If you’ve been living in a condominium for quite a while, the term “condo insurance” has probably been thrown a lot in your direction. It’s one thing to have this if you own the condo unit you’re residing in. But if you’re simply a tenant and renting the unit from someone, you may not think you need it at all. Which then begs the question: do you as a renter need condo insurance?
Let’s look at the following factors:
Coverage
A condo insurance is a type of policy that protects the condo unit owner or tenant in case of anything happening to the unit and the personal belongings inside it. Having this is considered a necessity, as condominiums usually only have master policies in place that protect the building, but not the individual units. Therefore an extra layer of security is recommended.
A typical condo insurance policy covers disasters and emergencies such as fires, explosions, burglary, and damaged pipes. Floods and earthquakes on the other hand aren’t. There’s also no coverage if the items were destroyed on purpose or if the damage is typical of overtime usage. As for how these items will be dealt with, there’s either cash value that provides an amount equal to the item’s price at the time, or replacement cost which offers a check for replacing it.
Cost
So how much does a condo insurance cost? Well, it all depends on the value of your possessions and how much is covered by certain policies. It goes without saying that a more extensive policy doesn’t come cheap, so do whatever you can to lessen what you need to pay. Otherwise, you might be shelling out extra for coverage you don’t really need.
For starters, do an inventory of the belongings in your unit to get a feel of their value. Check if you can fix up certain issues so you don’t need to have strong protection and thus don’t need to pay extra. Lastly, you can go back and check the type of insurance the building and your landlord/landlady has. You may already be financially protected for certain incidents that getting a complex policy might be redundant.
The verdict
Looking at the main factors above, it’s safe to conclude that yes, renters should have insurance as well. While the unit owners and the building itself already have something in place for their security, it might not cover everything, especially those that concern your possessions. Having insurance of your own helps fill the missing gaps of protection needed so that no matter what happens to the condo, you’ll have a financial safety net to fall back on.
