18Apr

Many people nationwide have chosen to rent lately, and the term defines anyone residing in a home owned by another individual. If this is your case, renters insurance is a good idea, as it gives you financial protection against many risks that may be out of your control. Your landlord’s property insurance does not protect your personal possessions or your personal liability and does not pay for you to reside somewhere else if your place of residence becomes damaged.

Renters Insurance Defined:

Renters insurance is a more commonly used term for what experts such as us here at the Alexander Insurance Agency categorize an HO-4 insurance coverage type. The coverage depends on what state you live in, where you buy your policy, and which optional features you select. Its primary positive function is to help you get back on your feet after an event that is covered takes place, as we as your carrier pay out your claim based on the coverage you possess. You can protect yourself against events such as fire, lightning, vandalism, smoke, windstorms, hail, aircraft, ice, and theft.

What are Typical Costs?

In our experience, we have seen renters insurance cost around $180 annually, or anywhere from $12-$18 per month. Here are some of the elements that affect this:

  • Where you reside
  • The limits of your policy
  • Your deductible
  • More than average expensive items you may need coverage for, such as home entertainment systems

For the peace of mind it provides, renters insurance is really not that expensive: almost anyone from various economic walks of life can afford a nominal amount of coverage. A higher deductible will give you a lower premium, and a lower deductible will yield you a higher premium. If you have good credit, you will likely have a good insurance score, if you have not filed a huge amount of claims in the past. The insurance score is used to evaluate risk and determine what your premiums will be.

What Items are Covered Under Renters Insurance?

Common Renters Insurance Coverage:

  • Personal Property: This covers damage or destruction to your belongings, such as kitchen appliances, furniture, and jewelry.
  • Loss of Use: This will cover reasonable extra costs for you to live somewhere else while your landlord repairs or rebuilds your home after incurring a type of loss that is covered.
  • Personal Liability: Covers legal defense hurdles and other financial damages if you are sued for an accident or bodily harm that takes place at a location you are renting. 
  • Medical Payments: Covers the injured party’s medical expenses if someone encounters an unexpected injury at a location being rented. 

Optional Renters Insurance Coverage:

  • Replacement cost coverage: a very basic renters policy may just provide actual cash value coverage for possessions. If you have something such as an item of furniture that burns up, you’ll be needing to purchase a used one unless you have replacement cost coverage.
  • Scheduled personal property: Some of the more standard forms of renters policy may not be there to kick in and cover items such as your $8,000 electric guitar. When you happen to own items of higher-than-average value, ask your insurer about insuring them through an additional endorsement of policy.
  • Identity Theft Coverage: This can be a very catastrophic experience, and some renters policies will reimburse you for expenses you may incur if a thief steals your identity. Not to be overlooked, this can prevent you from VERY frustrating occurrences!
  • Liability for Pets: While this coverage is often fairly standard, it should be double-checked if you’re a pet owner. It if does not cover liability for things such as a neighboring child being bitten, you may want to opt for different coverage. Sometimes the limits are not very high, which could lead you to want to switch coverage types.

What Renters Insurance may not Cover:

  • The Structure: Landlord insurance will cover the structure of the home. If an appliance accidentally starts a fire and burns the entire place down, renters insurance covers your possessions and your personal liability. The landlord’s insurer will pay to completely rebuild the place, but you’ll want liability coverage in case you encounter being sued for damages.
  • Flooding: Unfortunately, damage from flooding is usually covered under a separate flood insurance policy for financial protection against intense water damage. The events of the past few years have reminded many just how quickly these problems can arise and wreak havoc on your well-being.
  • Earthquakes: Unfortunately, this type of very intense damage is not covered under renters insurance. A completely separate policy or earthquake endorsement will help with this, depending on what’s typically scheduled for coverage in Missouri.
  • Pests: Mice, roaches, ants, bedbugs, termites, and all sorts of other critters will rear their head and become a huge problem, and some of them are tougher to get rid of than others. Renters insurance does NOT cover damages from these elements, so you’ll have to be diligent about asking your landlord to fix them on the double.
  • Possessions Belonging to Roommates: Even though your roommate may very diligently be attempting to get ahold of your Netflix password, but they may have to purchase their own renters insurance policy to cover their belongings in case of a disaster. If your roommate does end up becoming your spouse, it gets much easier to quickly add them to your policy, exchange vows, and let the future memories along with good times roll!

How do I get a Rapid Renters Insurance Quote? The best way to go about this is to gather the most basic information first and remain organized. Details such as the property address, your marital status, and whether you have pets on the property are all pertinent. Then, you will want to find out just how much renters insurance your landlord may require you to carry, and buy as much as you can. After taking a sensible home inventory of all your belongings, it always makes sense to carry a heightened amount of coverage, because if the worst possible scenario happens, you’ll want the most in available protection.

Some of the additional coverage types you may desire could include things such as earthquake damage, expensive sound and lighting gear for a mobile business, or coverage that helps with very valuable items you may have in your garage. When you have applied with several insurance companies to see who offers the best coverage for the price, we hope that you find US as your provider: We will consistently go to bat for you, have your best interest In mind, and find renters insurance solutions that ultimately do right by you and your valuable property.