Renters insurance is there to protect your belongings in case of an unexpected event.
Typically, you can go online and easily find a quote for renter’s insurance. You may even go with the first quote you receive, and be done with it.
But, there is the possibility of getting a better deal on renter’s insurance if you take the time to do the research and look at all of your options.
We’re going to go over Nationwide renters insurance so you can decide if it’s right for you.
We will be covering the following:
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Landlords will only have property insurance which will cover damages to the actual building structure. This doesn’t include any of your personal belongings that you keep in there.
Say something were to happen to the property you rent, maybe a fire or natural disaster. Your landlord’s property insurance will cover the building, but that doesn’t include any of your personal things. If you didn’t have renters insurance in this situation, you’d be in a pretty tough spot.
But sometimes renters insurance isn’t enough. In some cases, you might also need liability coverage.
Let’s say that you invite a friend over to your apartment. While there, your friend falls and gets hurt. Having liability coverage will ensure that medical or legal bills related to the accident will be covered.
Liability coverage is optional when choosing a renters insurance policy, and is not mandatory to have. However, it’s always better to be safe than sorry in situations like these.
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Certain factors will have a big impact on the cost of your rental insurance policy.
Let’s start with:
Renters insurance rates will vary by state, cities, and neighborhoods. This is something that you don’t have much control over unless you have done your research before moving into your apartment., If you’ve done the research in advance, you might have an idea of locations where your insurance may be less costly.
The higher the probability of a claim occurring, the higher your premium will be. So if you live in an area that’s susceptible to things like tornadoes, earthquakes, or even a high crime area, expect to pay more.
The type of structure you are renting is also considered- be it an apartment, townhouse, or single family home, and the size of the location. They’ll even take into account the age of the property and the number of units in the building.
Rates for rental insurance depend on what you own and what it’s worth.
The higher the value of your belongings, the higher your premium is going to be.
So if you have expensive electronic equipment like laptops, T.Vs., surround sound systems, etc you should expect to pay a little bit more in order to keep your things safe.
Premiums will be lower if you’re renting somewhere that has a good security system.
They’ll look for security features like:
Basically, anything that helps secure your building. If your building does make an effort to remain secure, you should be able to qualify for a lower premium.
In order for your premium to be lower, the property you are renting should have smoke detectors and even overhead sprinklers if possible. These safety measures will help you obtain a more convenient payment because they lower the risk of an accident happening.
If the property owner does not provide smoke detectors, take it upon yourself to install them. This will help you save some money in the long run, and may even save your life.
Your credit score plays a big part when it comes to determining your monthly premium. Obviously, the higher your credit score is, the less of a risk you seem. So, a higher credit score will lead to a lower premium.
Credit hurdles show the insurance company that you’ve had trouble meeting payment deadlines in the past. In order to protect themselves, that means they’ll charge you more on the front end.
Terms To Know
When you place a claim, you will be asked to pay your deductible before your insurance kicks in.
Depending on the size of your deductible, your monthly premium could go up or down.
When you choose a lower deductible, you’ll end up with a higher premium to make up the difference. And of course, if you go with a higher deductible, you’ll pay less on a monthly basis.
Bundling policies can help you save money. If you currently have an auto insurance policy, get a quote for how much it would cost if you bundled your auto insurance with renters insurance.
Now let’s go a little more in detail with the basic renters insurance coverage that Nationwide offers:
This coverage will help you protect your personal belongings.
For example:
This coverage will reimburse the additional living expenses if you are forced out of your home and into a temporary housing situation.
Under your basic renters insurance policy, personal liability coverage may protect you under the following circumstances:
This coverage will help pay for damages to any additions or improvements made to the property.
If your credit card or checkbook were stolen and used for unauthorized transactions, credit card coverage will ensure that your insurance company will pay to reimburse you up to your selected limit.
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When you place a claim after your belongings were stolen or damaged, Nationwide Renters Insurance will help you by either fixing the damaged article or simply pay to replace it.
They will pay you the depreciated value for the items that are covered under your policy. Once you receive the money, you go out and purchase the replacement item. All you need to do is send them a copy of your receipt, and they will send you the difference.
This additional coverage will provide more coverage if you have belongings that are more expensive.
Things like:
This coverage will protect you against any loss caused by water.
Situations like:
This coverage extends additional protection if items were stolen or vandalized from:
And it were to get stolen or vandalized.
This additional coverage will cover any losses you may have, caused by earthquakes or volcanoes.
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Looking for ways to save on your renters insurance?
Nationwide Renters Insurance offers three different options in which you can receive some discounts.
They will allow you to save money by combining your renters insurance with your auto policy. Renters and auto insurance are the most common policies to combine, but they do offer other types of insurance policies in which you can bundle to take advantage of the discounts.
You may be able to obtain a lower premium if the house you are adding to the policy has:
If you don’t submit any claims throughout the year, you’ll qualify for better and lower rates when you renew.
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Nationwide wants you to be able to submit claims quickly and easily. Their claims process is designed to walk you through the process of submitting a claim quickly and efficiently.
Here’s each step in the process.
To start a claim, call the Nationwide Claims Department at 1-800-421-3535
You are going to need the following information:
After this is done, you will be assigned to a claims representative. This representative will do the following:
If you are submitting a minor property claim, that type of claim can be handled over the phone.
An Inspection of the property might take place if the representative requires it. Most likely, after the inspection you should receive payment immediately.
For repairs you may select a contractor from two different options:
Once steps 1 and 2 have been completed, an estimate of cost should be reviewed with you.
Then they will make the payment, either by:
Once this is squared away, they will subtract your deductible as this is your responsibility. The money will then be sent through the proper channel you selected.
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With Nationwide Renters Insurance, you are looking at a monthly payment of approximately $20.
Of course, you need to keep in mind that certain factors will cause your premium to go up. However, this is a very low starting point for renters insurance, and is affordable to most.
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Here are some pros and cons that you will find with Nationwide Renters Insurance.
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There you have it, an overview of Nationwide Renters Insurance. At this point, you should have a good idea of whether this will be a good fit for you, or if you need to keep looking into other options.
No matter what you decide, make sure you protect yourself against unexpected and unpredictable events the best you can.
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