What Is Renter’s Insurance?

Renter’s insurance is a form of insurance for individuals who rent the property as tenants and want to be covered in the event of an incident or disaster. It can cover the items damaged in your home and some policies can include liability coverage for negative events that can occur.

How Does it Work?

A typical premium for renters insurance averages less than $200 per year, making it a smart investment decision. Anyone who rents property from someone else should purchase it. You might have a television, computer, clothes, furniture, and jewelry that you don’t want to or can’t afford to replace in the event of an emergency.

Renters insurance covers personal possessions up to a certain dollar amount. A liability policy also protects you from lawsuits that may occur due to an injury or someone else’s property loss at your address. It also applies if you have an animal and it bites someone along with the legal fees and damages incurred as a result of the incident.

Coverage for your belongings applies in the event of a fire, explosion, storms, hail, smoke, volcanic eruption, falling objects such as a tree, damage from snow or sleet, and damages from aircraft or vehicles. It will not pay for damages due to floods or earthquakes, so you’ll need to purchase separate flood and earthquake insurance.

Replacement cost policies pay for the cost of the item, while an actual cash value policy pays for the value of the item at the time of loss. Replacement cost policies cost more money and offer better protection for your belongings.

Replacing everything you own isn’t something everyone can pay for in an emergency. Your policy may also cover living expenses if your dwelling is uninhabitable to allow you to stay in a hotel and pays for meals.