What is Assurant Renters Insurance Explained UK American

So whether you're a renter or a landlord, do you know what renters insurance is and why it's so important? That's what we're going to be talking about today. My name is Sue Richie. I'm the real estate broker of Richie Property Management. We're a residential property management company in the Washington, DC, AC area. 

 Okay, so renters insurance, let's talk about what it is first. Basically, renters insurance is a policy that the tenant takes out. It doesn't cover the landlord. It really is there and meant to protect the tenant. It has two components, really. One is the personal belongings component for damage or theft. It protects all of your stuff. And the second component is about personal, liability. It protects the tenant if they cause damage to the property, even if they didn't mean to.  So let's talk about first, the personal belonging component. So as a tenant, you have a lot of things on your property and you want to protect those things.

This renters policy covers your stuff from theft or damage. So if your bike or your TV or your laptop or anything on your property gets damaged as a result of, let's say, a flood or a fire or if it gets stolen on your property, your renter's policy will cover the replacement of those items. And this is something people don't know. But a renter's policy can also cover, let's say, one of your items if it's not even on your property. So we had someone we know whose laptop was in their car and it was stolen and their renter's insurance policy actually covered the replacement of that laptop. So even if it's not on your property, it can still cover your thing if there's theft involved. The other thing that a policy regarding your stuff covers. So let's say there's damage to your property and you can't live there anymore. Your renter's insurance will put you up somewhere in a hotel until the property can then be repaired. So it covers the cost of that because if you didn't have it and your landlord wasn't willing to cover it, you might have to pay for that out of your pocket. 

And then you'd have to get into an argument with your landlord and try and get reimbursed. If you have the renters insurance, they take care of it and you don't have to worry. Okay. So the other component that you want to make sure is included in your renter's insurance policy as a tenant is the liability component. There are a number of things surrounding this, first of all, if you do actual damage or negligence.  So let's say you leave a faucet on the property and the tub overflows. And then if you're in a condo, for example, maybe it floods the unit below or wherever you are flooding the rest of the property. That negligence can be covered if you have a renter's insurance policy. Also, if we had a case like this in a property we managed Where the tenants had a surge protector that shorted it caught on fire. It ended up damaging it had a big fire.

 It ended up damaging the house significantly. They had to move out. Luckily, they had renters insurance, So it covered the replacement of their things. It covered damage to the property, but that wasn't necessarily their fault or negligence. It was just something that happened, but it was still covered by their insurance. The other thing that is important about the liability coverage Is if a guest or some other visitor at your property gets injured, Your renter's insurance can also cover damages or costs related to that injury. So while renters insurance doesn't directly cover the landlord, There are definitely some benefits to landlords as well as requiring tenants to have this insurance. First of all, as we talked about, if there is some kind of damage or theft on the property and the tenant's belongings are missing or damaged, they might come after the landlord and say, hey, you know what? You didn't protect the property. You didn't keep it secure or this is your fault that this damage happened and we want you to replace our stuff.

 If the tenant has renter's insurance, Their insurance will cover that. And as a landlord, that doesn't become your financial burden anymore. And the second part is with respect to the liability, if something does happen, that is the fault of the tenant and they cause damage to the property, Their insurance will generally pick up that bill as opposed to you having to go through your insurance. You may do that as well, but your insurance company may work with their company to cover the damage, So you shouldn't have any out-of-pocket costs. So it's a big benefit as a landlord.  So the bottom line is, if you're a landlord, make sure you require that your tenant gets renter's insurance, put it in your lease, make sure they provide proof to you that they have it within, say, a week or two after the lease start date. And that protects you. And as a tenant, it's kind of a no-brainer. It was not expensive. Generally, you can find tenant insurance, and renters insurance policies for about $15 a month, $180 a year.

It's completely worth it, money well spent. So don't slack on that. Make sure you protect yourself and minimize your risk as you live on someone else's property.