The Importance of Renters Insurance

5/10/2019 (Permalink)

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Recent natural disasters from tornadoes to wildfires have left hundreds of thousands of people with lost or damaged belongings. This devastation is awful, but those who rent their homes are too at great financial risk.

Most home owners are able to protect their property and belongings thanks to policies that were put into place when they purchased their homes. However, less than half of renters in America lack the insurance that can protect them in the same way. If this describes you, then it might be time to rethink if you should purchase renters insurance. It can be an important way to protect your belongings and finances in a time of devastation, because cleanup and restoration can be costly.

What It Covers

When you think about renters insurance, it is possible that you are imagining it as financial burden, something that will ask you to fork over more money than it could save you. However, that is not the case. On average, renters insurance costs less than two hundred dollars a year, and the benefits it offers can be a lifesaver.

In the event of a fire or water disaster renters insurance can cover the cost of lost belongings and arrange accommodations for you if your home becomes uninhabitable. It even offers liability if there is ever an accident that happens on your rented property. It is important to keep in mind that this type of insurance does not cover earthquakes or floods, usually, so a separate policy might be needed if those are natural disasters that present a risk in the area of which you reside.

Business Coverage

While renters insurance will typically cover any of your lost belongings, it does not extend to anything business related. Anything work related that you store at home is not covered, and if someone visits you for business reasons and gets hurt, your renters insurance will not offer liability. It is suggested that if your rented property is a place where you conduct business or store business items you should get a different type of insurance policy in addition to your renters insurance.

Standard policies tend to be pretty similar across the board, no matter what company you turn to, but the amount of coverage you get is up to you. When it comes to renters insurance, your policy will cover the actual-value of your items, or the replacement value. Actual-value coverage will cover the cost of your belongings, even if those belongings lost or gained value over time. With replacement value, your policy will cover the cost of you buying new belongings. Deciding on actual-value coverage might save you on premium cost, but replacement value will help you out more in the long run.

Policies tend to limit what insurers will pay you for some valuable items, but you can up your policy to increase coverage on them. If you own a lot of valuable items, it may be in your best interest to add more coverage on them, though it will cost more.

Not all landlords require you to have renters insurance, but it is good coverage to take advantage of. You never know when it might help lessen the financial burden that comes with fire or water damage Chicago.  

If your home has been impacted by a disaster such as a house fire restoration, water damage, mold mitigation, or large storm events, you can reach out to SERVPRO of Ravenswood. We are there to help and we work with ALL insurance companies! Contact us today with questions; 773-878-5200.