Renters insurance refresher

As a tenant or renter, it’s important to understand what your landlord’s insurance will cover and what will be excluded from that coverage. If you have personal belongings or any items you want protected, renters insurance will give you peace of mind knowing your personal property is covered.

Inventory your belongings:

• Take pictures or videos of your belongings (like furniture, clothes, recreational toys, electronics and jewelry).
• Copy receipts, serial and model numbers of your expensive household items like appliances, electronics, tools, jewelry, etc.
• Store your inventory in a secure location on the cloud so you can access it after a disaster.

Ask your broker about replacement value (RV) and actual cash value (ACV):

• ACV reimburses you for the depreciated value of your belongings (usually a fraction of the actual cost).
• RV reimburses you using current pricing for your belongings.
• Ensure your reimbursement type works for your budget and consider how much you can afford to pay out of pocket if you lose everything in a wild fire, hurricane, flood, or any other type of natural disaster. 

Review your policy limits:

• Medical payments help if your pet bites someone, or a guest is injured in your apartment.
• General liability helps if someone sues you for personal injury or defamation.

Don't forget about essential add-on coverages for things like:

• Additional living expenses (If you have to relocate temporarily because of a fire, this policy will help with additional living expenses).
• Earthquakes (Any earth movement is excluded without this additional coverage).
• Flooding (Your basement storage locker might be at risk even if you're on a higher floor).
• Sewer backups (Sewage can back-flow into your home, regardless of your location).
• Electronics and jewelry (Most policies only cover up to $2,500).

Contact an Orbit insurance broker to arrange a review/refresh of your current policy. Interested in renters insurance? Request a quote and one of our insurance brokers will contact you.