Does The Law Require Renters Insurance? Img ©
No State Mandates Renters Insurance By Law
Period. There is no state statute that we are aware of in any state mandating that you carry renters insurance. We also are aware of no city ordinances that would mandate the same. There are, of course, a wide variety of laws, rules, and regulations which govern what sorts of security can be required for an apartment, how it must be maintained by the landlord, and other related details. Renters insurance is not a security deposit, so it doesn’t fall under that.
Generally speaking, if you believe that renters insurance is mandated by law, the person explaining the requirement was not as clear as they could have been. It’s not a legal mandate per se, it’s a part of your lease. If the lease says that you need to have renters insurance, then you need to have renters insurance.
Could the law require renters insurance? We suppose that it could. You might be surprised to find that, in a sense, and contrary to the above, it sort of does. What the law actually requires is that you make whole anyone that you cause to suffer a loss. In some areas of life, like driving, specific insurance requirements have been written to ensure that’s the case. In other areas of life, such as renting an apartment, you’re expected to have the good common sense to be able to take care of that loss, one way or another.
Instead of having the law require renters insurance, how you ensure your ability to cover a loss is up to you. But you will be required to pay the other person for their damages if those damages occur. The easiest way to do that is with liability coverage on your renters insurance, because it takes care of the loss without you having to pay for it and the coverage is very affordable.
All States Mandate Compliance With Your Lease
Every state requires that you comply with your lease. That’s how you continue to live in the apartment. Remember that your lease is a binding contract, so you need to abide by the terms of it. If those terms include having renters insurance, you need to make sure you’re covered.
Does the law require renters insurance? In a sense, if it’s written into your lease. You also have to comply with your lease as far as providing proof of that coverage at the place and in the manner prescribed by the lease. That might be the leasing office, or it might be a different address. You might need to list your landlord as an additional interest, as well, so read your lease carefully.
The terms of that lease and the options (renters insurance, a fine, a waiver program, or something else) may vary widely between landlords, so you’ll want to be sure you understand what your options are. You generally can buy renters insurance online as long as it has enough liability coverage and meets any other requirements of your lease. That’s the preferred way to do it, since it can be done in just sixty seconds.
Some Things Are Good Ideas Even If The Law Doesn’t Require Them
Even though we’ve answered whether you’re required by law to have renters insurance, that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. It’s always a good idea to have Salem, OR Renters Insurance, even if your lease doesn’t mandate it.
Not only are you at risk for things like kitchen fires that can cause damages to a large number of people in your building, but you’re also at risk for a loss caused by your neighbors. No matter how nice those people next door may seem, you don’t know how responsible they are or if they have the coverage to make you whole from a loss they cause.
It also makes good sense to protect your personal property. You’ve spent quite a bit of money over the years building up the personal property that you have, and that’s probably more money than you can come up with in a single payment today if you had to replace it all. Getting replacement cost on your renters insurance means you’ll be able to go buy new property and move on with your life if there’s a fire, a theft, or another covered loss.
Does The Law Require Renters Insurance? Does It Matter?
The law doesn’t require you to take a shower, but it’s generally considered to be a good practice if you’d like people to get within several yards of you. We live in a free country where you’re admittedly free to make bad decisions, but by and large the government trusts Americans and doesn’t see the need to micro-manage all aspects of daily life.
Rather than having a law require renters insurance, doesn’t it make more sense to do the right thing and to be able to be responsible to someone who you hurt? If your negligence causes someone else to suffer because you don’t have renters insurance, would you be able to live with that? That would eat away at most people for the rest of their lives, and the judgment would eat away at their paycheck.
Fortunately, it’s easy to get renters insurance in Oregon and everywhere else. You can be covered in sixty seconds, or you can take the time you need to have all of your questions answered by the insurance experts for renters. Just call (800)892-4308 or click to get covered - whether you need Oregon renters insurance quotes online or coverage anywhere else!
Effective Coverage offers the nation's only completely mobile platform to quote and purchase renters insurance right from your phone or tablet in just one minute. Get an online renters insurance quote today and protect your family.
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Photo Credit: Larry Lamsa US Senate Building CC BY 2.0