What Every Encinitas Renter Should Know About Renters Insurance

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For Rent[/caption]When renting a home or apartment, renters insurance is an important thing to consider. Having renter’s insurance can provide peace of mind, and save you quite a bit of money if a disaster occurs. If you’re considering getting renters insurance for the house or apartment you are renting in Encinitas, there are a number of things to keep in mind to make sure you’re properly protected. Realtor.com posted a helpful article explaining what renters should know about renters insurance.

Your Landlord’s Insurance

Assuming that you don’t need your own insurance simply because you don’t own the building is a common misconception, but it may not always be accurate. Your landlord’s insurance may protect the physical space you are renting, but not your personal belongings. In the event of a fire or theft, having your own insurance is essential, because your landlord’s insurance company won’t be held responsible for your losses.

What Is and Isn’t Covered

Renters insurance typically only covers the most common situations, such as a fire. In these events, your insurance company will cover the cost of replacing your personal belongings, and possibly pay for hotel accommodations while repairs are being made.

While this is all well and good for the most common situations, many natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and landslides may not be covered. Living in an area that’s susceptible to these disasters, especially in California, additional coverage is a must.

It’s also recommended to have any valuables such as expensive jewelry and antiques appraised, and have a rider clause added to your policy to ensure that you are able to receive the full value of the items.

Actual cash Value vs, Reimbursement

There are two major varieties of renters insurance: One that pays the actual cash value or full replacement value, and one that determines a reimbursement amount. With a replacement value policy, your provider will take factors such as age and initial value into account, and determine what the depreciated value of your belongings are. This means that you could end up receiving considerably less for your belongings than what you originally paid.

Actual cash value policies typically cost more than reimbursement policies, but could end up ensuring that you get close to the full value of your belongings in the event of a disaster. For renters who own a considerable amount of expensive items, an actual cash value policy is ideal.

By Linda Moore

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