet hallway floor, a trip in a poorly lit unit row, a fall on an icy driveway, or a gate arm striking a vehicle are the everyday claims that premises liability is built to answer.
General liability for self-storage is rated much like habitational risk: the exposure is driven by foot traffic, lighting, surface conditions, security, and the physical layout of the site. It responds to third-party injury and the property damage your operation causes to others — including the defense costs that come with a liability suit.
Why Self-Storage Needs a Tailored GL Form
A generic small-business GL policy often misunderstands storage operations. The right form contemplates 24-hour gate access, drive-up and climate-controlled buildings, and the unique fact that strangers store property on your premises. We place coverage with carriers who write self-storage specifically — and who won't fight a claim because your operation didn't fit their standard mold.
What's Covered
Frequently Asked Questions
$1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is the common baseline for a single-site facility. Lenders and larger portfolios often require $2M/$4M, frequently backed by an umbrella. We set limits to match your site count and loan covenants.
No. GL covers third-party injury and damage you cause to others. Damage to tenants' stored property is addressed by Customer Goods Legal Liability — a separate, self-storage-specific coverage we write alongside your GL.