After months of searching, you finally found a place that is right for you. You are almost ready to move in and wonder if there is anything you can do to stay protected as you rent an apartment or house. One of the first things the landlord will want to see is if you have a renter’s policy. A renters policy protects you but also protects the landlord from things that you would do as a college student. College students are younger, maybe they have not owned a home before, so there’s a little more risk involved in renting to them. The landlord may ask you to make sure you show them that you have a policy with a minimum limit of $300,000 for example. This means that anything that you’re liable for should be covered up to that amount.
Liability Coverage
Say you are throwing a party, and somebody gets hurt at your premises, so they sue the apartment complex or sue you. Your liability steps in and helps cover that. It also protects you and the landlord from claims and lawsuits you may have to pay otherwise.
Personal Property Coverage
The second element to think about is all the stuff you own in your apartment. In a dorm you would keep books, clothes, and maybe a TV. Once that is off in an apartment off campus, you do not have coverage for those things. You need to have coverage through your renter’s policy for everything you own. If you take the whole apartment or home and turn it upside down, everything that falls out of it is personal property. You want to make sure you have enough limit to cover all your personal property from events like fires, robberies, or natural disasters. Generally, agents will recommend around $20,000 of coverage. It might seem high, but a lot of the things you buy might be thrifted or bought on sale. When something happens to your personal property, you are not going to wait until they go back on sale. You want to go replace them at whatever market price it is at. Agents recommend you inflate the number on your policy by a little bit just to make sure you have enough coverage to replace everything you lost.
These are the two coverages landlords want before they rent to you: Liability to cover their expenses from an accident on the property and personal property to make sure your stuff is covered in case it gets stolen, burned in a fire, hit by tornadoes, or other incidents where you lose what you own.
Do I need my own renter’s policy if I have a roommate?
If you have a roommate, you will both need your own renter’s insurance policies because you’re two separate people. You’re living in the same room or the same apartment, if you’re not technically married or together you will each need individual policies for however many roommates you have.
Follow these tips to ensure that you are fully covered when renting. Some insurance may be required by your landlord before you move in, while other coverage is important to protect your valuable items. Give us a call at Susquehanna Insurance for advice on a renter’s policy just for you.