<p>that covers liability? Huh? I thought homeowners were supposed to have the liability policy and renters just insured their contents. Has anyone ever heard of this?</p>
<p>One of my condo units requires that renters have renters insurance, including liability. That’s not unusual. I don’t remember the amount. You could call the homeowners association (if it’s a condo), and ask them if they require it. Renters really should have coverage that insures their contents, liability, and hotel if they get displaced, with a low enough deductible to make it useable. If there is damage to the place and he can’t live in it, he will be expected to use his insurance to pay for a hotel.</p>
<p>This is a single family house, if that makes any difference. </p>
<p>So if someone slips and falls, they would go after the renters?<br>
I don’t think he needs the “hotel” clause. Are you suggesting it because it could be temporarily unihabitable and you’re expecting the landlord to make the repairs so he would have to continue with his lease?</p>
<p>Arguably, the most important aspect of a “renters” policy is liability. Yes, it will also respond to covered loss to personal property. When your son gets sued for property damage or bodily injury that he is legally liable for, who is going to pay for defense and damages?
You know how much a total loss to contents will be (usually small). You don’t know how much he may be legally liable for + defense costs. Buy more liability, it’s cheap.</p>
<p>One of the most important coverages usually included for tenants with a renters policy is ‘fire legal liability’ liability coverage. If the place your son rents burns down because he got careless smoking or using a hot plate and owner comes after him for damages…your son would have fire legal liability coverage if he is held legally responsible for burning the joint down. </p>
<p>Fire legal liability, not to get too technical, is an insignificant coverage. The landlord has property coverage for his dwelling and it covers fire. An accident due to a hot plate or cigarette is still an accident. Rarely does a carrier subrogate in these cases. If they do, you have some limited coverage (won’t pay for the house). The ultimate solution for the particular situation is a cross waiver of subrogation between the landlord and tenant. It says, basically, i (my carrier) won’t go after you if you have coverage for the loss and vice versa.</p>
<p>So maybe $300k isn’t really enough? </p>
<p>Don’t get less than $500k. That’s the typical max for a primary policy and costs peanuts vs the $300k requirement.
Above that would be an umbrella, if you chose. Perhaps overkill for a student, but if they own their own vehicle, highly recommended.</p>
<p>Idk how all that subrogation stuff works, but I’d bet if owner’s attorney gets wind that tenant has $100,000 fire legal liability limit in a tenants policy…they’ll go after the money.</p>
<p>Only if they were $100k short on their own policy, otherwise, they’d just be reducing the amount received from their own carrier. And, why would the owner even need an attorney to collect on a fire at their house?</p>
<p>If I had a big hazard loss to my home, I’d consult my own attorney and not just rely on insurance company settling with me. Sorry, I don’t trust insurance companies. </p>
<p>Fair, and you’re not wrong to be leary. Fire legal liability is on the policy for a reason, it is just not a critical/primary coverage.
In 30 years, I’ve never seen that element triggered in a tenant policy. I know it happens, just not regularly.</p>
<p>It is not the lender/landlord who will go after the renter’s policy, but the landlord’s insurer. Subrogation is to reimburse the insurer. The lender/landlord won’t get paid double, but the fight is between the insurers.</p>
<p>^^yep</p>
<p>Just to beat this fire legal liability tenant coverage thing to death… If owner has no property insurance of his own, and tenant does fire damage, there won’t be any possible subrogation and owner and his attorney could go after fire liability money in tenant’s policy and anything else they can squeeze out of tenant held legally liable for fire damage he caused.</p>
<p>DD is moving into an apartment that is only a couple years old in a major college town. You don’t get the keys until you have a $100k liability policy with the landlord as a named additional interest - so you can’t cancel the policy without notice to the landlord. A cancelation would also trigger a default and the start of eviction. </p>
<p>While this policy will provide coverage for all forms of personal liability (slip and fall etc.) it primarily is there to cover the typical “negligence and nuisance” types of claims that would be common in a college setting: oops, I forgot to turn off the water in the bath tub, I left the stove on, you mean I shouldn’t put the hot plate underneath the curtins etc. </p>
<p>This way the landlord (or its insurance company) doesn’t need to sue the student or the parent guarantor over these types of claims - reimbursement is assured. The landlord files with the insurance company and all should be well.</p>
<p>By strictly requiring coverage the landlord basically has a $100k deductible on its owners policy - thereby eliminating all but the most severe claims from its record and keeping its premiums lower. </p>
<p>Chicago, careful - liability policies exclude damage to property in your care, custody or control (the unit you’re renting). As lizard points out, there is a “buy back” at a limited amount and for specific perils, but this is not the primary purpose of coverage. The $100k liability is not a buffer to the owner’s property policy. Rather, it is a buffer to his liability coverage. Example, tenant’s dog bites another tenant. Injured party sues the dog owner and the landlord for allowing a tenant to have a dog that bites. Landlord is named as an additional insured so tenant policy defends and pays on behalf of landlord up to limit. Then, landlord’s policy kicks in.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t the tenant’s policy also pay out if the tenant let the bathtub overflow and then resulting leak damaged the household goods of the tenant below, and perhaps forced that tenant into temporary housing? </p>
<p>D’s apartment lease requires tenant’s insurance; I think it was a $100,000 liability limit, though I think the policy she ended up with was $250K liability. </p>
<p>I can’t speak for all renters policies, but the “preferred” insurance company for my DD’s complex (Assurant Specialty Property) posts the following as a description of coverage. As you can see, there is no exclusion for the unit you are renting - in fact it is specifically cited as an example of coverage.</p>
<p>Below are some possible scenarios that can happen in apartment communities just like yours. See how Renters Insurance helped.</p>
<p>Renters Insurance
Jim in Apt #101 starts a kitchen fire after
experimenting with a new recipe. The fire damages his apartment and even spills over into Lisa’s Apt in #102, damaging the unit, her couch, dining furniture and rug.</p>
<p>Jim’s Renters Insurance Pays for:</p>
<p>• Damage to Jim’s unit
• Damage to Lisa’s unit and her personal property
• Damage to Jim’s personal property</p>
<p>Liability-Only Insurance
Sally, in Apt #301 accidentally overflows her bathtub forgetting she left the water running.
The water trickles below to Bob’s Apt in #201.
Bob comes home to find his TV and
couch ruined.</p>
<p>Sally’s Liability-Only Insurance pays for:
• Damage to Sally’s unit
• Damage to Bob’s unit and his personal property
• Does NOT PAY for Sally’s personal property</p>
<p>As an aside, my kids have always had CSI to cover their personal property. CSI would not name the landlord as an interested party in their optional liability coverage. The landlord’s preferred company’s personal property policy would not provide coverage for accidental damage. So, she has her CSI policy for personal property and the landlord’s preferred policy for liability. </p>
<p>EDIT - Assurant Specialty is a college apartment insurance company, not your State Farm or Allstate general insurer. This may mean the “rules” are different than a standard renters policy.</p>
<p>Can anyone recommend other insurances policies/companies for college renter’s insurance? </p>