Renters Insurance for Mobile Home Residents is Advisable for Many Reasons
The reasons why a resident might want renters insurance for their mobile home are much the same as someone living in any dwelling, but the differences do matter.
Renters who live in a community setting, for instance, tend to be at greater risk of loss in comparison with the renter of a manufactured home on private land. The community resident has more neighbors. Therefore, they are likely to get more visitors, which increases risk.
Remember, renters insurance does more than protect your personal items. It also insures the well being of visitors. A friend may have a slip and fall. A contractor could sustain injury from a faulty system. Or, a neighbor could have a less-than-pleasant interaction with your pet.
So, when thinking about protecting your electronics and family keepsakes with renters insurance, also think about avoiding the potential cost of a nasty personal injury lawsuit.
What Does Renters Insurance Cost?
Renters Insurance, also known as HO-4, is one of the more affordable forms of insurance. In most areas of the country, regardless of whether you live in an apartment, condo, single-family house or a mobile home, renters insurance can be a good investment.
Renters insurance can be purchased for less than $300 per year, or approximately $25 per month. However, coverage can vary widely by state. Most plans include coverage for about $40,000 personal property. By talking with an agent and providing a good understanding of the value of your possessions, as well as risk of loss from a personal injury claim, the plan can be customized to include more or reduced coverage as needed.
What Does Renters Insurance Cover?
Possessions
Most often, renters consider insurance when they’re thinking of the security of their home and the value of their possessions. If someone breaks in and destroys or steals property, your renters insurance coverage will provide funds to re-purchase replaceable items. It’s important to understand how the plan provides coverage for the value of the item. Some plans cover replacement of the item. In other words, if you put added coverage into the plan you might be able to replace your stolen TV with the newest comparable product rather than simply getting a check for the value of a 3-year-old set.
Loss due to fire, high wind or other non-flood natural disaster work largely in the same way.
Loss of Availability
If that force of nature sends debris hurtling through your home, just for instance, you may sustain damage but lose little else. Renters insurance should provide funding for a hotel or other accommodations while roof repair, window replacements or other areas of the mobile home are being fixed up.
Liability
We covered this a bit in the opening section, but it bears repeating. Let’s say a friend falls off your porch, or the paperboy gets bit by your dog. A good renter’s plan will provide reimbursement for medical and recovery costs and protect the policy holder from a personal injury suit.
Beyond the Pale
One of the key options to look for with renters insurance is “out of home” coverage. Renters insurance may kick in to cover loss or damage to personal items even though the event occurred off property. Think about a laptop left in a hotel lobby, or your favorite guitar water damaged on the deck of a boat.
