When you rent a home, apartment, or other property, your landlord will most likely require you to take out renters insurance. Typically, landlords are only responsible for structural issues such as plumbing and electrical problems and damages from extreme weather and similar events. However, your landlord isn’t usually responsible for your personal property, so here’s what to know about renters insurance.
Rental Insurance Coverage
Renters insurance protects the personal possessions you keep in the property you’re renting from unforeseeable accidents and other issues. Though they vary by terms from state to state, most renters insurance policies cover personal property of value if it’s lost, damaged, or stolen, including:
- Electronics.
- Furniture.
- Clothes.
- Jewelry.
- Appliances.
- Other items stated or outlined in the renters’ insurance policy.
Usually, renters insurance covers personal property damaged by fire, smoke, vandalism, theft, environmental events like hailstorms and floods, explosions, and other incidents.
Personal Liability, Medical Bills
If you rent a home, apartment, or other property, it’s always wise to have renters insurance. Suppose someone is visiting your rental home and is injured. Renters insurance policies also cover your liability when someone is hurt while on your rental home or other property. These insurance policies generally pay the injured party’s medical expenses if they bring a lawsuit against you.
Other Coverage Areas
Here are some other areas or issues covered by renters insurance policies:
- Temporary living expenses if your rental home is damaged, such as hotel and even food bills in some cases.
- Fraud related to any credit cards, checks, or other financial information stolen from the property you’re renting.
- The valuable property of other people that’s in your home, such as when you’ve borrowed something that’s then stolen.
- In many cases, renters insurance will also cover your personal property when it’s stored in your car or at an off-site storage facility.
Renters Insurance Considerations
Renters insurance is often relatively inexpensive, ranging from about $15 to $30 monthly. Renters’ insurance also may not cover certain items and incidents. For example, very-high-value art and other personal possessions, or damages from pests such as termites or rodents, aren’t usually covered by renters insurance. Plus, certain natural disasters and terrorist acts may not fall under renters’ insurance. Any roommate’s property also won’t likely be covered.
Lastly, always use a reputable agent or agency when looking into renters insurance because they can best help you determine just how much insurance you need.