While most Americans dream of owning their own home, many people who live in the United States rent their homes. However, while there are estimated to be over 100 million Americans who rent, the number of homeowners in America is nearly threefold that of renters.
Renting does, however, have many benefits that homeownership does not, which many people find attractive. If you think about it logically, for some families it simply makes sense to rent as you don’t typically have to worry about maintenance, or costly repairs such as when your air conditioner needs replacing, or when you need to repair your roof and the like.
However, when you rent a home or an apartment, you need to ensure that your property is protected. For this purpose, renters insurance is often recommended and even required for certain properties.
Here, we’ll break down the typical renters insurance policy and what it covers.
Does Renters Insurance Cover Your Vehicle?
This is often the main question among renters, and homeowners when they look to purchase a home protection policy.
When your car is parked in your garage, or in the driveway, your car is considered an extension of the home. However, when it comes to renters insurance, only the personal property within the vehicle is going to be covered, not the vehicle itself.
This can prove to be confusing for many renters, and this is why you do need to ensure that you have adequate car insurance that covers theft and damage to your vehicle, no matter where it’s located.
The best way to ensure that you’re covered in the event of a break-in is to consult your auto insurance policy concerning these details. If you find that your coverage is not up to par, consider shopping for a new auto insurance policy and ensure that you add on the proper protections.
Storm Damage
While many renters insurance policies do offer some form of protection for your personal property in the event of a natural disaster, the language included in these policies can be quite confusing and often misleading.
For example, in 2005, hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes and everything in them when Hurricane Katrina made landfall. For many of the residents along the northern gulf coast, this caused a massive influx of insurance claims.
However, many residents sadly found out that their renters policies didn’t cover wind-driven water, nor did they have any windstorm coverage included in their policies. And this is still the case with most renters insurance policies along the gulf coast.
When you purchase a renters insurance policy, you have to be certain about the coverage that’s included. While you might have some protection for your personal belongings when affected by some natural disasters, be sure to ask about the specifics, and about what is actually covered in the policy.
Fire and Theft
Fire and theft are the most common elements found in a renters insurance policy today. Though this coverage will not replace a home if it’s burned to the ground, it will cover your belongings up to a specific dollar amount, after an adjuster has reviewed your case, of course.
When it comes to theft, this is when it gets tricky. While theft coverage is generally included in a renters insurance policy, some policies are written in such a way that you have to furnish proof that you did, in fact, possess certain items on a claim.
Proof can be receipts of purchase or pictures of the items in your home. Regardless, as many renters never take pictures before theft or keep receipts, it’s difficult to process these claims under the language of certain policies.
No matter where you live, or if renters insurance is required or not, if you value your belongings, you need to ensure that they’re adequately protected in most situations. So, before purchasing a policy, ensure that you understand what’s included before moving forward.
