Understanding the Basics of an Ohio Renters Insurance Policy

​ Regardless of whether or not you are required by your landlord to carry renters insurance, it is always a good policy to have. Renters insurance provides you with very valuable coverage at an affordable price. If you are new to renters insurance, this article is intended to help you understand the basics of what you need to know as far as coverage is concerned.

You will learn the basics of coverage plus you will also learn about additional optional coverage that you may be very interested in. But first let's start with the basics the main features of a renters insurance policy include:


Basic Coverages

• Personal property coverage. This is what covers your personal belongings of both you and your family in the event of a loss such as a fire. Coverage levels range as low as $10,000 or as high as $50,000. You can choose your level of coverage.

• Liability coverage. This protects you if a visitor gets seriously injured on your property. You can choose coverage levels of 25,000, 50,000 or 100,000.

• Loss of use coverage. In the event that some type of disaster prevents you from living in your apartment, loss of use coverage helps you with associated expenses such as lodging and food. Coverage is provided up to 20% of the coverage you selected for personal property.

• Medical payments to others coverage. This is the part of a renters insurance policy that covers minor injuries if a visitor was to be injured on your property. Coverages offer up to $2000 for minor injuries. This is intended to make to make someone happy if a visitor happens to suffer a minor injury on your property. This sometimes will make them go away instead of causing bigger problems that may need to be filed as a liability claim.

Additional and optional coverages


There are several additional coverages offered that go beyond what a general renters insurance policy covers. Some of you may be very interested in selecting these additional coverages. They include:

• Replacement cost coverage on your contents and personal property. By selecting the replacement cost option any personal property that suffers a loss will be valued at the cost it would take to replace it. Without replacement cost coverage personal property is only valued at its current market value which takes into account depreciation.

• Identity fraud expense coverage. Identity fraud is becoming more and more common. Should this happen to you, this additional coverage would cover you for expenses related to fighting these ID fraud charges and claims.

• Equipment breakdown coverage. This coverage is normally not included in a standard renters insurance policy. So to have this kind of coverage, you need it added onto your policy.

• Water backup/sump discharge coverage. Again, this is usually not covered unless added on. It involves covering damage to pressurized plumbing systems.

• Ability to add non-family members to your policy. Renters insurance only covers your immediate family. So to have anyone else covered can be difficult with some renters insurance companies, as many won't allow it. With this policy you can add occupants that are not related to you that are living with you.

Summary: Renters insurance offers valuable coverage for an affordable price. Yet less than half of renters take advantage of the coverage. Ask yourself, what would you do if a disaster suddenly displaced you from your apartment? If you haven’t considered renters insurance before, you should at least consider it.




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