Renter's Insurance: Calling All Texas Renters!

If you are renting in Texas, then you are probably experiencing a nightmare of events that have ensued since the storm has hit the area. Renting an apartment or a home can seem like the easier option for many reasons. For one, there is less liability and less commitment. If something were to happen to the property, then the renter has the ability to move to another home without losing any money. The majority, if not all, of the liability is left to the home or property owner, so what could be the problem? Well, renters are often always at the liberty of their landlord and the rules that they have in place. This can be during regular day to day life but also comes into play during unforeseen weather such as Texas is experiencing now.

Renters in the Texas area are experiencing power outages, frozen pipes, no heating systems and limited access to necessary resources. These are issues that renters would usually contact their property management about. Since there are no resources readily available, this leaves the renter feeling stuck and hopeless as they are not allowed to make any structural or maintenance changes to the property they rent. So, if there is damage, will your renter’s insurance help you? What does Renter’s insurance cover? If you are like the 6 million people in Texas that are renting their property, then you may have found yourself in the situation described above. What if your pipes are broken, burst or freezing? There is flooding, no power and you are unable to fix the damages occurring to the home. This is a grim scene for everyone, but, luckily, your renter’s insurance policy could help you get out of some of these problems without being liable for the damages that were out of your control.

Most renter's insurance policies will cover the cost of damages to any of the belongings that you have stipulated within your policy. For instance, if you have a brand new and expensive couch with a special fabric (would cost a lot to replace should fire or water damage it), then you could add this item to your policy. This way, if there is any flooding in the home, you are able to replace your chosen items. This can be applied to any items that you have in the home that you assess to be worth insuring. Keep this in mind when creating your policy and make sure to update it as needed to prepare for events like these. Renter’s Insurance and damage to the property? There are two different types of damages that can occur to a property. Damages that are directly caused by the renter and damages that were unavoidable and unpredictable. In the case of the storm that has been raging in Texas for the past few weeks, any damages that are now impacting the home should not be the responsibility of the renter. Some of these damages could include piping, plumbing, flooding, fire damage and even some structural damages caused by heavy snow.

There have been many stories coming to light about families being displaced from their rental properties after extreme flooding and no access to power for multiple days. If something similar has happened to you and you are a renter, make sure to document all of the damages in the order in which they occurred. No detail is too small when it comes to filing an insurance claim. In addition to the damages that occur, make sure to document any money or resources that you have to provide to fix the damages in the meantime. As a renter, you should do everything you can to protect your home. That starts with going to insuravita.com to find the policy that best fits your needs. The situation in Texas has shown us that it is never a good idea to procrastinate on something this important.