Why Do You Need Renters Liability Insurance?
Renters Liability Insurance – Do You Need It?
Do you really need renters liability insurance if you are renting a home or apartment from a landlord? After all, they own the property, don’t they? Aren’t they required to have insurance that will cover any losses or injuries incurred on their property? Unfortunately, if you want to protect yourself from huge financial losses you need to get your own personal liability insurance. Many renters are unaware that they are responsible for losses or damages to their personal property when they are renting a home or apartment from someone else. Some people assume that the landlord carries renters liability insurance and personal property insurance that will cover any losses that the renter incurs. This is generally not true and they are not required to do so.
What are Landlords Responsible for?
Landlords are not responsible for losses or damages to personal property owned by someone living in their rental unit. Landlords typically carry insurance that will cover the building itself, but not the personal property of whoever is living in the unit. The renter is also responsible to buy their own renters liability insurance in case a visitor gets injured on the property. Even though a renter does not own the property it is still their responsibility to buy renters liability insurance and personal renters insurance. Fortunately, you can get cheap renters insurance online.
What Does Renters Liability Insurance Cover?
Renters liability insurance does not cover personal belongings that a renter keeps in their home or apartment. It is for the protection of assets that a renter possesses. If you are renting a home or apartment and have a visitor get injured while on your residence, the injured party can sue you for medical costs and other related damages. Without renters liability insurance you run the risk of losing all of your assets including bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and other investments. This type of coverage is to protect you from huge financial losses. Without it, you could potentially suffer losses that will be very hard to recover from. This type of insurance will also cover any legal fees that arise from the lawsuit.
What Does Personal Renters Insurance Cover?
Personal renters insurance covers losses, damages, and destruction of personal property due to burglary, fire, water-related damage (excluding floods), smoke-related damage, and many other causes. To get protection against earthquakes or floods you will normally need to purchase additional insurance in the form of a rider. However, personal renters insurance does not cover accidents and injuries to individuals on the property or subsequent lawsuits.
You can also get additional living expenses coverage. If your home becomes unlivable and you are forced to live somewhere else, in a hotel for example, while repairs are being made to your home, this type of coverage will pay for the hotel and other living expenses.
Where Can You Find Cheap Liability Insurance?
A good idea is to get enough liability insurance to protect yourself from financial ruin. The easiest way to find cheap renters liability insurance is to visit insurance comparison sites online. There are many comparison sites that offer free quotes so that you can easily compare prices between different companies. Each comparison site will normally give you quotes from several major insurance companies. Also, these companies will normally be A-rated and relatively safe to do business with.
Once you have received several quotes you can pick out the cheapest one and then call an agent from that company. There are often discounts that insurance companies will offer so you should ask them about these price reductions. Depending on your age, credit rating, and other factors you can often qualify for one or more discounts that will lower your premiums.
