-Most everyone admits that it’s important for homeowners and renters both to have insurance to protect their property and protect them from liability. “But,” said Cary Runnels, State Farm Insurance Agent in Thousand Oaks, “There is quite a bit to know about both homeowner and renter insurance that most people don’t realize.”
For example, as long as the United States is not at war, most homeowner insurance policies cover terrorist attacks. Specific acts of war a usually excluded, but isolated events that result in fire or other damage to your property may be covered.
Homeowner insurance coverage
- College students may be covered for personal liability, medical payments if a friend is injured in the dorm room, and loss or damage of personal property.
- Damage to landscaping may be covered under certain circumstances.
- Theft of personal property is usually covered regardless of where the property was stolen. Theft from storage units, a vehicle, a purse or brief case and the contents stolen in a public place, are examples of thefts covered by homeowner insurance.
- Damage from falling objects is covered, even when the object is totally weird and beyond imagining, such as a satellite or asteroid.
- Check with your agent, food spoiled as the result of a power outage may be covered, depending on the cause of the outage.
Check with our insurance agent to discover other benefits provided by a homeowner policy.
Surprising renter insurance benefits
- Property stolen from someplace other than you home may be covered. Theft from your vehicle, from a storage unit and luggage stolen while on vacation or a business trip are examples of protection renter insurance may provide. Check with the Thousand Oaks insurance agents at the Cary Runnells State Farm Agency.
- Some renter’s insurance policies pay the actual cash value of your possessions. Other policies cover replacement cost, which is the amount it would cost to buy a comparable item today.
- If someone visiting your rented home is injured, renter’s insurance can help cover legal costs if you are sued.
- Renters insurance may not cover your dog, depending on the breed. Be sure to check with your agent.
- If you are renting rural property, a traditional renter’s insurance policy will most likely not cover any livestock, but there are policies that cover rented or leased farms or ranches.
- Renter’s insurance may not protect you and your property in the event of a natural disaster but additional coverage for these events can be added.
Always ask your agent
Make a list of your questions before visiting your insurance agent. Also include everything that you would like to have covered by a homeowner or renter insurance policy. Your agent will answer your questions and recommend the best coverage for your circumstances. The right policy and the best additional coverage are going to help avoid unpleasant surprises in the event you need to file a claim.