5 Myths About Tenant Insurance Debunked
If you’re considering purchasing a car, you’ll likely factor in the cost of car insurance in your budget. However, what if you’re going to rent a home?
Many renters do not bother to get tenant insurance in such cases.
In fact, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, nearly half of all tenants do not have the appropriate insurance to cover contents and liability.
You’re not required by the law to have tenant insurance, and it is typically not very high on most people’s priority list. However, this is primarily due to the fact that many people are unsure about what tenant insurance covers and how it can protect them.
Here, we will debunk the top five myths about tenant insurance and how it can potentially save you thousands of dollars.
Myth 1: Tenants Are Covered by Their Landlord’s Insurance
This is perhaps the most common misconception about tenant insurance. The truth is that the landlord’s insurance policy covers damages to the building only and does not extend to possessions within the home.
Without tenant insurance, you are leaving your personal belongings unprotected.
A typical tenant insurance policy covers the cost of repairing or replacing items lost or damaged in the home due to fire, vandalism, theft, or certain types of water damage.
Myth 2: Tenants Don’t Have Enough Possessions to Warrant Insurance
Most people do not realize the value and the number of things they own until they lose them. TVs, laptops, furniture, clothes, bikes, sporting equipment—the list goes on.
And the cost of replacing them is higher than you think.
Tenant insurance policies typically only cost a few hundred dollars per year and offer great value compared to the thousands of dollars it would take to replace all your possessions.
Myth 3: Tenants Are Covered by Their Roommate’s Insurance
You shouldn’t assume that you are automatically covered under your roommate’s insurance policy. Most of the time, tenant insurance only protects the policyholder’s personal belongings unless your name is explicitly listed in the policy.
If you are considering purchasing tenant insurance with your roommate, it’s wise to have separate inventories of each person’s belongings and what they are worth.
Myth 4: Only the Tenant’s Belongings Are Covered
This is not true. Tenant insurance protects you and your belongings. For example, you will be covered if you cause accidental damage to another tenant’s property.
Your insurance policy will cover any accidental damage you cause to your neighbour’s property, so you do not have to foot the bill. Other benefits of tenant insurance include:
- Personal liability coverage for unintentionally causing injury to someone or damage to someone’s property
- Coverage of additional living expenses if you have to move out temporarily due to damage
- Coverage for home improvements made by you or acquired at your expense
- Coverage for dog bites, as long as it’s included in the policy
- Flood insurance coverage as an add on
Myth 5: The Landlord Will Reimburse the Tenants If They Are Forced to Move Out Temporarily
Your landlord is only responsible for covering the cost of replacing or repairing property lost or destroyed by a fire, windstorm, flood, water damage, vandalism, or theft.
However, if you have to move out temporarily during repairs, they do not have to cover the additional cost of spending months (potentially) in a hotel or new accommodation.
Instead, you will have to rely on your own savings or the assistance of friends and family.
On the other hand, if you have tenant insurance and must temporarily move out after an insured loss while repairs are made, your policy will provide some coverage for costs over and above your normal expenses.
Everybody thinks that misfortune will not happen to them—until it does.
Every tenant should have tenant insurance to ensure that they are protected. That said, not all tenant insurance policies are created equally.
This is where our team of professional insurance brokers at Oegema, Nicholson & Associates can help. We can craft a policy within your budget that will protect you and your belongings and provide you with liability coverage and the proper tenant insurance in Ottawa.
To request a quote today or to learn more about your options, call us at 613-704-7766 or contact us here.
