On average, renters insurance in West Virginia
costs $121 per year or $10 a month. A renters insurance policy at this price will provide financial protection through coverage for your personal belongings, legal protection through personal liability, as well as loss of use, and medical payments coverage for others. Living in a new place and getting renters insurance for the first time may seem stressful, but renters insurance actually helps reduce your stress! Having renters insurance ensures you have legal and financial protection if anything happens in your home.
Car insurance
broker and comparison app Jerry
is here to give you all you need to know about renters insurance in West Virginia. We’ll explain what renters insurance
is, how to build your perfect policy, and how to save money by bundling your renters and auto insurance policies. What is renters insurance?
A renters insurance policy protects you legally and financially by providing personal property and personal liability coverage.
A standard renters insurance policy includes:
Personal property coverage (Coverage C): This covers your personal belongings for their actual cash value (ACV) or replacement cost when a covered peril damages them.
Loss of use coverage (Coverage D): Also called additional living expenses (ALE). If a covered peril damages your home, leaving it uninhabitable, this will help maintain your normal standard of living, like paying for food and hotel expenses.
Personal Liability coverage (Coverage E): If someone is injured or their property is damaged while at your home, personal liability will provide legal protection as well as medical coverage.
Medical Payments to Others (Coverage F): This coverage is considered goodwill and meant to help reduce the likelihood of submitting a liability claim if someone is injured at your home.
Since personal property coverage is one of the most important coverages in a renters policy, you’ll need to determine how much coverage you’ll need. You can do this by inventorying your belongings, especially things you use every day or are expensive, like furniture or electronics. If your landlord requires insurance, you’ll likely need to carry $300,000 or $500,000 in liability coverage, depending on your lease agreement.
What does renters insurance cover?
While named perils vary between insurance providers and their policies, most insurance companies generally cover 16 perils. Typically this includes:
Weight of ice, sleet, or snow
While these are some of the most common covered perils, your renters policy may cover more or less, depending on your provider.
You’ll want to review your policy carefully to ensure you’re aware of any additional coverage you may need. Since West Virginia is prone to flooding, you may need to purchase a renters flood insurance policy to ensure your personal property is protected.
What does renters insurance not cover?
While there’s a lot that renters insurance covers, it isn’t all-encompassing. Some items that usually don’t have coverage are:
Work-related items: If you own a business and operate out of your home, your business items aren’t always covered by renters insurance. You’ll likely want to consider additional coverage, if so.
Valuable: Fine art, jewelry, and antiques are several items that could potentially be excluded from your renters insurance policy. You may need additional coverage to ensure they’re protected for their full value.
Your car: While renters insurance will cover property inside your car, it doesn’t cover the car itself. For that, you’ll need a car insurance
policy.
Key Takeaway Renters insurance is a complete package, protecting you and your belongings if an accident or damage occurs at your home.
Is renters insurance required in West Virginia?
West Virginia law does not require renters insurance. Even so, a landlord could require you purchase a policy per your lease agreement. If your landlord doesn’t require a renters insurance policy, it’s still a good purchase that can protect both you and your property from damage.
Thankfully, renters insurance is affordable. While the cost can vary depending on your coverage and where you live, renters insurance in West Virginia is $38 cheaper than the national average. You can expect to spend $121 a year or $10 a month for a standard policy providing both financial and legal protection, which may end up saving you several thousand dollars in the future.
How to build a West Virginia renters insurance policy
Along with affordability, a renters insurance policy is fairly easy to build. You’ll first want to review all your belongings and inventory each room. For all your furniture, appliances, electronics, art, or other valuables, you’ll want to note the following:
Serial number (if available)
As you’re making your list, take pictures of your items. If you need to submit a claim, most insurers want to see the property’s state before the damage occurred.
Choose your limit of liability. If your landlord is requiring a policy, they may request between $300,000 to $500,000 worth of coverage. A standard policy typically offers $100,000 worth of coverage.
Determine if you need renters flood insurance. Since renters insurance policies almost always exclude flood damage, you’ll need to purchase a separate policy for additional coverage.
Actual cash value vs. replacement cost
You have the option of choosing either an actual cash value (ACV) or replacement cost policy for your belongings.
While both cover your personal property, there is a major difference between their coverage. For example: if you bought a sound system for your living room for $2,000 last year and it’s stolen, an ACV policy will only cover the value after depreciation, potentially only $1,000. However, if you have a policy with replacement cost, your insurer would compensate you for the full value of your sound system.
While replacement cost is a better option for your property, it will cost more. Depending on the type of property you’re insuring, you’ll need to decide whether the extra cost is worth it.
How to find cheap renters and car insurance
Renters insurance
in West Virginia is already affordable, but you can save even more by bundling your renters and auto insurance policies. Discounts vary between companies, but you can expect to save anywhere from 5% to 25% on both policies. The quickest and easiest way to find the best rates for bundling your renters and auto is with Jerry
. After providing you with a comprehensive cross-analysis of the best policies across providers, Jerry will handle the phone calls, paperwork, and renewals for your top pick so that you don’t have to. They even help cancel your old policy. Jerry drivers save an average of $887 a year on car insurance! “My husband’s driving record isn’t stellar, so the thought of shopping for car insurance is always daunting. I knew there was no way we could afford the monthly payments on our policy that was about to renew, so I randomly decided to click on a Jerry
Facebook ad. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was legitimate. After some research and a lot of reading reviews, I decided to try it. I was able to get a new policy with almost exactly the same coverages at less than half the price we were paying. It was fast and easy. I highly recommend this app.” —Ana K.
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