Washington Renters Insurance
(Quotes, Cost & Coverage)

Get Washington renters insurance quotes, cost & coverage fast. Renters insurance protects your WA belongings and can help replace your damaged or stolen property.

WA Renters Insurance

There is a widespread misconception that the landlord has some responsibility for a tenant's personal property. This is simply not true. This is one of the main reasons you should consider buying Washington renters insurance.

Tenants live in non-owned habitational spaces. The lack of ownership by the insured is the defining characteristic of this classification as there is no dwelling structure to be insured. The tenant may be related to the owner or have no relationship at all. The tenant may pay rent to the building owner, or the structure may be furnished free of charge, such as a parsonage. There is generally a written or verbal lease which may be short term or long term.

Tenant insurance covers what your landlord's insurance doesn't. It covers the replacement of your belongings and it can also provide: additional living expenses if you have to leave your WA apartment due to an a fire or other damage and personal liability should you accidentally damage a another tenants property. It can also cover liability if someone is injured inside your apartment. We will go into more depth on Washington renters insurance coverage below.

What Does Washington Renters Insurance Cover?

Renters insurance can help pay for large and unexpected expenses from situations that life can throw at you, from no fault of your own. The three main areas are personal property, liability and additional living expenses.

Personal Property: Personal property coverage, a typical part of WA renters insurance, can help cover the cost of replacing your belongings if it's stolen, damaged or ruined. Renters insurance may cover losses caused by:

• Weather: Fire, wind, hail, lightning, freezing, weight of ice, snow, storms or sleet.
• Other Than Weather: Theft, vandalism, vehicles and others.

For example, if your computer and flat screen TV are stolen, or your furniture or children's toys are destroyed by fire, personal property coverage can help you pay for the cost of replacing them.

Keep in mind that personal property coverage does not protect all of your belongings. Certain types of stuff like jewelry, furs, guns or a stamp collection, have limits under a regular Washington renters policy.

Liability: Liability is another coverage typical to most Washington renters insurance policies. This coverage can protect you from having to pay out of pocket for certain costs if you are found legally liable for injuries to other people or damage to their property. You probably don't expect an accident to occur at your place, but if, for instance, a guest trips and falls over a cord in your home, or your dog bites the mailman, liability coverage can cover the medical and legal costs - which can be huge.

Additional Living Expenses: If your apartment was destroyed by fire caused from another tenant, where would you live? How would you pay for it? This is where tenants insurance can help. Renters insurance typically includes coverage for additional living expenses- defined as 'expenses that exceed your normal expenses prior to the loss'. This coverage can pay for additional costs like hotel bills and food.

What WA Renters Insurance Doesn't Cover

Renters insurance typically does not cover:

• Intentional damage to property (like arson) or harm to another person (like punching your neighbor in the face because they won't turn down their music).
• Business activities or professional services offered in your place (you will need commercial insurance for those situations).

How Much Does Washington Renters Insurance Cost?

How much does Washington renters insurance cost? The average price of renters insurance is usually very affordable. The premiums vary depending on the company and their underwriting rules, and it depends on the coverages and deductible selected. Following are some of the main factors that go into the price of a policy:

• Location - The more dangerous your location is, for both natural and human risks, the higher premiums you will pay as there is a higher probability for claims.
• Building Size - The larger the building you rent in and the more units in that building, the lower your premium cost will be.
• Credit - The better credit you have, the lower your rates. Most insurers look at credit and weight it heavily.
• Deductible - The deductible is your out of pocket cost before your policy kick in. Lower deductible = higher premium, and higher deductible = lower premium.
• Your Belongings - The more of your things you insure the higher your premium will be.
• Security Precautions - Having a security system, or a deadbolt lock can lower your premiums.
• Fire Protection - If the place you're renting has smoke detectors and overhead sprinklers you will pay less for your renters insurance.

Tenant Risks & Exposures

Personal liability exposure arises from conditions in the tenant's portion of the premises and actions of the members of the household including students who live away from home as long as they are in school and are under the age of 24 years. The age of any children, the social and civic organizations, and sports that the family participates in can all impact the loss potential. Additionally, the type and breed of any pet(s) should be considered.

Property exposure for the tenant is generally limited to personal property in the rented dwelling unit. The major causes of loss are fire and theft. Fire hazards include electrical wiring, heating, cooling, and cooking equipment. The type of building construction, the location of the building, and the adequacy of locks are important when evaluating exposures.

