Many people all over the world rent houses from landlords. Buying your own home can be very expensive and many people cannot afford it. There are also people who, although they can afford to buy a house, do not want to have all of the extra costs and responsibilities of owning a home and would prefer to rent. Whatever your reasons are for renting a home, as a renter you do have certain responsibilities that are very different than the responsibilities your landlord has, especially in regards to insurance. You may be wondering who is responsible to cover what when it comes to insuring different areas of a house.
Rents are responsible for insuring the contents of the house with renters insurance. This form of insurance covers the contents located inside the house. This is all the items that you own that you brought with you into the house. The appliances that are located in the house are not covered by your renters insurance unless you own them. This also applies to the furnishings that your landlord owns. Renters insurance covers your belongings, everything from your socks to your jewelry, in the event that your belongings are lost or become damaged through an event such as a theft or fire. Some renters insurance policies do include liability insurance. You will need to discuss with your landlord about liability coverage and who is responsible.
Landlords are responsible to insure the building’s structure and any contents owned by them, including appliances and furniture. Basically, the landlord needs dwelling insurance. This is insurance that covers only the building but not the contents, except the items that the landlord owns. Some dwelling insurance includes liability insurance. It is extremely important that you and your landlord discuss who is responsible for liabilities that occur both outside and inside the building.
When it comes to liability insurance, you need to make certain you understand who is responsible for what. The landlord may cover what happens on the outside of the house. Usually the renter will be responsible to insure for what occurs inside the home. Often renters are responsible for liability for outside the house as well. Renters are usually responsible for keeping walkways clear of debris, ice, and snow. If the landlord has liability insurance for outside, and you fail to keep up the walks and someone falls, the liability was actually caused by you and your failure to keep up the walks and was not the fault of the landlord. However, if walkways are the responsibility of the landlord then they should be the ones who carry liability insurance for the outside. As far as what your insurance requirements are, you should check in with your landlord. There are certain landlords who require certain insurance minimum. Before agreeing to rent with them you need to understand what those insurance requirements are.
