Top Five Questions To Ask About Renters Insurance After The Wedding
There are many things to consider when you’re getting married. It’s an exciting and busy time and can even be stressful as you lead up to the big day. Keep your special day safe by knowing what to insure before the wedding, how to update your renters insurance after you get married, and what changes you should make on homeowners insurance after you get married!
We’ve compiled a list of the top five insurance questions to ask before the wedding. Because it’s a top five list, there certainly are other considerations, but these questions will get you thinking about how to best handle insurance before the wedding and after.
1) Does My Renters Insurance Cover My Engagement Ring?
Renters insurance covers your engagement ring, but there’s a significant caveat. The HO-4 form, which is the standard renters insurance policy form and derived from the HO-3 homeowners insurance form, contains sub-limits for certain classes of personal property. Section I, Property Coverages, details these under Coverage C, “Personal Property.”
In the “Special Limits of Liability” section, the renters insurance policy points out that these sub-limits do not increase the amount of personal property you have. If $15,000 is the policy limit, it’s still $15,000, subject to these sub-limits, not in addition to. Sub-limits you need to be aware of for renters insurance after the wedding include:
- $200 on money, bank notes, bullion, and coins
It’s very common to receive more than $200 in cash at the wedding, and your insurance will not cover someone walking off with the envelope. Get that cash (and those checks!) into the hands of a trusted friend or relative for immediate deposit, or drop by the ATM after the party ends to make the deposit yourself. Either way, make sure your wedding cash is secure because your renters insurance or homeowners insurance won’t cover it.
- $1,000 for loss by theft of jewelry
Your engagement ring (and the watch you receive as a wedding gift!) is sub-limited by your renters insurance. So if your engagement ring is worth more than $1,000, what do you do? Depending on the value, you can either add your engagement ring to your renters insurance policy with an endorsement or get a separate “floater” policy that provides coverage on top of the renters insurance. In either case, the national average is around $15 per thousand of coverage annually. A top renters insurance provider can advise you on which route to take and what, if any, documentation or appraisal may be necessary.
2) How Do We Combine Car Insurance When We Get Married?
It’s important that you compare both price and coverage for your existing policies and quote adding each other to them. The quotes will allow you to see the most effective way to get you both on the same policy. After the wedding, you do need to be on the same car insurance policy because you live together and have regular access to each others’ vehicle. Your renters insurance company after the wedding might be able to give you a discount on that new car insurance policy as well!
What Changes Do I Need To Make To My Renters Insurance After The Wedding
3) What Changes Do We Need To Make On Our Renters Insurance After We Get Married?
As far as personal property is concerned, there’s no better time to do a home inventory than when you’re moving in together. As you unpack things, just make a note or take a picture. That makes it easy to assign value later on. Compare the total to your current personal property limits on your renters insurance after the wedding. If you need more coverage, it’s generally as simple as making a phone call to add it. Certain valuable items might need to be endorsed or insured separately, so make sure you make your renters insurance company aware of high-value items.
Whether you own anything or not, it’s crucial to increase your liability coverage to the highest level available as you review your renters insurance after the wedding. There are now two of you – twice the risk, twice the assets to sue for, and twice the responsibility. $500,000 of liability on your renters insurance after the wedding often costs only a few dollars additional per year.
Whether you rent or own, you also should give consideration to an umbrella policy. It adds another million dollars of liability coverage and even offers the option to extend that coverage to you for underinsured and uninsured motorists who hit you Generally, umbrella policies can cost as little as $20 a month. We have one client who got $500,000 liability on his renters insurance after the wedding, a million in umbrella, and 500/500 limits on his auto insurance and pays around $100 a month total for renters insurance, umbrella insurance, and full coverage auto insurance for his wife and himself.
4) Do We Need Wedding Insurance?
Yes, you need wedding insurance. First of all, more venues are requiring the liability coverage, and it’s a good idea to have anyway. Second, wedding insurance can provide crucial liquor liability coverage. Weddings are happy events, and often guests celebrate with alcohol. If a drunk person drives home and someone is injured as a result, you’re responsible in many states because you (your wedding vendor, actually, but ultimately you) served the alcohol and allowed him to try to drive home.
Wedding insurance also can cover vendors who don’t show up or go out of business, even re-taking wedding photos if necessary. The average cost of a wedding is now almost $30,000. Most of that is non-refundable deposits tied to a specific date and time. If a hurricane causes you to reschedule, much of that money would be lost. Wedding insurance can even cover loss of or damage to the rings!
5) Does Renters Insurance Cover Wedding Gifts?
Yes, but… The only way to receive immediate coverage on high-value wedding gifts is to have a wedding insurance policy. Otherwise, many common gifts need to be endorsed or separately insured on your renters insurance after the wedding because of the sub-limits above. It’s prudent to delegate someone to make a list and get it to your local renters insurance agent so that there can be immediate coverage on wedding gifts of value.
There are many questions to consider on your renters insurance after the wedding or homeowners insurance after the wedding. Effective Coverage can help you with all of them and bring you the complete package you need for your new life together to start with the protection you both deserve. One phone call to (800)892-4308 is all it takes!