When it comes to protecting your assets and possessions, it pays to obtain liability insurance. Quite often renters are under the misconception that living in a property means they are covered by the landlord’s insurance. While the landlord’s insurance does apply to the structure, it does not apply to the assets of individual renters. Renters liability insurance is designed to provide financial reimbursement for tenants due to lost, damaged, or stolen possessions. Fire, theft, and vandalism are all covered by renter’s liability insurance and will aid in protecting tenants. Renters liability insurance is also designed to help with costs related to physical injury due to a visitor or the tenant if/when they are injured on the premises. Keyrenter Premier specializes in helping property owners and tenants understand liability insurance and other insurance coverage needs to be required by law.
What Does Liability Coverage Include?
When a renter signs a policy, they rarely check for all the fine print that includes information about liability insurance. As a property owner, you do not need to provide renters liability coverage for their possessions. You do need to have liability insurance coverage to repair damage to the structure and to protect you against expensive lawsuits related to liability concerns.
Individual renter’s liability coverage will cover legal expenses in the event of damage to possession’s related to a non-auto-related situation. If you have been found legally responsible for the issue, liability coverage can help to pay for legal fees if a landlord or fellow tenant decides to sue.
If a guest slips on ice or simply falls while visiting your unit, you could wind up with a lawsuit. Perhaps your child throws a ball through a neighbor’s window, or your dog gets loose and causes damage to a neighbor’s possessions. Liability coverage is designed to help protect a renter when these situations occur. Normally renter’s liability insurance plans start with $100,000 of coverage.
If you are seeking additional liability coverage, you may want to consider a personal umbrella policy (PUP). A PUP will provide coverage following the limits of the initial policy, offering greater liability protection.
What Does a Landlord’s Policy Cover?
There is a major misconception between tenants and property owners related to liability insurance. Your landlord’s coverage has nothing to do with your personal well-being. The policy is designed to protect the property owner from incurring expensive repair costs and medical costs related to property damage. Landlords often require renters to obtain liability insurance and may even require tenants to sign documents agreeing to eviction if they fail to obtain insurance by a specific date. Renters insurance is designed to protect the renter, so it is in your best interest to obtain a policy of you do not have one. Landlord policies normally offer coverage for the landlord if one of the tenants is injured and the landlord is found liable for the injury.
Renters liability insurance is designed to protect a renter from several situations. Contact Keyrenter Premier today to discuss liability insurance requirements along with additional property management tips.