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Commercial warehouse insurance is a business insurance policy designed to protect warehouse businesses. Having adequate warehouse insurance coverage is crucial because it reassures that you have the proper measures if trouble happens.
Below, we’ll discuss some of the most common types of warehouse insurance that you’ll need to consider for your business and why you might need them. In addition, we will review the top warehouse insurance companies on the market.
As a warehouse business, you’ll likely be responsible for dealing with other businesses’ products, which means that there’s a lot of financial liability that you’ll be on the line for if you or your employees make any mistakes. This is why insurance for warehouse storage businesses is so important.
Without proper warehouse business insurance coverage, then you could be left on the line for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of product loss.
That said, different things could go wrong inside a commercial warehouse, so we’ll take a few minutes to look at the various types of warehouse insurance that will be useful.
Liability insurance protects your warehouse from claims made by third parties. This has many types. For warehouse businesses like yours, the liability insurance most companies offer is general liability insurance.
Warehouse general liability insurance is designed to protect you from claims that will come from vendors, visitors, clients, and other third parties. Their coverage includes
In addition General liability insurance also takes care of attorney fees and other legal costs if legal action is taken.
Advertising injury coverage-It will cover attorney fees, other legal costs, and compensatory payments if a third-party files a claim against your warehouse for slander, libel, and reputational harm.
Rented premises liability coverage- Its job is to help a renter reimburse the losses of the property owner if fire damages a rented or leased space.
Warehouse legal liability coverage, also known as warehouseman legal liability insurance and warehouse keepers liability insurance.
It provide protection if the items of clients inside your warehouse get damaged because of fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils.
Warehouse legal liability insurance excludes coverage for items that were damaged to spoilage or expiry. But still, you can include this exposure in the policy’s terms by getting spoilage endorsements.
Your warehouse building might get damaged or destroyed, and you’ll surely experience significant losses or might even be forced to stop doing business. And so, get warehouse property insurance because it will ensure that the building is protected against anything that could possibly happen to it.
So how does warehouse commercial property insurance help? Commercial property insurance has two primary functions:
Commercial property insurance-takes care of such exposure with its business equipment and tools coverage. Business equipment and tools coverage will reimburse losses if fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils destroyed or damaged the equipment and tools of your warehouse.
Marine cargo insurance has a warehouse to warehouse provision. A warehouse to warehouse provision protects the items from your warehouse against theft, vandalism, fire, and other covered perils, starting from departure, transit, and up until arrival at the receiving warehouse.
A business owner’s policy is an insurance product that combines general liability and commercial property insurance. Depending on which carrier it’s from, a business owner’s policy might also include business interruption insurance or workers’ compensation insurance in its terms.
Workers’ compensation insurance is a state-mandated coverage. If an employee gets injured or sick because of work, workers’ compensation insurance will pay the cost of treatment, hospitalization, rehabilitation, and lost income compensation.
The lost income compensation workers’ compensation insurance provides is equal to two-thirds of the average weekly wage. This means that if an employee earns $1,455 per week, the lost income compensation to be received will be $974.85.
Workers’ compensation insurance provides coverage if the employee dies from his/her injury or sickness. The policy will pay for funeral expenses and will give death benefits to the dependents.
Last but not least, you’ll need insurance for goods in the warehouse. This type of coverage protects you and your business from any damage that happens to inventory that’s outside of your control.
Damage could come from severe weather, vandalism, or theft. Often referred to as warehouse contents insurance, this type of coverage ensures that you and your business won’t be financially liable if products are lost or damaged.
It is a type of commercial insurance that covers the storage activities of businesses whose goods are stored in warehouses. This type of insurance has a wide range of risks involved in storage and handling of different items and is meant to cushion businesses from loss or damage of stock and cover their financial exposure of burglary loss of inventory.
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So, how much does warehouse insurance cost? Providing an exact number is difficult because one warehouse can differ significantly from the next. Some warehouses may just be small operations that store paper goods or small products such as soaps and candles, while others are big and store high-value electronics, heavy equipment, and auto parts.
However, to help you create a budget, we’ve researched and cross-referenced consumer and policyholder data to show you the average warehouse insurance cost that you can expect to pay.
