When you rent a property, you live in a space that someone else owns. However, you still own many of the possessions in the home. Your clothes, furniture, electronics, appliances and other effects cost a pretty penny. Therefore, you need to make sure you protect your belongings.
One of the best ways to protect your possessions is with renters insurance. Most standard policies come with a degree of personal property protection. Should your belongings sustain losses, you might be able to get help paying for the recovery.
Setting Up Your Renters Insurance Coverage
Often, landlords require their lessees to carry renters insurance. This policy can cover both liability risks and damage to the renter’s own property. It often comes in handy when incidents happen within your rented property.
Your insurance agent will likely tell you to obtain possessions coverage. That way, you can file for compensation in the event something damages your belongings. For example, if a pipe bursts, it might ruin your furniture or clothing. With the right renters insurance, you can receive compensation for costs that come with replacing these items.
Getting appropriate possessions coverage means declaring a value for your belongings. This requires an understanding of the intricacies of coverage.
Determining The Value Of Your Policy
When you get renters insurance, you will work with your agent to set policy limits. The limits are the largest values that your policy will provide for your lost belongings. So, you’ll have to set these limits with extreme care to ensure you receive adequate funds in the event of a claim.
- Take a thorough evaluation of your property value. This likely means appraising your most important belongings. These usually include items such as furniture, clothes, linens, china, electronics and appliances. Verify the value of these items through receipts, photographs or personal appraisals.
- Realize that your possessions policy likely won’t cover everything. For example, items of exceptional value, such as jewelry or art, might have exclusions. You might need to add special riders or extra coverage for the most expensive items.
- Understand that limits might exist on your policy. Often, renters coverage often contains per-item limits on certain possessions. For example, your policy might only agree to pay a maximum of $1,500 per damaged item. Therefore, if you need to try to replace a $2,000 TV, you might only get $1,500 to do so. That could still leave you with a $500 bill.
Tell your Cloverleaf Insurance agent about your most valuable personal items. They can help you set protective limits on your renters policy. Consider this protection a required form of coverage for your household.