Learn more about how to protect your warehouse and items you are storing for others.

Warehouse owners are exposed to the loss or damage of third-party owned materials stored in their facilities.
Under the United States Uniform Commercial Code, or UCC, a warehouse owner assumes responsibility for the materials they store for others for a fee.
According to Uniform Commercial Code Section 7-204(2), “Damages may be limited by a term in the warehouse receipt or storage agreement limiting the amount of liability in case of loss or damage, and setting forth a specific liability per article or item, or value per unit of weight, beyond which the warehouse owner shall not be liable.”.
This means that your contract must detail the value of what is placed in your storage facility to determine damages in the event of a loss.
Claims may arise from theft, fire, flood, lack of refrigeration, roof collapse, damage during handling, insufficient facility maintenance, and a number of other causes.
Warehouse Legal Liability Insurance provides coverage for customer goods that are in your warehouse under your care, custody, and control, in the event that a loss occurs and was due to negligence.
If your facility experiences a loss, the third party must prove that you failed to exercise due care over their possessions.
Regardless of the size of your warehouse, whether one room or a large-scale facility, you must protect yourself against potential liability with the proper insurance coverage.
Warehouse Legal Liability should be carefully put together with a firm understanding of the contractual agreements between warehouse operators and their customers.
This is to understand how much coverage is needed and the exact parameters by with it should be written.
Policies typically do not include Earthquake coverage so remember to look at all risk factors that could potentially lead to damaged goods and put together each policy needed.
In addition to purchasing insurance, it is wise to establish safeguards to protect against losses.
These may include, researching the crime rate in your area and inspecting neighboring businesses for hazards that may affect your facility, storing goods on solid shelves, keeping electronic equipment in a climate-controlled area, And screening new employees thoroughly to avoid hiring a potential thief.

Please contact us with further questions on this or any other risk management topic. We will see you again soon!