RENTER'S COVERAGE

Renters insurance can help cover the loss of or damage to your possessions, additional living expenses if you have to leave your home due to a covered event, and may protect you from personal liability claims, too. Renters insurance can help protect you from the potentially devastating costs of losing the things you own.  Think about this, you are renting an apartment and the water pipe in your ceiling starts leaking water all over your apartment soaking and ruining your things.  With the right coverage, renters insurance can help you replace those items that you have worked hard for.

While your landlord’s insurance likely covers the physical location where you live, it can be up to you to protect your personal property, such as your clothes, electronics and furniture. In addition, renters may spend considerable time and money on alterations or improving their rental unit. Under a renters policy, you may apply up to 10% of your personal property coverage to repair or replace improvements made by you or acquired at your expense if damaged by a covered loss. Higher amounts of coverage are available.

When you purchase multiple policies or have a home security system, you may be able to save money on your renters insurance policy. You can also opt for a higher deductible policy. By doing so, you may have to pay more upfront before your insurance policy pays a claim if your covered possessions are lost, damaged or stolen. But typically, choosing a higher deductible means your monthly premiums will be lower.

1. A good first step in shopping for renters insurance is to determine the value of your possessions.  Take an inventory of the items you own that are in your home or apartment. When possible, include a brand name and serial number for each item, along with what you paid. This will give you a good starting point to understand how much coverage you will need.
2. Then, decide if you want coverage to replace items at current market value or their actual cash value. Choosing replacement value may cost you a bit more in premium payments but in the event of a covered loss, you’ll be able to cover the cost to replace your items with comparable new ones.
3. Choosing actual cash value means you’re covered for the lost item’s current value. For example, if your four-year old television is lost in a fire, you’re covered for what it would cost to buy another four-year old television rather than what it would cost to replace it with a new one.
4. If you have some high-end possessions, buying a replacement value policy may be the best decision. This type of policy, while more expensive than an actual cash value policy, would pay you the current market value to replace covered lost or damaged possessions.