A woman whose rented self-storage unit was burglarized says an insurance company is refusing to pay her claim even though police arrested two people for the crime.
“I feel pretty betrayed,” Debbie Swarmes told News 6. “What’s the sense in having insurance if they’re not going to insure your stuff?”
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Eustis police officers were called to FreeUp Storage on County Road 44 multiple times in November and December as customers discovered items missing from their self-storage units, records obtained by News 6 show.
Thieves entered at least six units and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of belongings including guns, electronics, tools, and two cars, court records indicate.
Following an extensive investigation, police arrested Nathaniel Olive and his girlfriend Lindsey Oliveira.
Olive, 31, and Oliveira, 37, have pleaded not guilty to multiple felonies including burglary and grand theft. Both are incarcerated at the Lake County jail as they await trial.
Olive rented a self-storage unit inside the facility at the time of the thefts, according to police.
The two units on either side of Olive’s unit had been burglarized, investigators said, including one rented by Swarmes and her son.
The family said it used the 10’ x 5’ drive-up unit to store sentimental keepsakes recovered from a house fire.
“I cried, because that was all we had left of our life before the fire,” said Swarmes. “It was a lot of tools and stuff that belonged to my dad and my husband, and they’ve both passed on.”
Swarmes estimates the stolen items, which also included collectible dinner plates, were worth more than $3,000.
At the time Swarmes rented the storage unit, FreeUp Storage provided customers with an electronic lock that could only be opened with a mobile phone app.
Swarmes insists she had secured unit’s roll-up door the last time she had visited it.
“When we left the storage unit, it was locked,” Swarmes said. “(I’m sure because) my son pulled up on it several times.”
Customers like Swarmes who do not carry their own insurance can purchase a policy on FreeUp Storage’s website from Bader Insurance Company.
FreeUp Storage’s website advertises Bader insurance coverage as “protection to keep your valuables safe” while “knowing your stored items are covered.” Policies start at $15 a month for up to $3,000 in coverage.
Swarmes said she filed a theft claim with Bader shortly after her storage unit was burglarized.
In February, Swarmes received a letter from a third-party claims administrator for Bader’s parent company informing her that the claim was denied.
“Further investigation revealed that the facility confirmed there was not forced entry into your storage unit and further confirmed that your electronic lock only showed access from you, the tenant,” the letter stated. “Your police report also confirmed no visible signs of forced entry were found.”
The insurance policy defines a covered burglary “the act of stealing insured property by forcible entry into the securely locked leased premises provided there are visible marks of such forcible entry upon the exterior of the leased premises”, according to the letter.
“Because I couldn’t prove that the lock had been tampered with, they wouldn’t pay my claim,” Swarmes told News 6.
“We take customer concerns seriously and review all claims thoroughly,” a spokesperson for Bader Insurance Company told News 6. “As a matter of policy, we do not comment publicly on individual claims or coverage determinations.”
Like Swarmes and her son, several other theft victims told police that they, too, believed they had secured the electronic locks on their storage units.
News 6 has learned that FreeUp Storage has since replaced at least some of the electronic locks with manually operated padlocks.
FreeUp Storage representatives did not respond to multiple emails from News 6 inquiring about security improvements since the burglaries.
“I don’t know the people got in there. I wasn’t there,” said Swarmes. “All I know is my stuff is missing.”
Although police reports do not specify how the accused burglars may have entered Swarmes’ storage unit, investigators said Oliveira sent text messages to an associate referencing “several unlocked units” at the facility.
Police also noted that “there is an opening on top of all the units that is able to be removed” to access other adjacent units within the building and that “it is possible the suspects made entry” into at least one unit that way.
“According to (the manager of FreeUp Storage), a very slender male/female can get inside of them by removing the top part,” police wrote in a report about another burglary within the same facility.
Self-storage units are often not fully enclosed to comply with fire suppression requirements and to allow for better ventilation.
FreeUp Storage representatives did not respond to questions from News 6 about the openings at the top of its storage units.
“Just look at it from my point of view being the victim of a burglary,” said Swarmes. “How would you feel if it was your stuff? Wouldn’t you want somebody to take care of you and make it right?”