Washington State Renters' Rights

Avoiding Risk in Renting: Renters' Insurance

Imagine picking up your rental unit, opening up all of the doors and windows, giving your apartment a good hard shake, and watching all of your prized possessions fall to the floor and shatter.  While this scenario may be unlikely, the resulting question isn’t quite as far fetched—what would you do if your personal property was suddenly destroyed?

As a renter in Washington state every man and women is granted basic rights under the Landlord-Tenant Act.  However, protection and recovery for the loss of one’s personal possessions is not one of these rights.  If your rental unit burns down, your personal possessions are vandalized, or your home is broken into and ransacked, none of your personal belongings are covered unless you have adequate renters insurance.

Renters insurance typically covers three basic elements: personal property losses, protection against guests’ medical expenses, and increases in living expenses resulting after ones home becomes uninhabitable.  In other words, you are can recover the value of most destroyed personal property, you are covered when a visitor is injured in your apartment and seeks reimbursement for medical bills, and if your home becomes uninhabitable after a major incident the renters policy will typically cover the difference in the temporarily increased living expenses. 

Personal property is everything that would fall out of the upturned house described above.  This includes items like your television, your furniture, your bike, and your clothes.  Personal property protection can extend to theft committed both on and off premises depending on the terms of ones policy.  So if your bike is stolen while you are in class or you are mugged at an ATM the lost property can be covered under your renters insurance policy.  Guest medical protection pays for the medical expenses of guests who are accidentally injured on ones property as a result of a covered loss.  So if a visitor slips on your newly washed kitchen floor your renters insurance covers the cost of your visitors ensuing medical bills.  Plus, if the injured party decides to sue you for the broken arm s/he sustained, your policy typically covers the resulting legal fees as well.  Finally, additional living expenses provide coverage for the reasonable increase in living expenses incurred if your home becomes uninhabitable after a covered loss.  When a major windstorm blows off the roof of your apartment and you suddenly find yourself living at a Holiday Inn your renter’s insurance policy can cover the increased costs you are temporarily experiencing as your home is repaired.  (Continued below)

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There are many different policies, premiums, and deductibles available for renters to choose from but the typical policy generally runs between $100 and $300 annually for about $35,000 worth of coverage.  This policy requires a deductible, usually about $500, though it can drop as low as $50 or rise to as much as $1000 depending on the plan.  A deductible is a fixed portion of the cost you must pay when you sustain a loss before the benefits of the insurance plan kick in.  The lower the deductible, the higher your annual payment.  When shopping for renters insurance you should also look at whether the policy pays out actual cash value or replacement cost coverage when you sustain a covered loss.  A basic policy generally pays actual cash value; this is the value of the property at the time of loss.  However, with replacement cost coverage your lost property is actually replaced.  Basically, if your five year old computer is stolen under an ACV plan you will get $100 (or whatever its current value is) to buy a new computer, but under the replacement cost coverage plan the policy will actually give you enough money to get a new computer.  Under the replacement cost coverage option the plan pays you the amount it would cost to replace your lost or damaged property.  Compared to the amount of property you could lose in the event of a severe loss at your residence, renter’s insurance is a steal.

If you have roommates and would like their belongings covered on your plan as well you should discuss this with your insurance provider.  Some agencies limit coverage to the purchaser while others extend protection to everyone in the unit, as long as their names are on the plan.  For instance, Coltran Insurance Agency offers a plan that covers up to three different people’s personal property on one plan, without any additional cost.  These individuals do not even have to be family members; they just have to share the same residence.

Renters insurance covers damages sustained from an insured peril.  An insured peril includes fire, smoke, lightning, explosion, riot, vandalism, hail, theft, and water damage from plumbing.  So while picking up your apartment and shaking it out isn’t covered, all of the possessions that fall out would be covered under one of the insured peril scenarios.

Purchasing renters insurance is a great way to protect yourself against all of the events no one ever wants or expects to happen.  Affordable and easy, it is a great investment.  Don’t wait, acquire renters insurance today!

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For more questions and information about Renters Insurance and to contact the Coltran Insurance Agency, click here.

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