Renters’ insurance covers expenses related to damage or theft of your personal property, liability damage, emergency medical expenses for guests, and additional living expenses if you have to relocate temporarily. Although more and more landlords and building management companies require tenants to have renters’ insurance, most people are not obliged to purchase it and choose not to purchase a policy. Despite what many tenants think, their landlord or management company does not insure them or their personal property. If she had opted for renters’ insurance, Espenschied could have helped her file a claim and get the money to replace those belongings.
But wealthy tenants also need renters insurance as a way to mitigate the financial cost of damaging and unexpected events. Beyond the obvious coverages and benefits of renters’ insurance, there are some lesser-known advantages that may convince renters that it is a valuable purchase. At the same time, landlords who do not emphasise the importance of renters’ insurance to their tenants (by including it as a requirement in the lease, for example), may unnecessarily put themselves at risk for damage caused by their tenants or injuries to the property. In the event that your flat or home is deemed uninhabitable due to event-covered smoke damage, for example, you would be forced to pay out-of-pocket for any expenses that exceed your typical spending levels if you did not have renters insurance.
Below are a few examples that show how renters insurance is generally a useful purchase and worth the investment, no matter who you are. But even if renters insurance is not necessary in your flat, we believe that anyone renting the home they live in should purchase a renters insurance policy. Before taking out a policy, you should take a personal inventory of the value of your possessions to determine how much renters insurance will be enough to cover the cost of replacing them. You will only need to purchase renters’ insurance if your landlord or property management company requires renters to have it.
Although it is not mandatory, anyone renting any type of long-term residence, whether a flat or a single-family home, should seriously consider purchasing a renters’ insurance policy. Renters’ insurance is an often overlooked coverage that is surprisingly valuable to both renters and landlords. Too many renters think they don’t need liability protection because they rarely have guests or believe that the likelihood of someone being injured in their home is almost non-existent. Also, take steps to document all belongings and valuables so that you can prove ownership in a renters insurance claim.
It is not uncommon for a landlord to require renters insurance, but fortunately, the best renters insurance companies make it easy to compare quotes online and take out a policy.