Imagine you are renter. You come home on a rainy evening to find that the roof is leaking, and water is dripping onto your brand new mattress. The mattress is ruined. You are mad. It is not your fault your mattress is ruined, it’s your landlords’ fault for not fixing the roof. You pick up the phone and call your landlord demanding a new mattress. He says “no, it’s not his responsibility.” Does the landlord owe the tenant a new mattress? This answer surprises people, but the landlord does not have to replace that mattress. In the above story, if the tenant had renters insurance it likely would have covered the tenants new mattress.
We require all of our tenants to have renters insurance. If you own a rental property and manage it yourself, we suggest you do the same. If you are tenant and your landlord does not require it, do yourself a favor and get yourself a policy.
Your landlords property insurance covers losses to the building itself, but does not cover your personal property. When renting a home, it is up to you to insure your personal property. The only way to do this is with renters insurance. Renters insurance can protect your property against damage caused by water, theft, smoke, fire, vandalism, lightning, explosions, and even volcanic eruptions. (Please note that earthquakes and flooding often require extra coverage, and that losses caused intentionally or because of your negligence are not covered.)
Renters insurance does not just cover personal belongings when they are in your home, but also when you are in your car or while you are traveling. Imagine coming out of the grocery store and your car is broken into. Someone has stolen your expensive necklace. Renters insurance to the rescue!
If your home becomes temporarily uninhabitable due to a covered peril such as fire, lightning, wind and theft, and you have renters insurance, it will help with temporary living expenses.
Renters insurance also provides liability coverage. If someone is injured in your home or if you injure someone in your home, it will pay for legal judgements and legal expenses up to the policy limit. Accidents happen and people get hurt. It is best to protect yourself.
Here comes the best part of renters insurance. The average cost in the U.S. is around $170 a year, or about $14 a month!
We are property managers, not insurance agents, and this is a very basic outline of renters insurance. If you have any questions, please reach out to us and we can put you in touch with one of our trusted insurance providers.