As a renter in Fells Point, you might be doubting if you need to get renters insurance. Basically, most renters either don’t know about renters insurance or don’t believe they need insurance. Yet, in spite of these common beliefs, renter’s insurance is an appropriate way that renters can protect themselves and their belongings. To better understand what renters insurance is and why you need it, keep reading to learn everything you need to know.
What is Renters Insurance?
Most of the time, renters insurance is an insurance policy that delivers both personal liability coverage for you and covers the loss or replacement of your personal belongings when you’re residing in a rental home. Renters insurance is not really required by law, but it’s also something that every renter should have, as many landlords need coverage. These policies are very inexpensive, but they also help if you are injured or your belongings are lost or damaged while living in your Fells Point rental home.
What Does Renters Insurance Cover?
Many renters’ insurance policies will help you replace personal belongings that are stolen, lost, or damaged. But they also cover beyond that. When somebody comes around to visit and injures themselves while in your rental home, your renters’ insurance will cover the liability that might occur. Furthermore, visualize what would turn out if your rental house was damaged in a flood or natural disaster. Typically, you’re not going to be allowed to stay there until restorations are done, so the renters’ insurance will pay for you to stay somewhere else until your rental home is suitable for you to move back in. Policies vary, but you might be amazed to know that some even cover your car or will reimburse the cost of items stolen while you’re on vacation.
How Do I Put a Value on My Possessions?
When you obtain a renters insurance policy, it is necessary to identify how much all of your possessions are worth. Therefore you can buy the right amount of protection. Several popular apps and websites can help you determine how much your personal belongings would cost to replace, or you can also use a simple spreadsheet to track them. It doesn’t matter how you do it; however, you must have a list of everything you own and the estimated value if you need to file a claim. It would be great to keep purchase receipts for expensive items and take photos of all of your stuff. This can help make the claims process much more efficient.
What About Pets and Roommates?
In case you own a pet, renters insurance can help cover your liability if your pet injures someone. Although this is rare, without insurance, your pet’s behavior could make you responsible for the injured person’s medical bills, legal fees, and so on. Although renters insurance won’t help you replace your couch if your pet damages it, it will let a friend file a claim if your pet ruins something your friend owns. Yet, other insurers do have breed restrictions and may not offer coverage for certain types of dogs or other animals. In the same vein, roommates are generally not covered in a renters insurance policy unless the provider will allow you to add them. Not all insurers will let you do that, and it’s helpful instead to have your roommate get their own policy instead. If you are both on the same policy, your roommate’s claims will appear on your insurance record and may cause your rates to escalate.
What Else Should I Know About Renters Insurance?
Several other things you need to know about renters insurance, including things that are not covered, such as damage to the premises, insect infestations, and naturally-occurring water damage. For illustration, if you discover that your home is infested with bedbugs, renters insurance would not cover any infestation treatments. Or if you forgot about the pot on the stove and burned the wall or created some other kind of damage to the property, the renters’ insurance does not typically cover the actual dwelling.
The same applies to certain types of flooding situations. Generally, natural-occurring flooding is not a covered event on your renters’ insurance. If you stay in a sensitive location to flooding events – or even if you don’t – you’ll need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy. Typically, the only form of water damage that a renters insurance policy will cover is burst pipes or plumbing issues.
When you’re planning to get your own renters’ insurance policy, don’t forget to take some time to shop around the policy that meets your needs at a price you can manage. Different insurers may cover other things, so it’s important to read your policy carefully when buying it. In doing so, you can be prepared should you ever need to make a claim.
Are you looking for a new Fells Point rental home? Real Property Management Metro can help! Contact us today or visit our rental listing page to check out our great rental home listings in your area.
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