What You Need to Know About Renters Insurance

Typical renters policies cover:  

Property

  • Your personal property against theft or damage subject to the limits and deductibles you select. The coverage applies even when you are away from home. For a small additional premium, you can choose to carry full value coverage on your personal property, which ensures that you will be paid the full replacement cost of items that are damaged or stolen without deduction for depreciation.
  • Example: Stewart's kitchen catches fire and his three year old refrigerator is destroyed. A new model of the refrigerator costs $750. His insurance company pays him $362, explaining that it's the effect of three years of deteriorating value. Most companies offer coverage on a replacement cost basis if you purchase a separate endorsement.
  • Tenant's investment in improvements to a living space made at his or her expense (such as built-in shelves).
  • If you have special valuable items such as jewelry, art, antiques or collectibles, ask about our Valuable Articles option which provides broader coverage and no deductible in the event of a covered loss.
Additional Living Expenses
  • A typical tenant policy provides a limit equal to a percentage of your contents insurance limit for additional living expenses related to making other living arrangements should your unit become temporarily uninhabitable because of covered damage. Using 20% as a guide, if your contents limit is $30,000, then your additional living expenses limit may be $6,000.
Liability Coverage
  • Liability insurance covers you for injury you or your family cause to others and for damage to property that belongs to others,  subject to the limits you have selected. The policy also provides for the cost of a lawyer (if necessary) and most court costs. 
  • Examples of liability claims include: slips and falls; accidentally beaning a neighbor's child with a baseball; hitting a golfer with your errant hook shot; or a friend breaking her hip when she trips on a skateboard your child left on the stairs.
Medical Expenses 
  • You can select medical payments coverage which will pay for medical expenses incurred by a visitor who is injured at your residence regardless of fault. Various limits are available.
Extra coverage doesn’t have to cost a lot Be sure to ask about available discounts including burglar alarm credits and the account credit for customers who package auto policies with their renters policy.