If you’re renting an apartment in a duplex or multifamily home, chances are you have a greater need for renters’ insurance. It can help protect you against neighbor liability, replace your possessions in case of destruction, and may even replace your computer if it gets swiped at a local café. In business since 1906, Muller Insurance has decades of experience serving clients in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and other states. Here, we’ll discuss why renters’ insurance coverage is so important in protecting your cherished possessions.
What Is Renters Insurance?
Renters insurance, also called tenants insurance, covers a renter’s personal possessions in the case of damage caused by fire, smoke, theft, vandalism, plumbing issues, and mildew, as well as some natural disasters like lightning storms. This type of insurance typically doesn’t include damage caused by floods or earthquakes, but these may be covered by insurance add-ons. Additionally, renters’ insurance policies typically come into play in case of the following:
- Damage caused by aircraft or vehicles
- Explosion
- Falling objects and weight of precipitation
- Riot or civil unrest
If you live in a multifamily home, there’s even more reason to consider renters’ insurance. If the fire that damaged your structure, appliances, and furniture started in your neighbor’s unit, your policy can still protect you and your belongings. It’s important to note that renters’ insurance is also separate from any dwelling insurance policies that your landlord may have for the property.
What Does Renters’ Insurance Cover and Not Cover?
Increasingly, multifamily homes and apartment buildings are requiring renters to purchase tenant insurance to cover themselves and the building community against liability, as well as theft or destruction of personal property. Renters’ insurance generally covers personal belongings like:
- Electronics
- Clothes
- Furniture and furnishings
- Sports equipment
- Appliances owned by the renter
- Jewelry (to a limited degree)
Renters’ insurance may also replace:
- Phones, laptops, other electronics stolen from your vehicle
- Bikes or kayaks if they are damaged or stolen
Additionally, it can cover you from bills in cases like these:
- Someone falls and is injured or suffers a pet injury on the property and sues.
- The rental unit is temporarily unlivable for a covered peril, and you’re forced to live elsewhere. In this case, hotel and restaurant bills may be covered up to the extent outlined in your policy.
Your renters’ insurance may also cover the replacement of other people’s possessions if something is broken by you or your child. What’s more, it may even pay the medical bills of a person who is accidentally injured by your golf balls and clubs or another covered item.
Be aware that supplemental insurance will likely be necessary to take care of high-cost items and collectibles, such as luxury jewelry, fine arts, and other collections.
How to Get Renters’ Insurance
The best place to start after deciding to purchase renters’ insurance is by taking inventory of all your home possessions. Then, make an itemized list of all these belongings and their original costs. This should include, but not be limited to:
- Phones, watches, laptops, televisions, scanners, gaming systems, and other electronics
- Clothing, including winter gear and summer garments along with shoes and boots
- Furniture, such as tables, sofas, beds, mattresses
- Appliances like washers, dryers, blenders, and microwaves
- Dishes, towels, bedding, and linens
- Sports equipment, such as skateboards, skis, basketball hoops
- Children’s playgrounds and trampolines
More multifamily buildings and homes are requiring renters to purchase tenant insurance to protect themselves, neighbors, and the facility. It’s important to ask your independent insurance agent about other items and scenarios that may be eligible. This list will assist the agent when creating a customized policy that works for you.
Contact Muller Insurance for a Rental Insurance Quote
Muller Insurance’s independent agents have a solid reputation and extensive experience creating the right renters’ insurance for multifamily homes that can give you, your neighbors, and your landlord protection and peace of mind. For decades, our agency has been working with a wide variety of insurance companies in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and other states. This allows us to shop around for you and even bundle your renters’ insurance with car insurance and other coverage as needed. Contact us today to get a quote.
