A common question when renting an apartment is whether renters insurance is required in Texas. However, no law requires renters to carry insurance under current law.
But, many landlords have the right to request this requirement from their tenants and may require that renters insurance be carried. They may even require a certain amount of liability, stating this in the lease, which we will have to agree to if we want this type of insurance.
Why apply for renters insurance in Texas?
This insurance allows us to protect both landlords and tenants. Some of the most common reasons for requiring this type of insurance are:
It covers the tenant’s belongings
The insurance policy will cover any repair or replacement necessary due to a covered peril. This can be for water damage, wind damage, or catastrophes such as fire or accidents, but it will only cover the property, its systems, and functions.
This type of insurance will protect electronics if damaged, furniture if destroyed, or clothing if lost to mold and mildew. In these cases, a claim can be made to reimburse the cost of replacing damaged and lost items, a great benefit to protecting belongings.
Provides liability insurance
Tenants will be responsible for any damage to the property, even if it is an accident. If the stove is left on and damage occurs, the repairs will have to be covered out of the tenant’s pocket, so it is best to have insurance that fully covers our liability.
Property damage or personal injury caused by the tenant’s actions, abuse, or negligence may also be covered. In this way, you will avoid any lawsuits, and the renter’s insurance will be a defense against these problems.
Solve pet problems
Offering pet-friendly properties allows you to increase profits because you can charge an extra fee for the pet. With renters insurance, you can ask them to include pets in their dog bite liability policy.
In these cases, you can get coverage for any damage the tenants cause without inconvenience. In this way, you can have greater security when it comes to having tenants.
What does this type of insurance cover?
Normally these insurances have three types of coverages, among which are:
- Coverage to personal property: it will cover belongings, including items stolen from our vehicle.
- Loss of use: this allows us to pay for additional living expenses if we have to move for a short time due to damages caused by a loss of cover.
- Personal Liability: in these cases, it will protect if someone is injured in our home. This way, legal costs can be paid if we are liable and taken to court.
Although most insurance policies have these coverages, some also include certain types of water damage. However, they will not cover flood losses, so these claims will be through the National Flood Insurance Program.
Can a landlord require us to have insurance?
Although renters insurance is not required by law, a landlord can require us to have a policy. We must remember that tenants ask if it covers belongings or if it only covers civil liability for any injury that may occur in the home.
For this reason, it is common for landlords to ask to read the coverage before signing the contract. Also, as tenants, it will be important to know the coverages we will have, so we can get adequate coverage.
Limits of these policies
Our policy will cover all replacements and repairs up to a certain dollar limit. For this reason, before contracting the insurance, the ideal is to make an inventory to ensure we have enough coverage for our policies.
Some policies limit payouts to certain degrees of property, and the most common limits are $100 for cash, $2500 for items used for business, plus $500 for jewelry and watches. If you have expensive items or collectibles, it is best to purchase more coverage for these types of items.
Always read the fine print
It is important to consider the current value of our items since insurance policies will use this value as a reference. If we paid $1,300 for a laptop computer two years ago, and it is currently priced at $500.
Renter’s policies will only recognize the $500 value if our laptop is destroyed. We may be able to purchase a policy that covers the full replacement value of our items, but the price of the policy will be higher.
How much does renters insurance cost in Texas?
Fortunately, renters insurance in Texas is not prohibitively expensive. Approximately we will have to spend $15 per month to have a policy that will allow us to meet the conditions for signing the lease and provide protection in case of an accident.
Even if we are not required to have this type of insurance, it is always smart to get renters insurance. This way, we can insure all our items, furniture, and a liability policy. For this reason, it is always worthwhile to have these policies if a disaster occurs.