The garage level and the row of storage rooms are the building's quiet hinterland: used daily, thought about rarely – until the underground garage floods, three storage rooms are broken into, or it turns out that the fate of the valuables in the basement locker is unsettled when a claim arises. The insurance picture of these service spaces is a mosaic: common and private property, building and home insurance all meet here – so let us look at it as a system.
- The structure of garage and storage areas is typically common property (the building's policy), while the belongings kept in them are the owners' (home insurance).
- The underground garage is one of the building's biggest water-risk points: flooding, backflow, dependence on pumps – the cover is worth clarifying item by item.
- Home insurance policies typically pay only limited amounts for contents kept in a storage room – residents need to know this.
Who insures what in these spaces?
The usual logic applies: the structure of these spaces – walls, floors, doors, the shared building systems – is typically common property and therefore the territory of the building's policy; the legal status of parking spaces and storage lockers differs from building to building (private property, common property with exclusive use, and so on – the deed of foundation decides, as always: the article on the dividing line). The items kept in them, however, are clearly the owners' contents: they belong to residents' home insurance – on that policy's terms.
The underground garage: everything costs more under water
The water risk of an underground garage is threefold: surface water running in (a cloudburst, if the ramp defences are weak), backflow from the sewer, and burst pipes inside the building – all of it flows to the lowest point. On top of that the garage level depends on machinery: the failure of the lifting pumps can cause damage on its own. On the cover side this calls for clarification item by item: on what terms cloudburst and backflow damage is paid, and whether the pumps form part of the machinery cover. Prevention – a raised ramp threshold, non-return valves, pump maintenance, water sensors – pays off most here: the checklist.
Storage rooms: a favourite target for burglars
The storage row is the least watched space in the building – a favourite of the burglary statistics. On the building's side, burglary and vandalism cover is there for damage to the shared structures (forced doors, criminal damage); the bikes, tyres and tools kept in the lockers, however, are a matter for residents' home insurance – and typically with restrictions: the category “contents kept in an outbuilding or storage room” carries a sub-limit in many policies, and proper locking is a condition. This is worth sharing with residents before it turns into a claim – it has its place in the resident information template.
Order in the hinterland
Three good habits prevent a great deal: lighting and working locks (against burglary and trip hazards), tidy storage (junk left in the corridor is a fire and escape-route risk – and raises questions in claims handling too), and a register of parking spaces and lockers (who uses which – worth its weight in gold in a claim or a dispute). Otherwise, claims in garages and storage rooms follow the usual route: damage in the common areas.
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