Facts of a Renters Insurance Policy
A renters insurance policy protects the contents of a rented property, in most cases apartments, against losses incurred due to theft or fire or damage due to other natural disasters like hurricanes and tornados. Renters insurance provides protection against liabilities. It pays for liability for accidents, such as a visitor slipping in your apartment and breaking a leg.
Renters policies, like all other insurance policies, specifically state what it insures against. There is a standard set of named perils covered by a renters insurance policy. Some of them are fire, lightning, tornado, smoke, vandalism or malicious mischief, theft and accidental discharge of water due to a burst pipe. It can also include payment for the medical expenses of non-residents. Floods and earthquakes are not covered and are often times purchased separately from the renters policy in coastal areas and places prone to either (California).
Similar to Homeowners policies, Renters policies use one of the two methods of valuation of the home contents, these are the actual cash value or the replacement cost. The actual cash value pays only for what the belongings were worth at the time of the loss. A household appliance like dishwasher or dryer that was purchased for $1000 few years ago, may be worth significantly less at the time of loss. On the other hand, the replacement cost will reimburse policy-holders for the actual cost of buying the appliance at the time of the loss.
The expensive jewellery and antique items must be declared at the time of Renters policy purchase to facilitate addition of rider policies.
Tip: It may be a good idea to video-tape your property and keep it safe in a fire safe deposit locker at home or in a bank along with serial numbers and receipts of expensive items.
The Renter policy may provide hotel expenses if the property becomes uninhabitable due to a fire or burst pipe. The disasters due to a pet may or may not be covered.
Please contact me to help you evaluate your rental property needs and propose an appropriate Renters policy.
November 18th, 2006 at 3:41 pm
[…] Mary Sladek offers many facts in her blog about renters insurance. She describes the things renter’s insurance will cover, like the fact that it covers the things inside your rental unit, but not necessarily the unit itself. She also gives tips like why you should videotape or photograph the inside of your rental for insurance purposes. […]