Chuck stuff out. Don’t organize it. Don’t buy pretty boxes from Ikea. Don’t look at storage solutions on Pinterest. Just bin it. Chuck it. Throw it. Donate it. Discard it. Delete it.

If you don’t really need it, you don’t have to keep it. Here’s how that relates to insurance…

Hazardous hoarding.

Too often disasters and accidents could be lessened or avoided completely if things were not left to accumulate. Stuff that is hoarded can become a tripping hazard that could result in an expensive liability claim, or perhaps become the cause of a fire that results in significant loss of property or worse.

We’ve seen a lot of things left to accumulate – mountains of paper, superseded equipment, empty boxes, books, VHS tapes, furniture, garden equipment, even old and outdated SDA resources! (Did we just say that?!) We’ve been astounded to see an entire floor to ceiling cupboard filled with used plastic bags.

Did you know that hoarding may be perceived by some insurers as a lack of care or maintenance of a property which could poorly affect the outcome of a loss assessment? It demonstrates an attitude of neglect.

Squirrel away time and money.

“You know that verse in the Bible where Jesus calls us to be busy and stressed? Me neither.” (Author unknown). The accumulation of physical property no longer needed or useful causes church workers and volunteers to spend more time on things they shouldn’t have to, causing stress and distraction from mission. Stockpiling stuff that’s not needed takes time and effort to clean, keep tidy, maintain, store and insure. Part of good stewardship is recognizing when enough is enough.

Spring clean!

It simply costs less to insure less. Do you remember how much effort it takes to go through your insurance renewal each year? Well, Spring comes around every year too and it is a great opportunity to look at the clutter in your organization! So ditch the cupboard full of used plastic bags that you might need “one day” and edit that pile of books and DVDs! Investigate ‘paperless’ options for documents and files. You may even find new storage space for equipment and property that you actually need to keep safely stored out of the way.

Remember…
It is important to safely archive confidential, sensitive and personal documents and files but if they are no longer required then sensitive documents should be destroyed securely.