Apartment Insurance
Many people who rent do
not have insurance because they incorrectly think
that;
 | Insurance is too expensive. Many
renters do not insure their personal possessions because they believe
insurance is too expensive, but apartment insurance is typically available
for as little as $15 a month. |
| My landlord's insurance
protects me.
Many believe they are protected under their landlord's policy.
However, the landlord's insurance covers the building itself and not a tenant's possessions. |
| My landlord is liable if someone trips in my apartment and gets injured. You could be held liable for injury to another person or damage to another person's property if the incident occurred within your rented residence. |
These descriptions are intended only as a general description of certain types of coverages. Your policy is the contract that specifies and fully describes your coverages.
Coverages
Apartment insurance offers both personal property coverage and liability protection. Property insurance covers the cost of repairing or replacing your personal property that has been damaged, destroyed or stolen. Your personal property is covered both within your home and while you are traveling.
You also receive liability protection. If someone suffers an injury or damage to their property because of something you did or did not do, you could be liable.
Limitations
Most policies limit the amount of reimbursement for theft of valuable items, such as jewelry, furs, silverware and guns. If you have valuable items in these categories, you should purchase additional coverage.
Your policy lists the specific monetary limits for personal property under what is called "Special Limits." Those limits usually are:
| $200 for money, bank notes, gold and silver (other than goldware and silverware), platinum, coins, and medals. |
| $1,000 on securities, accounts, deeds, evidences of debt, letters of credit, notes (other than bank notes), manuscripts, passports, tickets, and stamps. |
| $1,000 on watercraft, including their trailers, furnishings, equipment and outboard motors. |
| $1,000 on trailers not used for watercraft. |
| $1,000 for loss by theft of jewelry, watches, furs, precious and semiprecious stones. |
| $2,000 for loss by theft of firearms. |
| $2,500 for loss by theft of silverware, silver-plated ware, goldware, gold-plated ware and pewterware. |
| $2,500 on property on the resident premises, used for business, and $250 on this property damaged or lost away from the premises. |
Other additions to your renters insurance that add or change the policy's provisions are called endorsements. Some endorsements extend the number of risks insured against, some cover property otherwise excluded and some increase the amount the insurer will pay for a covered loss.
It is important to note that the standard policy excludes damage from earthquakes and floods, so talk to us about coverage for these incidents.
ACV vs Replacement cost basis
If your property does get damaged, destroyed or stolen, the insurance company will use one of two ways to determine its value:
| Actual Cash Value--The replacement cost of the item minus depreciation. For example, a new television set may cost $500. If your 7-year-old TV set gets damaged in a fire, the value of it might have depreciated 50%. Therefore, the amount of your coverage for that set would be $250. |
| Replacement Coverage--The cost of replacing an item without deducting for depreciation. So today's cost for a TV set with features similar to the 7-year-old one damaged by fire would determine the amount of compensation. If it still costs $500 today, that would be the amount of your coverage. |
You can select which type of coverage you would prefer.
Replacement coverage adds only about 10% to 15% to the premium and is worth this slight increase.