If there are other tenants in the building, the exposure increases as the other tenant may break into the insured's unit or start a fire that breaches the insured's living space. Security of the building is important, as is the security to the insured's particular unit.

Inland marine exposure includes any antiques, collectibles, electronics, fine arts, firearms, furs, jewelry, silverware, and other types of property subject to sublimits and exclusions within the homeowners policy. As these items are often attractive theft targets, security features such as locks and alarms should be in place and a current appraisal available to substantiate any loss. An inventory and picture record is important to document each item's existence and to aid in its recovery.

While injuries due to conditions outside the insured unit are normally the responsibility of the landlord, injuries due to conditions within the insured's unit may become the landlord's responsibility if, before a loss, the insured wrote the landlord about a hazardous situation and it had not been addressed. The contractual relationship between the property owner and the tenant is very important because it can significantly affect the tenant's responsibility.

Auto exposures are from household members driving owned, rented, or borrowed vehicles or from loaning their vehicles to others outside the household. All drivers must be identified, licensed, and have acceptable MVRs. The type of vehicle, ownership, the principle driver, garaging location, miles driven, and type of driving must be considered when evaluating the exposure. Age and experience of each driver must be evaluated. Driving courses can assist drivers of any age.

The exposure of household residents temporarily living away from the household exposures such as students away at college is important to explore because of potential vehicle ownership, state compliance, garaging, and usage changes.

WA Renters Insurance Quotes

Request a Washington Renters Insurance quote in Auburn, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Bellingham, Bothell, Bremerton, Burien, Camas, Des Moines, Edmonds, Everett, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kenmore, Kennewick, Kent, Kirkland, Lacey, Lake Stevens, Lakewood, Longview, Lynnwood, Maple Valley, Marysville, Mercer Island, Moses Lake, Mount Vernon, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo, Oak Harbor, Olympia, Pasco, Port Angeles, Pullman, Puyallup, Redmond, Renton, Richland, Sammamish, SeaTac, Seattle, Shoreline, Spokane Valley, Spokane, Tacoma, Tukwila, University Place, Vancouver, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, Yakima and all other cities in WA.

Washington Insurance Rules & Regulations

In Washington State, there are certain types of insurance that you should be aware of. We will be covering the limits and regulations of insurance within the state. You should be aware of these because if you operate a business, there may be certain types of insurance that you are required to carry. In addition, even if you do not have a business, there may be certain types of insurance regulations that you should familiarize yourself with. We will be taking a close look at insurance regulations for both personal and commercial here.

WA Commercial Insurance

For business liability insurance, what you should be aware of is that Washington does not require businesses to carry business liability insurance in order to operate. Washington is a pure comparative fault state which means that an insurance adjuster must first assess fault and name the adjuster or a court will reduce the award proportionate to the fault of the plaintiff. Businesses may carry business liability insurance in order to protect themselves against these types of claims.

However, Washington does require anyone who employs at least one person full-time or part-time to carry Worker's Compensation insurance to protect them if they are injured on the job. Washington does not require any type of disability insurance for businesses nor do they require commercial vehicles to carry commercial auto insurance.

Washington Personal Insurance

There are two types of personal insurance that you should be aware of. The first is auto insurance requirements. In Washington State, you are required to carry $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury coverage. You are also required to carry $10,000 in property damage as well as uninsured/underinsured bodily coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.

There are two life insurance regulations to be aware of in Washington State. First, be aware that there is no free look period like there is in most states. If you sign up for life insurance, you are not able to cancel within 10 days in order to get a refund on your policy premium. However, there is a law that requires timely payment on insurance claims in the state of Washington. In fact, the state requires that the beneficiaries account start accruing interest on the day of death. That means that insurance companies will have to pay more for each day that they fail to pay the benefit. There is also a misrepresentation law when it comes to life insurance in Washington.

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If you are looking for state specific renters insurance quotes, costs and information: California Renters Insurance, Colorado Renters Insurance, Delaware Renters Insurance, Florida Renters Insurance, Illinois Renters Insurance, Kentucky Renters Insurance, New Jersey Renters Insurance, New York Renters Insurance, Oregon Renters Insurance, Pennsylvania Renters Insurance, Texas Renters Insurance, Washingtom Renters Insurance.