Renter's Insurance

5/21/2022 (Permalink)

Do you rent the property you live in?  If so, do you have renter’s insurance?  It’s not uncommon for renters to think they don’t need insurance, especially if the property owner has adequate coverage.  Unfortunately, this usually isn’t true, and renter’s find themselves wishing they would have gotten renter’s insurance.  Here’s why.

In general, the property owner’s insurance covers damage to the structure, while the renter’s insurance covers what we call “contents”, or the renter’s personal property, things like their furniture, clothing, shoes, electronics, accessories etc…

Let’s look at a specific example.  Let’s say you are renting an apartment, and the tenants in the unit above you forgot they left the water running in their tub, it overflows, and water pours into your unit destroying your big screen tv and getting your couch all wet and dirty.  The property owner’s insurance will cover the drying and repair of the structure itself, the carpet or flooring, the drywall, the light fixtures etc.. But it will not cover your big screen tv or couch.  Those items would be covered under renter’s insurance.

An added benefit of renter's insurance is that because the coverage is for your personal items and not the residence, your belongings are typically covered due to theft and other covered losses when you travel away from home. 

Renter’s insurance can also cover expenses like hotel and meals should your residence be uninhabitable from a loss.  And it can also provide liability coverage should someone other than you get hurt on your property and attempt to sue you. 

If you are a renter, and you don’t have this very important coverage, we highly recommend reaching out to your insurance agent today.  A renter’s insurance policy can be as little as $10-$15 a month and is well worth the investment.