While the average warehouse liability insurance cost is $93 per month or $1,106 per year for a $1m general liability insurance coverage, below, we’ve included the warehouse insurance rates of each type of warehouse insurance coverage individually.
| Coverage Type | Average Monthly | Average Yearly |
| Warehouse Property Insurance | $68 | $810 |
| Warehouse General Liability Insurance | $93 | $1,106 |
| Warehouse Inventory Insurance | $85 | $1,020 |
| Warehouseman’s Legal Liability | $31 | $369 |
| Warehouse-to-Warehouse Insurance | $79 | $948 |
| Warehouse Workers’ Compensation Insurance | $264 | $3,168 |
| Total for all the coverage types above | $620 | $7,421 |
Of course, keep in mind that these are just average warehouse insurance rates. The rates that you’ll actually pay may differ considerably,
With that said, here’s another table showing the pricing of the general liability insurance from the best carriers.
| Cost per Month | Cost per Year | Best for | |
| CoverWallet | $71 | $852 | Warehouse insurance quotes comparison online |
| Geico | $79 | $948 | Mid-sized commercial warehouses that need a comprehensive workers’ comp policy |
| State Farm | $81 | $972 | Small to mid-sized warehouses that don’t anticipate making many claims |
| AXA | $94 | $1,128 | Large commercial warehouses and logistic trucking businesses |
CoverWallet’s warehouse insurance is available for general warehouses and storage. It offers four coverage options: general liability only with products and completed operations coverage, general liability with commercial property insurance, business owner’s policy with workers compensation insurance, and a custom plan.
There are many perks to choosing to get insured by CoverWallet. For one, you can purchase insurance in an instant and pay for premiums online. Also, there’s no stopping you from canceling a policy anytime. Finally, there’s the MyCoverWallet app where you can easily check the status of your insurance policies.
Best for: Warehouse insurance quotes comparison online
Average cost: $71 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Government Employees Insurance Co., or Geico, is the nation’s second-largest insurance company.It provides a wide range of both personal and commercial insurance policies that can be customized to fit any business, small or large. They can provide workers’ comp, liability coverage, and just about any other type of insurance your small business needs.
Best for: Mid-sized commercial warehouses that need a comprehensive workers’ comp policy
Average cost: $79 per month
Our rating: 9/10
State Farm has been the largest insurance provider in the United States since the early-1920s, making it one of the oldest insurance companies in the country. They provide large-scale comprehensive commercial business insurance policies for distribution and warehousing companies
Whether you need a basic BOP (business owners policy) or comprehensive workers’ comp coverage, State Farm has you covered.
Best for: Small to mid-sized warehouses that don’t anticipate making many claims
Average cost: $81 per month
Our rating: 8/10
AXA is a British-based multinational insurance firm that specializes in providing comprehensive commercial insurance policies for mid to large-sized businesses. From comprehensive workers’ compensation plans to high-limit inventory insurance, warehouse-to-warehouse transportation coverage, and general/legal liability coverage, AXA provides it all.
Best for: Large commercial warehouses and trucking businesses
Average cost: $94 per month
Our rating: 7/10
10 / 10
For me this company has proven to be the best to do business with and worth my hard earned money. Contractors this is your company look no further.
7.7 / 10
Decent experience with Hiscox business insurance
10 / 10
Good company. Good and knowledgable customer service. If they don't know something they will pass you on to a more experienced rep that is more knowledgable. So far so good.
10 / 10
Best insurance ever
10 / 10
Coolest concept, I wish this was applied to other insurance products too.
9.4 / 10
Fastest ever online insurance quote and purchase! Also, great rates and professional customer reps that helps with whatever you need, if you need. Nice company!
2.8 / 10
Embroker sells a product that it doesn't honor. We purchased a combination D&O and EPLI policy. However, when it came to renewal, it told us that we only had D&O coverage even through our ACCORD certificate clearly mentions we have both. Basically they refused to honor the EPLI coverage and will leave you hanging with the bag. At time of renewal, they more than doubled our quote to get similar coverage. Basically BAIT & SWITCH. Unacceptable tactics. Easy to buy and pay but you may not be... Read More
2.8 / 10
Great platform. Terrible policy. There is no teeth behind it. No coverage. It's a fake policy that they sell. Sold us an EPLI policy that later we came to find out had no EPLI coverage. Amazing that they can get away with outright fraud. Check the positive reviews. They are all 'Anonymous' posted by Emroker staff. Stay away and find a real policy that will actually provide you coverage. We've been bitten by them and hope to find restitution via a lawsuit.
Paul Burns Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
0 / 10
It has been 70 days since I made a claim on the roof of my building. No one from the company will return calls. We are in hurricane season and located in Louisiana. My building is tarped to secure it.
Felicia Broadus Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
0 / 10
They are the worst, my truck was hit in January 23 and the claim adjuster has not been out to this very day! They have every excuse in the book as to why. They have not been to the collision shop. PLEASE AVOID THESE SCAM ARTIST!
