Why does anyone who rent’s an apartment condo, or single family home need renters insurance? Aside from many apartment complexes or landlords requiring it, renters insurance protects the renter from financial loss when something happens such as a fire, water leak, or theft.
Since the beginning of this year, there have been three large apartment fires in the Dallas area that occurred in February, April, and May. These three fires destroyed close to 100 units including the personal property of each renter. Over 100 people found themselves searching for new places to live, as well as replacing their clothing, furniture, and more.
Renters insurance is designed to protect renters in two ways; loss of property and if they are found negligent when someone comes into their home.
Property Coverage: This portion of the renters insurance policy protects a renter’s clothing, furniture, electronics, kitchenware, decorative items, against various types of loss. How much coverage is needed is determined by the renter, but it should be enough to replace what is owned. If you own a nice jewelry, musical instruments, computers, tablets, and other electronics, then I’d recommend these items be scheduled.
Liability Coverage: Liability coverage protects a renter when someone comes onto their property, invited or not, is hurt, and sues for negligence. This includes someone falling in your apartment due to tripping on any furniture or an area rug, a dog bite, or other things where you could be determined to be negligent. Coverage typically ranges from $100,000 to $500,000.
In addition to personal liability, medical coverage is available to help in an instance where someone’s hurt on your property. Coverage amounts usually start at $1,000 and go up to a maximum of $5,000.
Cost Factors: The two main items that determine how much a renters policy costs is the amount of coverage on your personal property and the level of the policy’s deductible. The more coverage a person has, the higher the cost, while a lower amount of personal property coverage results in a lower policy cost.
The policy deductible works in a reverse manner. The higher the deductible, the lower the cost while a lower deductible results in a higher premium for the renter’s insurance policy. The policy deductible is what the renter is responsible for first, before the policy pays for the loss and usually come in dollar amounts ranging from $100 to $1,000.
Discounts also impact the cost of renter’s insurance. If you write a renters policy with your car insurance, you may get a discount on both policies. Whether small or large, every little bit helps!
Do you have a question, comment, or experience about renters insurance? Share them with us in the comments section of our blog, or on our Google + and Facebook pages. I’d love to hear from you!
