As PCS season ramps up, it’s a great time to review your insurance coverages! Renters insurance is a really important coverage that, as a renter, everyone should be familiar with! It is a coverage that can fit into everyone’s budget and protects you from the unexpected. So, as you review your coverage or shop for a policy, what are some things you should be familiar with?

Renters insurance is mainly designed to cover your personal belongings, aka your stuff! Typically, that coverage will be either Replacement Cost or Actual Cash Value. You should opt for Replacement cost if you can because that way you’re not ending up with a depreciated, or reduced, amount for your things. Replacement cost will allow you to go out and replace your items with like kind and quality. When estimating your personal belongings coverage, it’s a great idea to take a video (or lots of pictures) of your items and store externally. So, if you ever had a loss you are able to show that you had those items at the time.

A policy will either cover items for Named Perils or Open Perils coverage. Named Perils coverage means that the policy specifically lists out what is covered. This is the standard type of policy coverage. Open perils isn’t as common because it can be unaffordable. This would be mean that your things are covered for any type of loss as long as the type of loss isn’t excluded. Named Perils is the most common policies that I worked with when I was an insurance agent. Think of things like fire, theft, lightening, vandalism, etc. These coverages will be subject to a deducible that you select when choosing your policy.

When shopping for a policy, it’s also a good idea to discuss moving and storage coverage. A lot of policies will offer additional coverages when your items are in transit or coverages that’ll extend to items in storage. Since these are both common occurrences for military members, it’s important to know how you’re protected!

Another coverage that is important to discuss on a renters policy is liability. This is what will protect you if you are found liable. This is often a worldwide coverage and extends to you away from the premises, but it’s a good idea to understand what is covered under your contract. When choosing this coverage, you want to make sure you have enough coverage to protect your assets, because anything over this amount is on you! An example of when this coverage could come into play is you leave a candle burning in the apartment building you’re renting and your cat knocks it over. This leads to 5 apartments being damaged in a fire and you’re found responsible. Liability would help cover the expenses you are found to be at fault for damaging. Liability typically doesn’t have a deductible. Liability can also help cover legal expenses and medical bills to others. Always review your specific contract to understand how this coverage will protect you!

There is often coverage for medical payments to others. This coverage can help pay for medical payments for people who may be injured on your premises regardless of who is at fault. An example of this coverage being used would be a friend coming over to visit and they slipped on an icy stairwell. This is a good one to have because people don’t always have medical insurance and this could really help ensure they get proper medical care, if needed. This is typically built into your policy and not something you have to select.

You may also have loss of use coverage on your policy. This is important if the home or apartment you’re renting becomes uninhabitable due to a covered loss. This can help cover hotel stays or temporary living expenses for you and your loved ones.

There are also optional coverages you can purchase. Some policies offer coverage for electronics or valuables, but this is something you’ll want to review when you set up your policy. Some companies also offer coverages tailored to military equipment and uniforms, so again it’s a great idea to review your contract annually to ensure you are properly protected. I know from experience when we were stationed at Fort Carson, there was a fire in the barracks and 90% of soldiers had no coverage. This is why it’s so important to ensure you’re protecting yourself financially. You don’t have to be in a traditional landlord/tenant situation to protect yourself, but these are all important conversations to have with your insurance agent!

PCS season is upon us and by taking the time to review your coverage options and take stock of your personal belongings you can ensure you are protecting yourself and your loved ones from an unexpected loss!

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