What Instances Does Renters Insurance Cover?

You can customize your renters insurance policy based on your needs and circumstances. As we mentioned above, renters insurance typically covers liability, loss, and damage – but there are other compensation options you can receive with renters insurance. Below you will find some of the most common types of coverage that renters insurance can provide.

Liability Coverage

Liability coverage is one of the most important components of renters insurance and an essential part of a standard policy. Liability coverage comes into play in many circumstances but the most common type of liability claim occurs when someone suffers an injury in your home. Liability coverage provides compensation to the injured person for costs such as lost wages, legal fees, and court judgements up to the policy limit.

Liability coverage can also provide compensation for damage that occurs to your property that your landlord’s insurance does not cover. For example, if your child breaks someone’s window while playing ball outside, your liability insurance can cover it. If you accidentally cause a fire by smoking inside, your liability insurance can pay to repair the damage.

Personal Property Coverage

Another essential component of renters insurance is protection for protection for personal property. If you leave your home for a weekend and come back to find that someone broke in and stole your belongings, then you could replace your items with the coverage provided by your renters insurance. Without renters insurance, you’d be expected to pay for all of your lost property out of your own pocket. For large-scale robberies and other instances where lots of items are missing or damaged, these costs can quickly add up – but renters insurance provides you with comprehensive protection.

The types of losses and damages that your renters insurance will cover is dependent on your specific policy. However, many renters insurance policies will replace lost or damaged property under the following circumstances:

• Fire and lightning
• Theft
• Smoke damage
• Falling objects
• Windstorms and hail
• Short-circuit damage
• Snow, ice, or sleet
• Plumbing, heating, or air conditioning damage
• Natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes
• Explosions or riots
• Damage from someone else’s vehicle
• Vandalism
• Damage from certain appliances, such as steam-heating systems

Scheduled Personal Property

If you would like to extend coverage beyond your own renters insurance or even your landlord’s insurance, you can invest in scheduled personal property coverage. This supplemental insurance policy will ensure that you receive full-value coverage of expensive, valuable items in case of damage or theft. In addition, you won’t have to pay a deductible on the items you want to replace.

With a typical renters insurance policy, you can only receive coverage for your personal property up to a certain amount. You can either receive the actual cash value amount for a lost possession, which is often less for the amount you paid for it, or you receive replacement cost coverage. Valuable items typically have a limit that you can receive to compensate for their loss, which is usually less than the amount you need. You will also need to pay a deductible before you can receive compensation.

However, when you choose scheduled personal property coverage, you do not have to consider depreciation. You receive coverage for the full value of the item you lost – scheduled personal property plans usually include electronics, jewelry, firearms, business property, and other high-value items. You may also receive coverage for the damage to your property even if you lost or damaged the item yourself.

Reimbursed Living Expenses

In some circumstances, your home or apartment may become uninhabitable. For example, you may need to leave your home for a few days while you wait to have mold removed. One of your plumbing pipes may burst and flood your home, requiring you to vacate for a period of time while you’re waiting for cleaning crews or contractors to repair this damage. During this time, you could incur costs for rent, hotel stays, food, a rental car, and more – if you’re out of your home for a week or more, these costs can add up significantly.

When you have reimbursed living expense coverage in your insurance policy, you can receive compensation for these expenses. If you cannot live in your home for a period of time due to damage for which you filed a renters insurance claim, the insurance company will compensate you for your cost of living. This way, you can safely live outside of your home even in emergency circumstances.

Guest Medical Coverage

Guest medical coverage is another important component of your renters insurance. In the event that someone suffers an injury on your property, they may need to seek medical attention immediately and they may then suffer from other ongoing issues caused by the injury, requiring therapies and surgeries. To receive compensation for their medical expenses, this person would submit a claim through your renters insurance.

As someone who resides in the property, you are financially liable for these costs if someone suffers an injury in your home. If you do not have insurance to absorb these costs, then you could end up paying for these medical bills out of pocket. Your landlord’s insurance won’t usually cover these costs, so it is imperative that you have renters insurance to protect yourself.

Identity Restoration Coverage

Identity theft is a serious problem in the United States – it can happen to anyone and the potential that it could occur to you is quite high. Another unexpected form of coverage that your renters insurance can provide is identity restoration coverage, which helps protect you during instances of identity theft. Depending on the terms of your policy, you may be able to claim compensation for the costs you incur because of identity theft, such as legal fees, lost wages, and other reinstatement costs.