Felicia Broadus Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
0 / 10
Avoid these SCAM ARTISTS! They don’t pay claims!!! Save yourself the trouble and money!
Kasey Arey Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
0 / 10
This company gives you a price that was in place for a year and when you have to use it there is fine print were they can go back and charge you more. Would not recommend them to any one. Crooks
John Murphy Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
0 / 10
Worst insurance comapny I have ever dealt with. A commercial vehicle represented by GUARD t boned my wife and daughters family vehicle in the middle of the day. Driver was cited and insurance claim insued. Fast forward 4 months and refusal of full amount of claim is still happening. Driver was found guilty, repairs started on my vehicle and when it comes to the final bill and diminished value we cannot get any help. I am out a family car, have an injured and traumatized wife and children,... Read More
Harshadray Patel Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
0 / 10
Extremely bad service, when you call , will make you wait on the phone for ever (over an Hour) and still no one to answer , so you end up hanging up. To cancel the policy, bounce you from one department to the other. They are supposed to refund from the date other insurance started and after sending the proof of other insurance policy, still they did not refund based on that actual date instead they use the date i managed to get hold of them. They charged me $7000.00 for a year's insurance on... Read More
Aaron Wensel Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
0 / 10
Guard Insurance is terrible. They were so bad I cancelled them because them couldn't figure out why I would never get a paper copy of the bill . Verified my address with them and still intermittent billing. I cancelled them in March through my local broker. Today 6/27 I get a letter in the mail from a collections company saying I owe 87.97. This was the first myself or my broker heard of owing this money. Here is some advice for this failure of a company send me a god damn bill and I will pay.... Read More
Michael Swink Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
0 / 10
My employer had to have workers compensation by law. He obtained a policy through this Berkshire Hathaway GUARD and they failed me. I fell from a ladder and fractured my spine in 7 different places, my clavicle in 4 places, and the base of my skull. Going to my Dr visits I was prescribed medication for pain and the insurance company placed a pre-authorization hold on me picking up the medication from Walgreens. The hold lasted 5 days! My weekly benefits have never been on time, right now... Read More
10 / 10
Liberty Mutual is one of the more simple companies to deal with. I had to file a claim for my business owner policy after I caught one of my employees stealing a large amount of products from my business. Liberty mutual paid the claim fast and with no efforts. I wish the legal process was as easy…
10 / 10
For me this company has proven to be the best to do business with and worth my hard earned money. Contractors this is your company look no further.
7.7 / 10
Decent experience with Hiscox business insurance
9.4 / 10
Very pleased with Hiscox - their small business insurance rates are very good and they specialize in small business which gives me a peace of mind as a small business owner. So far so good!
10 / 10
Their customer service is absolutely fantastic. Very patient, knowledgable and provided excellent explanation of the purchased policy. I would highly recommend this insurance company to anyone that's looking to protect their business from unexpected expense. Thank you Hiscox for doing a great job for my business!
0.6 / 10
STAY AWAY! I wouldn't recommend hiscox small business liability insurance to anyone. Better not waste both your money and your time. Hiscox customer service is extremely unpleasant, not organized and not professional. It is the worst company we have dealt with in almost 25 years in business!
10 / 10
Good company. Good and knowledgable customer service. If they don't know something they will pass you on to a more experienced rep that is more knowledgable. So far so good.
10 / 10
Extremely fast and simple. Wasted a lot of time and money until I found these guys! I feel like my business is in good hands now.
10 / 10
Hiscox's the best! My business is insured with them for over 12 years and am not planning to switch!
10 / 10
Excellent experience with Hiscox BOP for my coffee shop. They provided all it needed.
10 / 10
My HI barbershop is well covered with their great BOP product for 5 years already! not planning to switch!
10 / 10
Best insurance ever
10 / 10
Coolest concept, I wish this was applied to other insurance products too.
10 / 10
Great experience
6 / 10
Didn't relate to the concept much, but it makes sense if you need insurance to go
0 / 10
It doesn't really feel sustainable to me and doesn't offer business interruption, product liability and commercial property insurance. They have no local agents and despite their technology first approach you cannot file claims online. Additionally, product manufacturers are not covered by Thimble and they don't provide enterprise solutions.
10 / 10
As a contractor that works 3 times a week for a few hours, Thimble gets really handy for me and saves me money. I have no use for these massive business insurance coverages offered by traditional insurance companies.
10 / 10
Excellent concept which is useful to many small businesses!
10 / 10
Been waiting for this type of solution for a long time!
10 / 10
Love their business insurance solutions for freelancers! Great app!
Not all those who wander are lost.
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