Imagine coming home one night only to see that there was a fire in your apartment. Or you find your place flooded from a burst pipe. These happen every day and if it hasn’t happened to you yet, you’re lucky. These are the horrible circumstances that renters fear. If you rent, you can ease that pain by obtaining renters insurance coverage. Renters Insurance Coverage will help pay for damages to you assets and provide living expenses should your place become uninhabitable due to a covered disaster.

Renters Insurance is Affordable

It's surprising that with the cost of renters insurance being so affordable that only some 43% of renters today have renters insurance (Insurance Information Institute). Three common misperceptions contribute to this low participation rate for renters insurance: 1) many renters believe that their landlord's homeowners policy will protect their belongings, it will not; 2) many renters feel they don't own enough stuff worth insuring (a myth easily dispelled by getting a calculator and start punching in what it would cost to replace your items) and 3) many renters think renters insurance is too expensive (according to the Insurance Information Institute, the average monthly cost of a renters insurance with $25,000 worth of property coverage and $100,000 worth of liability coverage is only $16.26).

What Is Covered By Renters Insurance

Renters insurance will cover your personal property from a variety of hazards including fire, snow, smoke, hail, water discharge/pipe breakage, vandalism and theft. Renters insurance is designed to protect your personal assets should they become damaged, destroyed or stolen as a result of one of the aforementioned perils. Renters insurance also provides liability coverage. Should a guest in your home sustain an injury you are responsible, and renters insurance has you covered. However, what are you to do if a covered peril renders your home unlivable?

Loss of Use Coverage

Many renters insurance provides protection that have optional Loss of Use coverage. If your home is left uninhabitable due to a covered peril the Loss of Use option covers additional expenses such as restaurant charges, hotel bills and other living expenses you may incur. Coverage limits are usually established on a percentage basis using your overall renters insurance coverage limit as the baseline. They are typically set at 20% of your policy.

The Loss of Use provision is an important policy feature to consider when purchasing renters insurance. Should your home become temporarily unlivable due to a covered peril, it sure is nice to know that the Loss of Use benefit is there to help you pay for some of the additional expenses you will incur from being temporarily displaced.