Renters Insurance

Why do I need insurance when I don't own my home? I just rent.

This is one of the most common questions we hear when discussing renters insurance. The answer is pretty simple - it's only meant to protect you and what is yours! Renters insurance is designed to protect the stuff in your house, apartment, or room when it's destroyed in a covered loss (we'll chat about this shortly). It's also meant to protect you in the event of a guest getting injured, you getting sued, or if you need temporary housing because you can't stay at your home or apartment due to a covered loss. It also pays for items stolen out of your car!

So, what are the coverages?

1. Your Stuff - You stuff is covered! The general rule of thumb is if you pick up your home and shake it, all the stuff that falls out is considered personal property. Be it furniture, that awesome shoe collection, your appliances, or dishes.

2. Additional Living Expenses - Pays the extra cost of food, rental, and other things if you have to move out of your place for a short time because of damages from a covered loss.

3. Personal Liability - simply protects you if someone is injured in your home and pays legal costs if you are liable and taken to court. 

OK, SERIOUSLY, WHAT'S A COVERED LOSS?

Most renters policies will cover losses due to fire, smoke, theft or vandalism, and certain kinds of water damage. They don’t cover losses due to floods.

You really need to read your policy in it's entirety to know exactly what is and isn't covered.

Some fine print things, we believe should be bold statements instead:

Not all policies are created equally.

Not all policies pay to replace an item, they may pay $500 for the tv you paid $1,500 for 2 years ago. This is called ACV or Actual Cash Value.

You are only covered up to the dollar amount you buy. Be mindful.

Animal Liability may be excluded. Some companies limit breeds while others just simply say no. There are several that will cover you and yours as long as they haven't bitten anyone. (I love a company that knows toddlers are more likely to bite than my corgi is!)

Your items may not be covered in storage.

Your deductible may be more than items that are lost or stolen or damaged.

Pools and Trampolines may be excluded.

If you get nothing else from this post, please hear this...

Renters insurance is awesome. It's cheap. IT'S SO WORTH IT! As insurance agents we see posts, articles, and news stories everyday that just break our hearts. Because we know that the renters who are now homeless and have nothing could have had some sort of coverage for less than $20 a month. Sometimes you can bundle with your auto insurance and save on both!