Winnipeg Apartment Tenant Insurance – What you need to know.

Have you purchased Tenant Insurance for your Winnipeg apartment yet?

You’ve just rented an apartment in Winnipeg and you’re ready to move all your worldly possessions into your new home.  But are you? Have you purchased Tenant Insurance?

You may be asking yourself, why do I need Tenant Insurance, surely the landlord of a large apartment building has insurance to cover me, no? The truth is your landlord most likely has commercial insurance to cover the physical building, and liability insurance to cover accidents at the building. Tenant Insurance generally covers important things that your landlord’s insurance does not cover.

You need Tenant Insurance to cover your personal property such as furniture, electronic equipment and clothing in case of perils such as fire or theft. Tenant Insurance will also protect you if a visitor to your apartment home injures themselves while in your apartment. As well, tenants must pay for any damage they may accidentally cause in the landlord’s building, such as flooding due to water left running or a fire caused by cooking. Tenants can also be held financially responsible for damages that extend to other apartment suites, including any personal property in those suites.

Tenant insurance covers two basic areas – Liability and Contents

• Liability protects the tenant if they or their guest does something to damage the building or if a visitor to their apartment injures themselves and sues for damages.
• Content covers personal possessions.

Another feature of Tenant Insurance to consider is additional living expenses. This can cover costs associated with living outside of your apartment home while repairs are being made, should the damage be sufficient enough to prevent you from living there. Ask about limits on additional living expenses, such as whether meals are covered. Sometimes insurance companies will limit the costs allowed.

You will also need to decide on the type of coverage you wish to purchase. All Risk insurance covers a wide variety of possible misfortunes while Named Perils covers only those situations specifically named in the insurance policy.

Make sure to ask whether the Tenant Insurance policy covers your possessions at replacement value or at a depreciated value. You’ll also want to know what the deductible on the policy is, and if there are discounts available based on the apartment construction type or life safety equipment available on the apartment site.

Ask the right questions and ensure you have adequate Tenant Insurance. You cannot afford to be under-insured!