What if your insurance failed you when you needed it the most?
This happens to countless renters every single year. They rely on their renters insurance to protect them in the event of an unexpected catastrophe. But when certain catastrophes happen, renters are shocked to discover that this particular incident is not covered.
Worried this could happen to you? Don’t be! We’ve rounded up the 6 most common reasons your renters insurance is likely to fail you and what you can do about it to keep your home, your family, and your property safe.
1. Renters Insurance May Not Cover Natural Disasters
On the most basic level, our renters insurance is used to help protect our homes. However, it may be impossible to protect your home from events such as flooding or earthquakes. After a natural disaster happens, it will likely be impossible to get anything from your insurance carrier, either.
That’s because such natural disasters are not part of any standard renters insurance policy. In fact, most homeowner insurance policies also exclude natural disasters. However, you can often take out a separate rider, either through your current carrier or another carrier, to cover you in the event of a natural disaster.
Not sure if you need the extra rider or not? Resources such as FEMA’s flood maps can help you determine how likely your area is to get flooded!
2. Your Car Getting Damaged or Stolen Is Not Covered
Is your car covered by renters insurance? Yes and no. For example, your personal property inside the car is covered by your insurance policy. So if someone steals, say, a laptop from your car at night, that theft should be covered by your insurance.
However, the car itself is not covered by the policy. This means that if your car should get damaged, vandalized, or even stolen, your renters insurance will not pay anything to cover it.
To help protect your car, you need the right automobile insurance. Specifically, you need comprehensive insurance. This is a type of insurance that helps protect your car even when you aren’t behind the wheel, and you may be able to save by bundling your policies.
3. Expensive Personal Property May Not Be Covered
One of the best things about renters insurance is that it helps to protect your personal property. This can give you peace of mind if you are worried about things like getting robbed. But depending on the property you are trying to protect, it may not actually be covered.
This is because of the fine print in your insurance policy. For example, many policies include a maximum price point that may change depending on the type of item you are insuring. For example, jewelry valued over $1,500 may be excluded, and this may rule out things like engagement rings. Electronic items valued over $2,500 may be excluded, which means you may be out of luck if you have something like a high-end computer get stolen.
What should you do, then, if you rent your home and own such expensive items? It’s possible to get additional coverage, including coverage dedicated entirely to the items in question. If these items are very important to you, then the peace of mind of the additional coverage will definitely be worth it!
4. Coverage Is Limited to Documented Items
Here’s something most renters don’t know: Your renters insurance is limited to what your insurance company knows about. For example, let’s say your TV gets stolen and you go to file a claim. If you never documented that TV with your insurance company, they may be unable to pay for you to replace it.
For the insurance company, this is necessary because it helps prevent insurance fraud. However, it can be inconvenient for the average renter. The only real way to deal to make sure your property is protected is to carefully document everything.
One of the easier ways to do this is to hold onto your receipts and take photographs of your new purchases. That way, in the event of theft or damage, you have all the proof needed to back up your claims.
5. Coverage May Not Extend to Your Dog
A major benefit of renters insurance is that it provides liability coverage. You may not think you need this coverage, but if someone gets injured at your home, they may be able to sue you. Win or lose, the costs of the court proceedings could be enough to bankrupt you.
Liability insurance helps to pay for the medical bills of the injured party and, if it comes to that, your legal costs. However, some insurance companies refuse to cover certain dog breeds, especially if that breed is known for biting people.
If you own a dog whose breed is excluded, you are best off finding an insurance company that either does not restrict that specific breed or that has no breed-specific restrictions or exclusions.
6. Insurance Doesn’t Extend to Pest Problems
Aside from those really expensive items, renters insurance does a good job of protecting your personal property. However, this protection doesn’t extend to property that gets damaged by pests inside your home.
In the eyes of the insurance company, the homeowner is responsible for pest control. That’s why you need to be proactive and report any pest sighting or even pest suspicions to your landlord.
You can help to keep pests away by keeping your home (especially your kitchen) clean and promptly taking out the trash. You should also seal up potential pest entry points (which, as an added bonus, may help to lower your heating and cooling bills).
Texans Get the Renters Insurance You Need Today!
If you’re unhappy with your current insurance company and its limitations, you don’t have to stay with them. In fact, now may be the perfect time to switch to a new insurance carrier!
If you’d like to get a renters insurance quote from Baja Insurance, you can simply request a quote online. If you’d prefer, you can always come into one of our local offices and chat with us. Or you can simply pick up the phone and give us a call at 800-401-6870.
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