Whether you are renting a beach house this summer or a cabin for skiing this winter, you may need insurance to protect you. You’ll likely bring various personal possessions along—clothes, luggage, a camera, a computer, sports equipment and even jewelry. For peace of mind, it’s worth determining whether or not your possessions will be covered in the event of loss due to fire, theft or other events.
You May Already Have Coverage
The good news is that your homeowners insurance or renters insurance likely has “off-premises” coverage. This means your personal possessions will still be covered when they are outside your home—for instance, property stolen from your car or from your vacation rental. You will also be covered for the perils listed in your policy, such as fire, theft, vandalism and hurricanes. However, it’s important to know that your homeowners policy may apply lower coverage limits to your belongings if they are damaged, lost or destroyed away from your home. Some homeowners and renters policies limit off-premises coverage to 10 percent of the amount of coverage you have for your personal possessions.
To help keep track of your possessions and file an insurance claim if necessary, create a “vacation inventory” of all of the items with which you travel.
Consider Adding a Floater to Your Homeowners or Renters Policy
If you travel with highly valuable items, such as jewelry, expensive sports equipment or a musical instrument, you may want to add a floater to your homeowners or renters policy. This supplement to your policy will cover the cost of specific higher-value items, whether you’re at home or on vacation. A floater will also usually cover “mysterious disappearance,” which means you’re covered if you simply lose the item.
Depending on the type of homeowners or renters policy you purchase, your possessions will be covered on either an “actual cash value” or “replacement cost” basis. Actual cash value covers the depreciated value of the item, not what you paid for it originally or what it will cost to replace. Replacement cost coverage will cover the cost of replacing the insured item, with no depreciation subtracted. Regardless of which type of coverage you have, you’ll first have to pay your deductible—the amount you pay out-of-pocket before your insurance kicks in.
To learn more about what you are covered for contact your Insurance Center agent at 603.542.2551.
Information provided by iii.org.