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.
Common Types of Warehouse Insurance That You Need
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.
Warehouse Liability Insurance
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
- Third-party bodily injuries – If an employee is injured or a visitor General liability insurance will pay for medical expenses if the injured client files a claim
- Third-party property damage – If the logistics company demand payments for the damage the cargo van incurred, general liability insurance will pay on your behalf
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 Insurance
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.
Warehouse Building Insurance
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:
- Reimburse losses if fire or extreme weather destroys your warehouse’s building. The amount of reimbursement you’ll receive is equal to the building’s current market value or original market value
- Reimburse losses if fire, extreme weather, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils damaged your warehouse’s building. The amount of reimbursement you’ll receive is equal to the value of the damage incurred
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.
Warehouse to Warehouse Insurance: Marine Cargo Insurance for Warehouse Businesses
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.
Business Owner’s Policy for Warehouse Businesses
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.
Warehouse Workers Compensation Insurance
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.
Warehouse Inventory Insurance
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.
Warehouse storage insurance
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.
Get all the best quotes from leading providers in a click of a button!
Warehouse Insurance Cost
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,
- depending on the types of products that you’re storing,
- how many employees you have, the size of your warehouse business operation,
- the city your warehouse is located.
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 |
Help others make better decisions
Best Warehouse Insurance Companies
CoverWallet Warehouse Insurance
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
Pros
- Cancel a policy anytime
- Get certificates of insurance for free online
- Add additional insureds for free
- Has a business owner’s policy with workers’ compensation insurance
Cons
- Doesn’t offer warehouse keepers insurance
Geico Warehouse Insurance
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
Pros
- Competitive rates for commercial warehouse insurance.
- Handle your claims and billing through Geico’s easy-to-use online platform.
- 24/7 claims support.
Cons
- Customer service ratings are just average
- Doesn’t offer warehouse stock insurance
State Farm Warehouse Insurance
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
Pros
- As the nation’s largest insurer, they have agents available 24/7 for claims
- Some of the best customer service ratings in the industry
- Purchase an umbrella policy or build your policy as you need it
Cons
- Handling claims can be a tedious process
AXA Warehouse Insurance
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
Pros
- AXA specializes in commercial insurance policies.
- Comprehensive umbrella-style policies that cover all of your warehousing needs.
Cons
- The insurer’s main office is located in Britain, which means claims handling may take a bit longer than average.
