If you are renting, your landlord’s insurance does not cover your personal items. You will need renters’ insurance to protect your belongings from theft or damage from a burst pipe or other cause. Most renters’ policies will cover losses due to fire, smoke, theft or vandalism, and certain kinds of water damage. They do not cover losses due to floods. Typically, renters’ insurance includes three distinct types of coverage:
- Personal Property Coverage: This covers your belongings. Even if you are on vacation and items are stolen from your vehicle, this coverage kicks in.
- Loss of Use: This pays additional living expenses if you experience a covered loss, and you must move out of your home for a brief time due to damages.
- Personal Liability: If someone is injured in your home and you are taken to court and found liable, this coverage comes into play.
Know your policy limits because insurance will pay to replace or repair your personal belongings up to a set dollar limit. This is the highest amount the company will pay, even if the cost is higher to replace or repair. We always suggest that you complete a home inventory and those can be found online and are printable. Filling out an inventory with the value of your personal items will help when deciding how much coverage you need. Depending on the company, some policies set dollar limits on specific items such as jewelry, cash, guns, and items used for business purposes. These can be scheduled on your policy at an additional cost. It is also important to know if your policy covers your personal belongings at replacement cost or actual cash value at the time of the loss.
If you are a dependent and your parents have homeowners’ insurance, their policy may cover your belongings even if you are not living in their home. Check their coverage – you might find out that you don’t need renters’ insurance. However, typically this coverage is limited to 10% of the personal property coverage in their homeowner’s policy.
In Texas, renters’ insurance is not required by law. However, the property owner may require it. When purchasing a policy, make certain you know what you are buying. Know the value of your personal belongings to request the correct amount of coverage. Renters insurance protects your belongings from loss, damage, or destruction following things like burglaries, fires, tornadoes, and other covered events. And renters’ insurance also protects your liability (and your $$) if someone is injured at your rental home or apartment. Give our agency a call to put this very affordable coverage in place for you.
We proudly serve North Texas, write through multiple insurance carriers, and would love to earn your business and your trust.
