What Is Enough Greensboro Renter's Insurance?

While it's estimated that approximately 95% of homeowners carry homeowners insurance, according to the III (Insurance Information Institute), 37% of home renters have renters insurance. In some U.S. locations, rentals actually outnumber owner-occupied homes, and their risk of suffering a loss from one of the many perils covered by a homeowners or renters insurance policy is just as great.

A major reason fewer renters take out insurance is likely the fact that homeowners with a mortgage are required by their lending institutions to obtain homeowners coverage. While some renters may be required to have renters insurance as a condition of their rental agreements, most are not subject to such a requirement. Unfortunately, for many, the need for renters insurance doesn't hit home until a disaster occurs and they take a financial hit for something against which they could have easily been protected.

What Does Greensboro Renters Insurance Provide?

When you buy Greensboro renters insurance you're getting protection against the risk of suffering financial loss in several areas. The first is property protection covering your personal possessions in your rental home, if any are damaged or destroyed as the result of a covered peril, up to the policy limits. Your possessions are also covered if stolen. Be aware that if your rental home catches fire and burns down it will be your landlord's insurance that pays for rebuilding the structure but it will pay nothing toward replacing your personal possessions. You should also realize that, just like homeowners insurance, renters insurance doesn't cover losses due to earthquakes or floods. These perils must be insured against separately by additional coverage.

Renters insurance also provides liability protection in case someone is injured in your rental home or sustains personal damage caused by you, a family member or pet. Thirdly, many renters insurance policies provide ALE (Additional Living Expenses) protection. This is coverage to reimburse you if a covered event causes you to have to temporarily move out of your rental home.

How Much Coverage You Need 

                                        

To determine how much coverage you need, make a list of all your personal possessions, determine their value and add these up. Choose between actual cash value (retail value minus depreciation) or replacement value (retail value without depreciation). Expensive items such as jewelry, artwork, coins or other collectibles may be worth more than your coverage limits, in which case you should add a floater.

4 FAQs About Condo Insurance

Condo insurance, designated an HO-6 policy, is similar to regular homeowner's policies in many respects but is specific to condominiums. Unlike regular homeowner's insurance, condo insurance covers your unit only from “the walls in,” with exterior areas such as outside walls, roofs, hallways and other common areas falling under the responsibility of the condo association's master insurance coverage.

Because association master policies are specific and varied as to what they cover, your personal condo insurance policy should be tailored to fill the gaps the association coverage may leave. It's best to get a copy of your association's policy and consult with your insurance agent to determine what coverage is most appropriate for your specific needs.

Here are some common FAQs regarding condominium insurance:

Q: What is condominium insurance?

A: Condo insurance protects you and your home from unexpected losses such as damage, stolen belongings or someone getting injured in your home.

Q: What does it cover?

A: Condo coverage includes your structure from “the walls in,” and your personal belongings, including appliances, electronics, clothing, furniture, etc. It may also cover living expenses if your unit is rendered uninhabitable while being repaired for damage. Your personal liability is also covered, including legal fees/medical costs if a guest is injured within your unit.

Q: Are there limits to my coverage?

A: Reimbursement for structural damages from covered perils, such as fire, will have a dollar limit as set in the policy. Unlike typical homeowner's insurance, which has financial loss limits of personal property set at a specific percentage of the structural damages amount, condo coverage on personal belongings is set at a flat rate, and often with quite low limits. It would be prudent to total up the value of all of your personal possessions within the home and add this amount of coverage to your policy, especially if you have very valuable items such as expensive artwork, furs, jewelry, coin collections, etc.

Q: Do I need master policy deductible coverage?

A: Condo homeowner's associations may choose a very high deductible on their master policies in order to save money on their insurance premiums. You should read your condo association documents to find out the amount of deductible for which you'd be responsible if they make a claim and then add on the appropriate amount of master insurance policy deductible coverage to reimburse the amount you're charged under the master policy's deductible.

Condo Versus Homeowners Insurance: 2 Differences

If you find yourself in the market for condo insurance, you'll be pleased to learn that the cost of condo and townhouse insurance is typically less than what you'd have to pay for a similarly valued single family home. There are a few reasons for this, the main one being the amount of the residence you're required to cover in your policy.

Here are two things that differentiate standard homeowner's insurance from condo insurance:

1. Homeowner's insurance is designed to offer protection from losses occurring to your entire property, including outer structures unattached to the house proper. This could include a garage, shed, well house, fence, etc. Condo insurance is designed to cover your unit only, with the outside land, the building structure itself and common areas covered by a separate insurance policy that's cooperatively owned by all the residents in your facility and paid for by the HOA (homeowner's association).
2. Condo insurance only covers “from the sheet rock inward.” Your personal condo insurance doesn't cover the exterior walls or the roof, for example, which would fall under the coverage of the HOA policy.

Do You Need Insurance?

Just as with a standard homeowner's insurance policy, condo insurance will be required by your mortgage holder as a means of protecting their financial interest in your residence. Even if your condo is owned free and clear, however, there are a number of reasons you should have coverage in force. If a fire were to damage the inside of your residence, for example, your condo coverage would protect you from the financial loss of repairing your dwelling and replacing your personal property and other possessions.

Your condo insurance also provides loss of use benefits, which pays for temporary living facilities for the period of time your home is deemed unlivable. Another important benefit your condo insurance provides is liability coverage in the event that someone is injured or their property is damaged while they are in your home. This coverage not only pays toward medical expenses for dealing with their injuries but also legal aid in the event they take you to court to recover damages.

Finally, your condo insurance will provide you with reimbursement should you suffer a loss through vandalism or theft. This typically even pays for losses of personal property you suffer when you're at a location other than your home, such as when staying at a hotel.