It has been in the news over and over again. That’s a good thing because repetition may be what it takes to get the message into the hearts and minds of renters AND Landlords. Renters insurance is one of the most underutilized insurance products on the market today. It is easy to obtain, offers some great coverages and is very inexpensive.
News articles that appear in newspapers or personal finance magazines always talk about the importance of protecting belongings as well as picking up some protection against lawsuits. While this is certainly the crux of the product we would like to mention some of the situations that we often see where renters insurance fills coverage gaps that exist because of an individuals living situation.
The most common is the apartment rented by two or more people. Next we see a home owned by one person and their partner lives in the home as well. Lastly is a homeowner who rents out a portion of their house. What all these living situations have in common is the potentail for one person to have limited coverage or no coverage at all.
Homeowners insurance (Renters insurance is a form of Homeowners insurance) will provide some coverage at the discretion of the insured for property of others while ON the residence premise of the insured. So if in our first two examples the policyholder chose to have the coverage of their partner/roommate covered an insurance adjuster might go along with it. I can’t speak for all homeowners policies on the market today so reading your policy would be critical. Although this sounds nice there is no coverage for OFF premise exposures for the partner/roommate. So if something is stolen from a vehicle or lost on vacation coverage would not apply. This also does nothing for Liability coverage or Loss of Use coverage which pays hotel and restaurant charges if the apartment/home cannot be lived in due to a covered loss. The other issue is in a severe loss the policyholder might not have enough insurance for their own items let alone the belongings of a roommate/partner. Bottom line is for the partner/roommate relying on the policy of the insured for coverage is not a great idea and renters insurance solves all the problems.
For those who rent out a portion of their home exclusions exist for roomers, boarders and tenants of the insured. The choice of extending coverage is not usually an option. If family members happen to be the roomers or boarders coverage could be afforded. So for unrelated parties a Renters policy works nicely to fill the coverage gaps and gives the landlord/property owner the piece of mind that the activities of these parties are insured elsewhere.
The cost of Renters insurance can usually be had for under $150 per year and often times we see policies that are $100 or less. Call us if you would like to discuss your individual situation or check out or site on Renters Insurance at www.InsureRenters.com.