Do You Need Renters Liability Insurance?

It may be that one of the advantages you see in renting your place of residence instead of owning it is less expenses and less responsibility. Though that may be true in many respects, there are still some responsibilities of which renters must be aware. One of these is renters liability insurance.

Liability insurance is one aspect of renter's (and homeowner's) insurance about which much misunderstanding persists. The idea behind the liability insurance is that responsibility rests upon the resident (owner or renter) to make sure safe conditions are present for anyone who visits. It is very important to know (and many don't know it) that this even includes people who are there uninvited. Yes, renters are responsible for trespassers. Like it or not, that is how it is.

Of course, in regard to renters, another factor is involved, and that is the property owner or landlord. They also have liability responsibilities. Those, though, include the renters, invited guests, and trespassers.

There are basically two types of liability insurance. One of these covers personal liability. This insurance covers the renter in case something happens to someone and you get sued. That could be property damage or it could be injury. In case you do get sued the insurance is designed to pay for legal defense, if such is necessary.

The second type is medical liability. The purpose of this type is to pay for medical expenses (doctor's visits, hospital stays, etc.) for anyone who has to be treated for injuries for which you as a renter have been found responsible.

Another liability coverage that one may want to seriously consider is called "umbrella" liability insurance. This coverage gets its name because it is intended to include both renters (or home) and auto insurance. There are limits placed on the liability coverage of insurance policies. It is very possible that if you are sued and the judgment goes against you, you may become responsible for an amount that exceeds (maybe even far exceeds) the amounts of coverage your insurance provides for. Umbrella coverage is designed to cover for a much higher amount.

Surprisingly, umbrella is much more affordable than one might think. One of the reasons is that the deductibles are able to be set so high. How so? Say your renter's liability limit is $200,000 and you have a $1,000 deductible. You get sued and settlement exceeds the $200,000. You pay the $1,000 and then your renter's insurance pays the rest up to $200,000. Well, that $200,000 is the deductible you have set for your umbrella liability coverage. With the deductible met, the umbrella insurance then covers everything that exceeds the $200,000 up to a preset limit.

That is how you can have such a high deductible and make the premium cost of the umbrella insurance very affordable.

To learn much more about the concerns for renter's insurance, visit http://myhomeinsured.com/best-renters-insurance/. For all the vital information on your home or apartment's insurance go to http://myhomeinsured.com/.