General Insurance
Many people choose not to own homes, but rather rent either a home or apartment. This choice can often be one made out of a financial need or of convenience. While living in an apartment or rented home, the landlord is responsible for many things such as maintenance, repairs and insurance for the property. Many people do not consider that the insurance the landlord purchases does not protect their property, and they should consider renters insurance coverage to protect what is inside the rented property.
What is it?
Renters insurance provides protection inside the premises of a rented home or apartment. Insurance that a landlord has will only cover damage to the actual structure, and liability for injuries caused by negligence outside the door of the home or unit. In order to protect any personal possessions or to protect from liability from injuries caused inside the home, a renters policy is needed. These policies normally have coverage for a list of stated perils, or causes of loss such as theft, fire, or windstorm. These policies normally also normally cover for living expenses if a residence becomes unlivable.
Why do I need it?
Imagine that a fire burned down the apartment of an individual. The landlord will suffer the loss of the structure itself, but what about the dishes, appliances, computer, clothes, furniture and other items that the tenant had inside the apartment? If the person does not have renters insurance coverage, then they will be out the cost of these items and need to use their own money to purchase replacements. Often times, a person does not have to funds to do this all at once. If this person had renters insurance coverage, this would provide the funds to get them personal items so they may resume a normal life. Renters insurance also covers for liability claims in the home. If someone injured themselves on icy steps outside the door of the unit, the landlord would be responsible. But if a person were aware that a chair was broken but did not take care to remove it and someone sat on it and injured themselves, the tenant would be responsible. Renters insurance would also pay this claim to protect the policyholder from a lawsuit.
How do I decide what is best for me?
There are several choices when it comes to renters insurance coverage. One is if you want to have actual cash value or replacement cost for personal property. Actual cash value is less expensive and takes depreciation into account, and replacement cost will pay the full amount to replace an item. A person will also need to inventory their possessions and decide how much they are worth, and select a limit of coverage that would be able to cover the cost of their items. Also, special coverages may need to be selected for specific expensive items. When deciding on the limit of liability they want to carry, a person should consider their current and future worth and select a limit they can pay for, but will cover this worth.
Expert Tips
Many renters do not carry renters insurance so getting the policy at all is a step in the right direction. One thing that many consumers do not realize is this kind of insurance policy can be extremely inexpensive when comparing it to auto insurance or homeowners insurance. If an individual does not have this coverage, they may be surprised to find they can often get renters insurance coverage under $20.00 a month when getting a quote!