Does Renters Insurance In Erie, PA Cover Lost Data?

After a loss such as a fire or theft, many people are left wondering if they have coverage for something they hadn’t considered on their Erie, PA renters insurance.  Often, an insured will give thought to the computer they’re insuring, but not to the contents of that computer, and they’ll wonder after a loss (too late) if their policy covers lost data.

So what’s the short answer?  Does renters insurance in Erie, PA cover lost data?

Nope.  Never.

Erie, PA Renters Insurance will never cover lost data, under any circumstances.  But let’s dig into that a little deeper.

Your renters insurance policy will generally cover the computer itself, possibly commercial software which was legitimately purchased and installed onto it, and blank media to replace media which was destroyed in the covered loss.  Data is specifically excluded from your policy.

The solution is simple – backups.  There are a number of viable cloud solutions for backups that will enable you to maintain an off-site copy of your data.  This is the proper way to “insure” your data, with backups.  The work and type of effort that goes into creating your data will vary widely, which is why it’s not practical to insure data.  Obviously the level of loss is different between your grocery list and a Ph.D. dissertation that’s nearly complete.

If you want your Erie, PA Renters Insurance to cover data because it’s related to business, consulting, work, or some other money-making or professional venture, you’ll need a commercial policy.  The details of that are beyond the scope of this discussion, but that’s something you’d set up separately and endorse to get the coverage you need.

Ultimately, with proper backups and proper data retention practices, the data on your computer shouldn’t need to be insured on your policy.  A renters insurance policy is designed to protect you from unforeseeable, catastrophic losses that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to recover from.  Data loss is foreseeable, it will happen eventually to everyone.

You’re also able to take steps to mitigate the risk so that a loss is not nearly as severe.  If you take daily incremental backups, for instance, along with your weekly full backups somewhere in the cloud, the most data you’d lose would be any work you’ve done the same day.  The entire process can and should be automated, so that you don’t need to touch it, only to verify that it’s working correctly.

Remember that your renters insurance may not cover data, but it covers many other things and offers additional protections as well.  To find out how your policy protects you, just call (800)892-4308 or click to get covered - whether you need Erie renters insurance quotes online or coverage anywhere else!

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Photo Credit: Erik Pitti CC2