Renter's Insurance: Protection for Your Belongings

Your personal items are at risk without proper coverage.

California Casualty Management Company

If you rent a home, apartment, townhome, or condominium, and you experience a fire or theft, your personal belongings are not covered by your landlord's insurance. That's why you need to understand the value of taking out your own renter's insurance policy.

You are a renter, not a homeowner. You may think the landlord has covered your building and its contents with adequate insurance. Think again. If you rent a home, an apartment, a town home, or condominium and you experience a fire or theft, your belongings are not covered by the insurance taken out by landlord.

For complete protection, renters should purchase renter's insurance. It's the only way to fully protect your personal belongings. This might be important, as well, for parents as they send their children to college or for newly graduated students as they enter their first rental homes.

Renter's insurance covers losses to your personal property from a variety of perils, such as:

• Fire & smoke
• Lightning, hail & windstorms
• Explosions
• Riots
• Vehicles & aircraft
• Vandalism & theft
• Falling objects
• Electrical current damage
• Accidental overflow of water

Renter's insurance does not cover flood damage and – depending where you live – wind damage from hurricanes.

Your renter's policy will also likely provide liability insurance, covering any costs that may arise if you or your family cause harm, or if there is damage from accidents that have occurred in your rental unit.

If you are not sure where to get renter's insurance, check with your insurance company representative. You may save money by purchasing insurance from the same company that has your auto policy.

To further protect yourself and your belongings, take an inventory. Photograph or videotape each room, and be sure to open closed doors and drawers. Keep a list of each belonging and its value. Attach receipts to the list, if possible. Be sure to keep the list and the tape or photographs away from your rented space, in case of a loss.

NEA Member Benefits offers two property insurance programs: NEA Members Auto & Home Insurance Program®, underwritten by California Casualty Management Company*, and NEA Homeowners® Insurance, underwritten by Horace Mann Insurance Companies. Both programs offer special features and rates for NEA members and their families. See “Insurance” at www.neamb.com.

*Not available in all states at this time.