by Kitty M Kat

In 2003 I went on a business trip to California. Two other employees, Debbie and Sherry, went with me to work at a manufacturing company to sell Universal Life Insurance. We had checked on-line for an affordable hotel, but their rates were too high for our expense budget, so we opted for a furnished apartment. Under the contract of the apartments short term lease, we had to purchase a Renters Insurance policy. The Renters Insurance policy would not only cover our property and the contents for theft, but would also provide liability in case we caused any damage.

Apartment renters insurance was available through a few companies, so we got quotes from; Geico, Nationwide and State Farm. Nationwide was the cheapest, so we bought a policy and only paid for one month.

During our stay, Debbie accidentally broke the vacuum cleaner that was provided with the apartment. Under the liability section of the renters insurance contract the vacuum cleaner was covered without a deductible. Liability Coverage: Your policy will provide coverage for bodily injury or property damage which you or an insured under the policy are legally obligated to pay.

But you wouldn’t believe what else happened….since we travel a lot we liked the chance to stay somewhere different, and the best thing about this apartment was the waterbeds. The very next day, Sherry was using a knife to peel an apple and accidentally stabs the waterbed causing a small leak. Fortunately, we had purchased the endorsement for waterbeds for an additional premium. Not only did we have a repair bill, we also had some water damage. The waterbed endorsment states; Optional Endorsments you may request for your policy.

Extension of Liability Coverage Endorsement-Waterbeds

The optional coverage pays for damage to property of others that results from sudden and accidental discharge of water from a waterbed. It does not pay for structural damage which may result from the weight or slow, gradual leakage or damage to the waterbed itself.

We were so glad that we had looked over the Renters Insurance policy before we got it. Other coverages included, but subject to a deductible are:

Personal Property Coverage:

Your policy will cover loss or damage to your property when caused by the following perils:

1. Fire or Lightning 2. Windstorm or Hail 3. Explosion 4. Riot or Civil Commotion 5. Aircraft 6. Vehicles 7. Smoke 8. Vandalism or malicious mischief 9. Burglary 10. Falling objects 11. Weight of ice, snow or sleet 12. Accidental discharge or overflow of water or steam from within a plumbing, heating, air conditioning, or automatic fire protective sprinkler or from within a household appliance 13. Sudden and accidental tearing apart, cracking, burning, or bulging of a steam or hot water heating system, and air conditioning system, or an appliance for heating water. 14. Freezing of plumbing, heating, and air conditioning systems or automatic fire protective sprinkler system or of a household appliance. 15. Sudden and accidental damage from artificially generated electrical current 16. Volcanic eruption

But always remember to add the Replacement cost endorsement to your renters policy:

Personal Property Replacement Cost Endorsement;

The Declarations Page will state that under “Additional Coverages” your policy has Replacement Value coverage.

If you do not purchase this endorsment, you will be paid Actual Cash Value (ACV) for a covered loss to your personal property. ACV means the cost to replace an item with another item of similar kind and quality less an allowance for depreciation.

Replacement Cost (RC) coverage will pay for the loss at full cost to repair or replace the damaged item. RC is only paid when you purchase the replacement item within 180 days after the loss.

Loss of Use;

If you cannot live in your home as a result of a covered loss and you must temporarily live elsewhere, this coverage pays, for a specified period, for reasonable and necessary extra living expenses you incur over what you would have normally spent to maintain your standard of living if no loss had occurred.

Your Renters Insurance policy will have exclusions, along with other optional endorsements. Please read or review your policy with your insurance agent. We were glad we did. I couldn’t imagine our boss getting the repair bills with our expense reports. Our Renters Insurance policy probably saved our jobs.

About the Author:
Kitty M Kat is a licensed Insurance Agent and has been selling Affordable Insurance for the prior 22 years. In addition to Renters Insurance she has knowledge about Homeowners, Automobile Insurance, Commercial Property & Casualty and Liability Insurance and Life Insurance. For additional articles see her Insurance for Blondes blog.