Buffalo renters guide
What a Buffalo renters policy has to handle
Your landlord's insurance generally does not cover your belongings, and if someone is hurt in your apartment, you could be held liable for their medical bills. Renters insurance, also called tenants insurance, is built for both. It generally covers your personal property, your liability, medical payments to guests and living costs if a covered loss forces you out. In Buffalo, the details worth checking are burst pipes, flood, valuables and roommates.
What renters insurance covers that your landlord's policy does not
More than half of the occupied homes in the City of Buffalo are rented. The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) notes that many uninsured renters believe their landlord's policy covers their possessions. Generally, it does not. The owner may insure the building, but the Insurance Information Institute (III) notes that the landlord's policy will not replace your possessions or pay your living expenses while the building is repaired.
DFS notes an exception can occur when the landlord knew about a hazardous condition, failed to fix it in a reasonable time, and your property was damaged as a result.
Renters insurance generally includes four coverages: personal property, loss of use, personal liability and medical payments to others. The standard tenants form covers your belongings against a list of perils, so it pays only when a cause your policy covers damages your things. DFS lists the typical ones:
- Fire, smoke and lightning
- Theft and vandalism
- Windstorm or hail, explosion and falling objects
- The weight of snow, ice or sleet
- Water from a plumbing or appliance failure, fire sprinklers or another accidental discharge
- Electrical surges
Replacement cost or actual cash value, and how much to buy
Actual cash value pays to replace your things minus depreciation for age and use, up to your policy limit. Replacement cost pays the actual cost of replacing them with no deduction for depreciation, also up to your policy limit, typically after you buy the new item and submit receipts. Replacement cost coverage costs more than actual cash value coverage, and DFS notes that renters with a lot of electronics may be better off with replacement cost.
Before you buy, DFS recommends a complete inventory of your belongings, with photos or video of things like furniture, jewelry and expensive electronics. Count gifts and borrowed items too, since III notes they are generally covered while in your possession. Your things are generally covered away from home as well, like a laptop stolen from your car, but usually only up to a cap. III's example is $2,500, or 10 percent, of a $25,000 limit.
Once you have a number, use our online renters quote form or call 716-885-8100 during office hours, and a real person picks up. Own your unit instead? See our condo insurance page.
Buffalo winter and water
More than half of Buffalo's yearly snow comes from the lake-effect process, and the National Weather Service describes Western New York winters as changeable, with frequent thaws and rain. Here is how winter water damage usually sorts out for a renter:
- Burst pipes and accidental discharges: III says standard renters policies generally cover winter damage like burst pipes to your belongings, plus certain other water damage, such as a tenant upstairs leaving the tub running. Your deductible and policy terms apply. Repairing the pipes and the building is generally the landlord's job, unless you or someone under your control caused the damage.
- Ice dams: III notes they can cause water to seep into a house. Report any leak to your landlord right away and keep a record. Whether damage to your things is covered depends on the cause and the perils your policy covers, so ask us before assuming either way.
- Sewer and drain backup: not part of a basic policy. DFS lists it as coverage you may be able to add, noting that backups happen more often than you would think.
- Heat: if you control the thermostat, III's cold-weather advice is to keep your home heated to at least 65 degrees. Some policies may not cover frozen-pipe damage if the heat was turned off for the winter without winterizing.
Flood needs its own coverage
A standard renters policy does not cover flood, and III notes that melting snow seeping in from the ground up falls under flood insurance. The City of Buffalo participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), so any renter in the city can buy an NFIP contents-only policy, in a floodplain or not.
It covers up to $100,000 of your belongings above the lowest elevated floor, with a $2,500 special limit on items like jewelry and artwork. In a basement or basement apartment, it covers only a washer, a dryer, a freezer and the food in it. NFIP policies usually take 30 days to start, so buy before the spring melt, not during it.
Liability, guests and loss of use
If someone is hurt in your apartment, DFS warns you could be held liable for their medical and hospital bills. Renters liability generally covers injury or property damage that you or your family cause to others, and III says it also pays for damage your pet causes, though not when your own pet ruins your own rug. It includes a legal defense and pays damages if a court finds you negligent, up to your limit and subject to the policy's exclusions.
Liability limits generally start around $100,000, and III notes some experts recommend at least $300,000. We also write umbrella coverage if you want to talk through higher limits.
Medical payments to guests is a separate, smaller coverage: an injured guest can send the medical bills straight to your insurer without a lawsuit. III says you can generally get $1,000 to $5,000 of it, and it does not pay medical bills for your own family or your pet.
If a covered loss forces you to live somewhere else during repairs, loss of use (also called additional living expenses) generally pays the difference between your normal living costs and what you spend while you are out, such as a hotel, a temporary rental or restaurant meals. There is usually a cap on the amount or on how long it pays.
The New York Attorney General's tenants' rights guide says that if fire or other damage you did not cause makes the apartment uninhabitable, and the lease does not say otherwise, you may move out and cancel the lease. This page is general information, not legal advice, and what a policy pays depends on its terms and limits.
Roommates, students and what renters insurance does not cover
A college student in a dorm who is still part of their parents' household generally has some coverage under the parents' policy, typically 10 percent of its contents limit, according to III. Off campus, a student will probably need their own renters policy, and policies can vary.
Roommates may be able to share one policy. Otherwise, your roommate's policy covers only their belongings, liability covers the named insured, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners suggests separate coverage for each adult tenant. A domestic partner, III notes, is usually not automatically insured the way a spouse is and must be named on the policy.
Standard renters policies typically exclude flood and earthquake and do not cover vehicles or animals as your property. They also generally will not pay for damage from lack of maintenance or pests, and mold coverage is often limited or not included. Jewelry and collectibles are covered only up to limits, generally $1,500 for jewelry and other expensive items, according to III. Add-ons worth asking about:
- Replacement cost, if your policy does not already include it.
- Sewer and drain backup coverage.
- A floater, or scheduled coverage, for jewelry, art, antiques, collectibles or firearms worth more than the policy's limits. That is what our valuable possessions coverage is for.
- Extra coverage for business equipment or inventory, since DFS says most policies offer very little.
- Earthquake coverage, as an endorsement or a separate policy.
Ways Buffalo renters keep the price down
- Pick a deductible you could pay tomorrow. A higher deductible usually lowers the premium, but it comes out of each covered property claim.
- Insurers may offer discounts for smoke detectors, deadbolts or a security system, so ask.
- Bundle renters with auto insurance when it actually costs less, and keep them separate when it does not.
- Insure what you own, not a round number. A photo or video inventory, with a replacement cost for each item, helps you choose a coverage amount that fully protects you.
- Let us re-shop it. Under the Willoughby Guarantee, we re-shop your policy with our companies at every renewal, automatically. Already insured? Challenge us: tell us who you are with now and when it renews, and we will tell you honestly whether we can do better.