How to File a Claim If Your Apartment Is Damaged

There are two types of insurance you can look to if your apartment suffers some damage.
There is liability insurance that covers you from the negligence of others, and there is renters' property insurance that protects your contents.
If you find that damage or a loss has happened, the first thing to do is call your insurance company or visit the company's website and get a claim started.
What happens in a claim? Your claim representative will take information from you about what happened, what was damaged, and who the parties were to the damage.
He or she may need to take a statement from each of the other parties to find out if one of them is responsible for the incident, or just to gather more information about the claim.
If you are making a claim for stolen property, have things like photographs of your items and receipts or credit card statements ready to scan to your claim adjuster for him or her to use as documentation of the loss.
The claim representative will make a determination of who was at fault, and assess liability accordingly.
Should they find that you do have coverage and did not intentionally cause the damage, you will have your claim paid, minus any deductible that your policy requires.
Most times that payment comes to you as a check so you can use it to pay for any damages or to replace your missing items.
What kinds of coverage are there? Some apartment managers require that tenants carry renters' liability insurance which will cover everyone should one tenant accidentally cause damage to another person's unit, to the building itself, or even to his or her own unit.
This type of insurance also carries a level of personal injury coverage should the renter's actions cause bodily harm to another person.
Property insurance can protect your contents should a theft occur.
You can get replacement items and be able to carry on.
The renters' insurance you carry may also cover other residents in your unit, so your family is also covered.
Some policies are available that offer liability only coverage, but not any property coverage.
Given how inexpensive comprehensive renters' insurance is, however, it's worthwhile to take out full coverage.
If you live in areas with questionable weather, you may wish to contact your agent to see if there is any coverage for things like windstorms, hailstorms, lightning strikes, and fire.
Should you move to a new complex, be sure to contact your insurance agent, not just to give your insurance company your new address, but also to see if your coverage needs to be adjusted for the new location.
If you do need to file a claim for loss when you are renting an apartment, don't feel bad about it or feel the need to apologize to your claim representative.
Most of the time, you didn't mean to do anything wrong which is why it is called an accident, not an on purpose.
That's why insurance is there - to protect you and to make you whole again.