We know your time is valuable, so we appreciate you taking a moment to review our St. Petersburg, FL Renters Insurance Guide. Effective Coverage is an insurance company with ethics. We live by our core values, and focus on educating renters about their insurance needs. There is a great deal of misinformation out there about Florida Renters Insurance, especially with regards to wind coverage.
Only forty-four percent of Americans have renters insurance. Effective Coverage is on a mission to get that number up to 40% by the end of 2017, and one of the ways we’re doing that is the Renters Insurance Challenge. We believe in the necessity of renters insurance, and just as importantly, we believe in the value of renters insurance. It’s not just something you’re required to have, it’s a way to protect the lifestyle you’ve worked hard for.
St. Petersburg, FL Renters Insurance
What About Wind Coverage On St. Petersburg, FL Renters Insurance?
Why is wind excluded from coastal Florida renters insurance? Insurance companies have reserves. They use those reserves to pay claims. A company can’t take on more policies than it has reserves to pay claims on, though that’s a bit of an oversimplified viewpoint. In order to protect consumers from low reserves that might make it difficult for an insurance company to hold up its end of the bargain, insurance companies buy insurance.
Yes, that’s right, the writing company that handles your renters insurance goes out and buys an insurance policy of their own to make sure that they don’t get hammered with claims that could make them financially unstable. Usually the policy looks something like this:
We insure against risk of excessive financial loss from a single covered event. A covered event is defined as a single named storm which causes property damage to policyholders of the insured company. If payable claims of policyholders exceed one billion dollars, we will pay for losses to policyholders of the insured writing company which are in excess of one billion dollars up to a maximum amount of ten billion dollars.
Obviously these reinsurance policies are longer and more detailed, but the above summary wraps them all up in a single paragraph. Reinsurance is underwritten just like any other policy, and priced based on the amount of risk. If reinsurance is not available for a particular risk, such as significant windstorm losses, a carrier will not write policies to cover the risk because it would cause unacceptable exposure for them and their policyholders.
The potential losses from a windstorm in St. Petersburg are so large that it’s difficult to find insurance or reinsurance against those losses. At one time, it was possible to add on coverage via the state’s insurer of last resort, but Citizen’s has instituted it’s takeout program to put policies back with standard carriers, those policies are harder to come by.
But here’s the real question…
Does It Matter That Wind Is Excluded From My Renters Insurance In St. Petersburg?
As a broad generalization, it matters not one bit. Yes, that’s a rather bold statement. Yes, it’s an accurate statement, specifically with regard to St. Petersburg renters insurance policies which insure property rented under a standard lease agreement. Why are these things important?
Generally, a standard lease agreement gives the tenant the right to use the property, and the responsibility not to take action that would damage it. The tenant is not responsible for maintenance, nor for repairs due to weather events. If the roof starts leaking because it rained too hard, is that the tenant’s problem? Absolutely not. If the roof is blown off because of a windstorm or hurricane, is that the tenant’s problem? Nope.
Because the tenant is not responsible for damage to the structure, windstorms are generally not the tenant’s problem. If you live in a concrete and steel apartment building, there are very, very low odds of damage to your personal property because the hurricane would have to essentially destroy the entire building to cause any damage to your personal property. Is there a small amount of risk retention? Sure. But there’s always a small amount of risk that you retain, no matter what you insure against.
You know what a deductible is, right? That’s risk retention. Your policy doesn’t provide for coverage against zombies. That’s risk retention, after a fashion. A very low risk, but risk nonetheless. Your policy probably doesn’t cover damage from chemical weapons in a declared war. That’s risk that you’re retaining. Your risk from wind is negligible, generally speaking, when you don’t own and are not responsible for the building itself.
Do I Need Renters Insurance In St. Petersburg, FL?
Everyone needs renters insurance in St. Petersburg, and everywhere else in the country, too! Let’s take the aforementioned hurricane as an example. The wind isn’t the major risk, if another Hurricane Andrew strikes. The real risk is in the overcrowded roads during an evacuation, the lack of fire and emergency services, and the looting that often follows a hundred year storm and its evacuation.
Wind may be excluded, but as a broad generalization, theft is theft. Vandalism is vandalism. Malicious mischief is malicious mischief. These are separate causes of loss from the storm, and are not excluded. If the power is out for a week and the police can’t get past a fallen tree to protect your apartment, but the greedy looters can get to it, that theft is likely to be a covered loss.
The same would apply for fire, even if it arises because of the storm. If the wind blows over a light pole and the transformer explodes when it hits a house, causing a fire, the fire is generally going to be a covered loss. A fire is a fire. Admittedly, if the fire is contained in the wind as in a fire whirl, there might be some coverage concerns, but we’re unaware of such a thing ever happening with a hurricane. The heavy rains and the differences between the sources of hurricanes and tornadoes have a great deal to do with that.
What Does St. Petersburg Renters Insurance Do For Me?
Renters insurance in St. Petersburg, FL protects you in several ways. Your personal property has coverage against named perils. You’re covered for liability if you cause bodily injury or property damage to someone. You’ve got coverage if someone is injured on your premises. You’re even covered for additional living expenses arising out of a covered loss, like the cost of a hotel.
All of this coverage is part of the standard Florida Renters Insurance policy, even if it excludes wind. Find out more about how St. Petersburg renters insurance protects you and how working with Effective Coverage gives you the best available protection!
Renting In St. Petersburg, FL
As the jewel in the crown of Pinellas County, this small city of just 250,000 offers the best of Florida all in one place. With an average home price of only $134,800 and a median gross rent of just $835, St. Petersburg is one of the least expensive places to live on the Florida coast. Sure, you could find an apartment in Miami for less than that, but… Perhaps not an apartment you’d actually want to live in. In St. Petersburg, that money generally gets you a safe, comfortable home.
Tucked away on a peninsula between Tampa and the Gulf, you have easy access to everything. There’s a land connection to the mainland in the north, bridges to Tampa, and a bridge to Bradenton from the south end of town. Interstates I-175 and I-375, as well as I-275, serve the city and create convenience. Where else could you live that would offer an average 361 days of sunshine and hold the Guinness World Record for most consecutive days of sunshine, at a whopping 768?
St. Petersburg isn’t just a place to retire, either. With a great mix of people of all ages and backgrounds, St. Petersburg is a great place to live, start a business, and just generally enjoy life. It’s rare that you can walk out your door to sandy beaches and blue skies, which makes the city the envy of many others. Most of downtown St. Petersburg consists of high rises and offices, including that of the Tampa Bay Times which is, interestingly enough, not headquartered in Tampa.
You couldn’t ask for a better place to live, so make sure to protect your lifestyle with St. Petersburg renters insurance from Effective Coverage!