Tenants frequently believe that their valuables are covered by their landlord’s insurance. This is not the case, and tenants must get their own insurance policy for their homes. Even if you are renting a property, be it directly from a landlord, or through a Rental Management Agency, you must insure your personal things, such as furniture, clothing, jewellery, and laptops against theft or disaster.
As an experienced Rental Management Agency, managing thousands of rental properties, the team at Fitzanne Estates has seen that tenants typically have car insurance but no coverage for the contents of their residences or even the technological equipment they carry around with them, such as cell phones, laptops and tablets.
This is usually due to a misinterpretation of what is covered by the landlord’s building insurance, or the insurance that is jointly paid for by the owners in a Sectional Title Scheme (levies) to protect the actual structures. It is, however, a mistake that could be highly costly.
If your belongings are stolen, you are unlikely to obtain any compensation unless you have your own household contents policy. Furthermore, you are unlikely to have any liability insurance to protect you if someone is injured while visiting or working in your house, putting all of your current and future earnings at risk.
For this reason, most household content plans offer third-party liability coverage for a small additional premium, which is definitely worth having, particularly if you have pets.
Tenants in high-security apartment buildings or Sectional Title Schemes may argue that they don’t need insurance because the risk of being burgled is so low, but they overlook the risk of another resident being negligent and causing a fire in the complex, or their upstairs neighbour leaving a tap running and flooding their home.
Lightning strikes, electrical problems, and other disasters are still possible In Sectional Title Schemes, and in such instances, the Body Corporate insurance would only cover structural damage to the scheme’s buildings’ exteriors. Residents who do not have their own household contents insurance would be responsible for anything else that was damaged or destroyed, including couches, curtains, and carpets, as well as clothes, appliances, gadgets, and sports equipment.
That would be a devastating blow and one that could have been easily prevented for a small monthly fee.
It is a good idea for all tenants to take an inventory of their goods, calculate the total cost of replacing all of those items, and then consider if they can afford not to be fully insured. The simplest way to figure out what to include in that inventory is to envision your house being turned upside-down and then just listing everything that would fall to the floor if that happened.
Fitzanne Estates is a leading Rental Management Agency with many rental properties available across the whole of Gauteng. Should you want to rent a house or flat, Fitzanne Estates will find the perfect home for you.
Read more:
The cost of buying a house: 5 Expenses you should prepare for
Buying a house: What do I qualify for?
What new homeowners should know about home insurance
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Media contact: Cathlen Fourie, +27 82 222 9198, marketing@fitzanne.co.za https://www.fitzanne.co.za/
More about Fitzanne Estates
Fitzanne Estates (Pty) Ltd is a Property Management Company that can sufficiently administer your property investment to the benefit of the Landlord, the Body Corporate, and the NPC – Non-Profit Company. Services include Letting, Sectional Title Management, Full Title Management (NPC – Non-Profit Company) and Sales.
Website: https://www.fitzanne.co.za/
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