Warehouse Insurance (Lagerversicherung)
Warehouse insurance covers property and, in part, liability risks associated with the storage of third-party goods in a warehouse, including the warehouse keeper's special duty of care liability.
Comparison profile
- Trigger
- Named perils
- Insured interest
- Third-party goods held in custody by the warehouse keeper, and/or the warehouse keeper's own statutory duty-of-care liability for those goods.
- Rating basis
- Average stock value / declared value, Storage type (racking height, commodity class), Fire protection standard (sprinklers, oxygen reduction), Turnover and throughput
- Typical limits
- Sum insured on a first-loss or declared-value basis reflecting peak stock levels, with accumulation limits per warehouse location.
- Typical deductibles
- Per-occurrence deductible, often higher for natural catastrophe and theft perils at high-value storage locations.
- Target segments
- Logistics providers and 3PLs, Industry, Retail and distribution
Insured events
- Fire and explosion
- Natural hazards (flood, storm)
- Theft and burglary
- Water damage (sprinkler discharge, leakage)
- Improper handling during loading and unloading
Key exclusions
- War and nuclear energy
- Inherent vice and gradual deterioration of goods
- Inventory shortages without evidence of an insured peril
- Losses covered under the carrier's transport liability
- Consequential loss beyond agreed extensions
Concept
Warehouse insurance covers the risk of physical damage to third-party goods stored in a warehouse, caused by fire, natural hazards, theft, or improper handling. It is closely linked to the warehouse keeper’s statutory duty of care liability, under which the keeper is responsible for the careful custody of goods entrusted to it.
Forms of Cover
A distinction is made between the warehouse keeper’s own insurance for its own fixed assets (buildings, racking systems) and third-party insurance for the stored goods belonging to others; the latter can be structured either as property insurance in the name of the goods owner or as liability insurance for the warehouse keeper’s duty of care liability.
Relevance for the Supply Chain
As modern supply chains increasingly rely on centralized logistics centers and outsourced storage, warehouse insurance is an essential link between transport insurance and fixed-location property insurance; accumulation risk arising from the concentration of high goods values at individual storage locations must be given particular consideration during risk assessment.
Comparison and delineation
Warehouse insurance sits at the interface between transport insurance, which ends when goods reach storage, and property all risks, which typically insures the goods owner’s own stock rather than third-party goods held in custody. Where a warehouse keeper’s own fixed assets are concerned, a standard property all risks policy is the more usual, broader alternative; dedicated warehouse cover becomes necessary once the insured interest shifts to goods owned by others and the keeper’s duty-of-care liability. It is regularly complemented by business interruption cover for the warehouse operator, since a major storage loss can halt throughput as well as destroy stock.