Neighbors and Wires and Leaks, Oh My!

Carrying renters insurance may rarely be a provision in a rental agreement, but protecting your possessions and yourself against liability through renters insurance is a very good idea for a number of reasons. Your landlord will likely have a commercial property or homeowners insurance policy on the structure you are renting, but that policy does not cover your possessions such as furniture, clothing, electronic equipment and other belongings. Beyond protecting your property, the liability provision in renters insurance protects you against legal action for personal injury or property damage caused by you, members of your family and even your pets. Even though renters insurance is relatively inexpensive it does pay to compare renters insurance policies to find the best deal.

One of the best reasons to carry renters insurance is there are many factors affecting your household that are largely, if not completely, out of your control as a renter. These include the upkeep and overall condition of your rented house, condo, apartment or other structure, and who might be living around you. Renters insurance helps protect you from loss from any problem arising because of one of these elements.

Your neighbors

If you are renting a duplex, condo or town home you likely have neighbors just across a wall from you. In an apartment you could even have neighbors over you or under you. It’s even possible to be surrounded by different neighbors on all sides.

You might think, “Hey, I like my neighbors, why should I be concerned with them?” The answer is you have no control over what they do. If your neighbors smoke in bed they could start a fire. Same thing with an unattended candle or cooking mishap. In cold weather your neighbor might no properly protect their pipes against freezing and cause a flood.

The problem is your neighbor’s fire or flood quickly becomes your fire or flood, damaging your possessions in the process. You don’t want to leave the protection of your property in the hands of your neighbors and renters insurance is the cure for that issue.

Bad wiring and leaky pipes

Another area where you most likely have no control as a renter is the structural soundness of your rented home. You can most likely request repairs for any problem you find, but what about that faulty wiring in the walls? That’s something you can’t see and probably will never know about until it finally shorts out and causes a fire.

Water pipes can have the same issue. A leaky faucet or under sink drain is easy to see and become repaired, but if your rented home has older or shoddy workmanship in the plumbing system a catastrophic flood could happen with no warning.

Renters insurance will ensure your possessions are protected even if your rented home is hit with a disaster caused by the structure. Make sure when you are looking for renters insurance to take the time to compare renters insurance quotes to find the best deal for your rented home.