Your Glazd renters insurance policy is one of the most effective ways to reduce your chance of experiencing a financial hardship. Your renters insurance policy may cover situations where your personal belongings are damaged or stolen and may pay for damages that you’re liable for – such as accidentally starting a fire. Let’s go through some scenarios…
You left the pizza in the oven a little too long...
One of the most common causes of damage in apartment complexes are due to fire damage, costing $1.1Billion!
So imagine – you come home late from work and don’t have the energy to make a meal. You turn the oven on and put in a pizza. In the meantime you sit down and relax on your couch… You’re jolted awake to the sounds of smoke alarms. You run over to your oven and frantically open the oven door. Smoke billows out, setting the sprinklers off in your apartment complex. This scenario happens far more than you think. Although the sprinklers saved you and your apartment neighbors from a fire, the sprinklers are going to cause damage to your stuff, your unit, and your neighbor’s units. Typical costs for a situation like this are in excess of $100,000. And just FYI, your landlord’s insurance policy isn’t going to cover your personal stuff – that’s not how their policy works. It’s also not going to cover your neighbor’s belongings either. As a matter of fact, your landlord will likely hold you responsible for paying the deductible on the insurance claim. If you’re uninsured, you’re probably going to be holding a bill in excess of $50,000.
Your neighbor leaves their bathtub running and forgets about it...
One of the repeat offender stories that we’ve documented is the infamous bathtub bandit.
Picture this, you’re at work and your landlord or property manager calls you.
“Hey, so we have bad news. Your upstairs neighbor accidentally left their bathtub running and it turned their unit into a life size fishbowl. Unfortunately, the water flooded into your unit too. All of your stuff is likely damaged. Also, you won’t be able to stay here tonight, or for many nights until we repair the unit.”
Uhmmm what?!
You need to be prepared for stuff like this to happen as a tenant. And the best way to prepare is by purchasing a renters insurance policy. You would be able to go right to a hotel and get a room. You’d also be able to get dinner on the way on the way there, and have this all covered. When you file a claim with your insurance company, they will reimburse you up to the limit of your Additional Living Expenses coverage!
Your coverages
- Personal property damage: If your property is damaged, your renters insurance policy will cover the cost of the damage up to the limits of your policy.
- Theft: This peril includes attempted theft and loss of property from a known place when it is likely that the property has been stolen, provided that a police report has been filed by the “insured”. This includes if items are stolen from your vehicle or even if you’re on vacation and they’re stolen during your travels.
- Personal Liability: If you accidentally cause damage to someone’s property, your rental unit, or injury to someone and are held liable for it, your policy will cover the liability costs, including legal costs. Typical policies include up to $100,000 in liability coverage.
- Additional Living Expenses: If your rental unit becomes uninhabitable due to a covered peril, your renters insurance policy will cover your expenses until the unit is repaired – up to the limit of this coverage. Typically this covers hotel and meal expenses.
- Medical Payments: This type of coverage provides limited coverage for medical costs if a guest of yours is injured on your property. For example, it may cover the cost of an ambulance ride.