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Landlord insurance is what covers the dwelling. Renters insurance covers your personal belongings. There is a distinct difference between who purchases which type of coverage. Read on to learn more about who purchases which type and what each form of home insurance covers.
Landlord Insurance Coverage
Landlord insurance is for the person who owns the dwelling and leases it out to tenants.
Landlord insurance is meant to serve as homeowners insurance, but for someone who does not live in the dwelling. For that reason, it does not cover the belongings within the dwelling. It does, however, cover damage to the dwelling caused by covered events, such as a fire, hurricane, storm damage, vandalism, and more. To be covered from flood or earthquake damage, the landlord will have to purchase an additional insurance rider. The insurance will cover the costs to repair or replace the dwelling if damage is done to it.
Landlord insurance also provides the landlord liability coverage. This helps to pay for the legal and settlement expenses if someone sues the landlord. The purpose of this is to help the landlord keep their property (so they don’t have to sell it to pay for the lawsuit settlement or legal fees).
Renters Insurance Coverage
Renters insurance is for the person who inhabits the dwelling but pays someone or a management company to live there; they do not own the building.
Renters can purchase renters insurance to protect their personal property that they keep in the rental dwelling. Just because you don’t need homeowners insurance as a renter does not mean that your property is safe. Your landlord’s insurance does not cover you and your possessions if anything happens to the dwelling.
Renters insurance will pay to repair or replace your belongings if a covered event causes damage, such as fire, hurricane, vandalism or theft. You can pay more to protect against water damage from a flood.
Renters insurance, since it covers the person who lives within the property, also pays for your expenses if you have to stay somewhere else temporarily because of damage to the dwelling that makes it uninhabitable. It pays for you to stay somewhere else while the dwelling is repaired. This is called loss of use coverage, since you are paying to live there and cannot for a period of time.
Renters insurance also offers you liability protection. If someone files a lawsuit against you, you can pay to defend yourself or cover the cost of a settlement with the help of your policy.
Do you need landlord or renters insurance? Find out by contacting the insurance experts at Insured For Life.
