Many people who live in rental house or apartment don’t realize the necessity of renters insurance. And renters insurance sometimes can be confusing. The following are the basics of renters insurance to describe it in simple way.
Do I really need renters insurance?
Landlord’s insurance doesn’t cover renters belonging. Landlord’s insurance only covers the building that you live in; there is no coverage for your personal belonging. Most renters insurance offers full coverage to protect your possessions from flooding, fire, theft, vandalism and many other types of risk. Therefore, it is advisable to have a separate renters insurance to protect your belongings from damages and losses. Renters insurance even claims for the injuries caused to the people who visit your home.
Renters Insurance Coverage
There are three kind of coverage provided with renters insurance:
• Renters insurance covers all your possessions from various disasters. It claims your possessions from damages or loses like fire, theft, accident, vandalism, windstorm, etc. Renters insurance doesn’t cover damage caused by earthquakes or floods. If you live in the places where regular floods or earthquakes occur, then you need additional insurance to cover those disasters. There are also limits on coverage for expensive items like jewelry, silverware and antiques.
• Loss-of-use coverage. If your residence becomes unlivable for any reason, most renters insurance will allow additional living expenses. Meaning that your insurance will pay for your hotel room and any others expense you may have if your residence become unlivable.
• Personal liability coverage. It will protect you in the event that you are sued due to an injury incurred by someone while visiting your place. It also covers related damage and relevant legal costs. The minimum for such renter’s insurance policy is usually $100,000 and will cover injuries or damage that is occurs while at your place or that is caused by you, your family or your pets.
How much coverage do I need?
You need enough personal property coverage to pay for all your possessions if they are destroyed, and enough liability insurance to cover all your assets if you’re sued. It’s a good idea to make a list of all of your possessions when purchasing renters insurance. On this list you should make note of the prices you paid for the items or their replacement cost and use the total value as your coverage amount. The total your assets (bank accounts, stocks, bonds, etc) and make sure you have enough coverage to protect them.
Renters Insurance Cost.
Renters insurance is actually inexpensive, especially if compared with homeowners insurance. The cost of your renter’s insurance coverage depends on many factors, like the place you live, your insurance company, your deductible, etc. It can cost as little as $16 a month for $20,000 worth of personal belongings coverage and $300,000 liability coverage. Your insurance company may offer a discount if you put safety measures like fire alarms, fire extinguishers or burglar alarms in your residence.
There are many online insurance website where you get various quotes from various insurance companies. However, the best place to get inexpensive renters insurance is at online insurance comparison website. You will get quotes from different companies by filling out a questionnaire with information about your residence and the amount of insurance you want. This even allows you to talk with professionals online and get answers to your questions.
