“Renters Insurance”.

How many times have you seen on TV or heard of a home or apartment that has had a fire or some other damage. And now the occupants find themselves homeless and the Red Cross, the Church or some agency is now helping the people and/or asking for donations!

This happens a lot much more than you would think!

Why does this happen?

Did they not know that they needed insurance?

It is because the people find themselves without Insurance to cover their belongings.

Oh this won’t happen to me, we are just renting here, and we will wait until we get into a home.

Or they thought it was too expensive.

Maybe they didn’t know what it covered.

How does renters insurance work?  What does renters insurance cover?

RENTERS INSURANCE covers the loss of your possessions or the items that you have in your Home or apartment. Basically the items that you moved in or the items you would load in the truck if you where moving tomorrow.

Your home is where you live, but it’s your possessions that make it livable. If something were to happen, it could cost a lot to replace all of your things at once.

First let’s talk about what types of losses or perils cause damage to you property

  • The big one is of course if your home is damaged by fire, others are
  • Smoke Damage
  • Lightning
  • Wind and hail
  • Freezing of plumbing pipes
  • Falling Objects
  • Explosion
  • Vandalism
  • Theft

You can help protect your personal property against several types of losses to theft that occurs in your home or apartment with “Renters Insurance.”

  1. Theft in your home
  2. Theft away from home
  3. Stolen or forged checks
  4. Stolen Credit Cards
  • Family Liability
  1. If a guest is accidentally injured while on your property, and sues you.
  2. Or you do something to cause injury to another person or damage to their property. It pays for those damages.
  3. Renters insurance pays for defense costs if you are liable.
  • Guest Medical
  1. If a guest is accidentally injured while on your property, renters insurance can help cover their medical expenses, regardless of who was at fault
  • Additional Living expenses
  1. If disaster should strike, and you are left with no place to go your renters policy will compensate you for living expenses for as long as 12 months, up to the policy limits, for the motel or new apartment, while the repairs were going on to restore your old living place.

From the Basic renters policy you can get additional or increased optional coverage: 

Some of these coverage’s are:

Personal Property Reimbursement

  • For an additional premium you can insure your possessions for the cost to repair or replace them, this is new items for old items.

Scheduled Personal Property- this Coverage for special items, such as Items of high value or items that cannot be replaced.

  • For an additional premium, you can increase coverage protection for valuables such as jewelry, watches’, furs, silverware, home electronics and collectibles. (Like Stamp, Doll, Sport cards)

Identity Restoration Coverage

  • We offer an add-on identity theft policy that provides a team to help you restore your good name and reimbursement for expenses, up to policy limits

Rating is based on:

If you live in a home or apartment

The number of units in your building

The fire district of the city in which you live

Distance to fire hydrant and fire department

Construction of the Home or apartment

And what Deductible you want to have. The deductible is what you are willing to pay and applies to your possessions.

Discounts:

  • Protective devices –smoke alarms, Fire extinguishers, dead bolt locks
  • Retired
  • And by insuring your home and car, you can save money on both with a multiple policy discount

FAQ’s

True or False

  1. My Landlord covers my possessions.

False

  • Your landlord’s insurance covers the building structure but generally doesn’t cover your personal possessions, like furniture, clothes and electronics- anything you’ve moved into the building. A renters policy will help you replace your possessions if they’re damaged by a covered peril (like theft, fire, smoke and more). And in most cases your landlord’s insurance won’t cover it.
  1. Renters Insurance is too expensive

        False

  • A Renters policy has an average monthly premium of $ 20-25 a month (cost may be higher or lower depending on your location, and the size of your home or apartment).
  • And if you also insure your car you can save money on both your renters and auto insurance with multi policy discounts.
  1. My possessions aren’t worth very much so I don’t really need renters insurance.

        False

  • The average renter owns $30,000 worth of possessions. Even your smallest items, like your clothes, linens, and dishes, could add up if you had to replace them all at once.
  • Plus, like I mentioned, renters insurance can help protect you in case of a theft that occurs away from home, stolen or forged checks and stolen credit cards.
  1. As a renter, if something happens to the building I live in, my landlord will be responsible for my additional living expense?

False

  • Landlords insurance generally does not provide additional living expenses for tenants after a covered loss.
  1. Most of the renters in my building have appropriate liability and contents coverage.

False

  • Approximately 50 % of the renters market is uninsured. By having uninsured renters you could be exposed to increased potential damage to your property or of becoming involved in litigation.
    • Yes you would if you are liable.
    • Like to entertain? Renters insurance can also help protect you if someone gets hurt on your property and decides to sue you.
  1. Do I have a responsibility if I damage someone else’s property or injure them

What do I do now?

  1. Now would be a good time to call our office and set an appointment to talk more about Renters Insurance, so we can get a policy started for you.
  2. Have a pencil and paper ready as I will give you my contact information in just a few minutes.
  3. When you come in, be sure to ask a lot of questions and be ready with your information so we can prepare the quote for you and to make sure you are getting all the discounts.
  4. Do a Household inventory, to determine how much coverage you need.

 

What is a Household Inventory?

Do you have a record of what you own?

Taking inventory can be tedious, but if you ever have a break-in of a fire, you’ll be glad you have a record of what you own.

  1.  
    • Provide the value of each of your possessions, room by room.
    • Include serial numbers wherever possible.
    • Support this inventory record with photos or video
    • Keep this document and any other insurance materials in a safe place. With a Family member across town or a safe deposit box.