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When leasing a house, unit or apartment, it’s important to consider taking out home insurance to cover all of the personal belongings you have at your place. Many people don’t think of this as a necessity because they believe their landlord will have this covered. This is not the case. Your landlord will only take out insurance to cover the property in case of fire, flood or property damage. This does not extend to your own possessions.
Depending on your policy, renters insurance can cover a range of items, which include:
- Fire damage and destructive smoke – although your landlord may have this covered for the building, how would you replace all of your items if destroyed by a fire or smoke?
- House content theft and damage – if someone breaks into your home, they could not only break many of your personal belongings, but also take them, leaving you with the burden of hefty replacement costs.
- Loss arising from flood or water – more often than not, if your home is flooded, many items like furniture, electrical equipment and even clothing are ruined.
- Loss from lightning and fast winds – if you experience a power shortage or surge from lightning and winds, it can short out electrical equipment which may need replacing.
Many renters only look at their big ticket items like TV’s and refrigerators to insure, but there are many other things that this type of home insurance can cover.
- Home furniture like couches, chairs, tables and desks
- Technology equipment like computers, DVD players, stereo sound equipment, iPods, cameras and printers
- Clothing, shoes and jewellery
- Personal possessions like sunglasses and hair dryers
- Household contents including kitchen appliances, cutlery, crockery and glassware
Many insurers will ask, “If your house was completely cleaned out by a thief, how much would it cost to replace everything?” They ask this question to gather an idea of how much the policy should be worth.
In many cases, renters will often take out additional insurance if they have big ticket items that are of a high value. These items often include expensive jewellery like engagement or wedding rings, artwork and high-end electrical equipment like TV’s and sound systems.
The amount you pay for your policy will be built on a range of variables. These are often based on where you live, what type of security is used at the premises to stop intruders, if you have claimed before, how much excess you are willing to pay should you need to make a claim and also how much you want to insure the contents for.
Renters home insurance offers a great sense of security on top of physical locks and alarms. This is because when all else fails and someone does break into your home, you can rest assured that there won’t be a huge financial burden placed on you when it comes time to replace the items that were taken.
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Articles - Accommodation 