Mobile Home Renters Insurance – Forbes Advisor – Technologist

Mobile home renters insurance is the same as standard renters insurance for an apartment or house. The only difference is that you rent a mobile home.

Find out which options are available for mobile home renters insurance, and how a policy can help pay for damage to your belongings and for other problems, such as guests’ injuries.

Understanding Mobile Home Renters Insurance

Mobile home renters insurance is a type of renters insurance that you buy if you’re renting a mobile home. It provides the same coverage that any renters insurance policy provides.

All renters—regardless of the type of place you live in—should consider purchasing renters insurance. It can provide financial compensation if problems covered by your policy damage your belongings, if your belongings are stolen and covers accidental injuries and property damage that you or other members of your household do to others.

Renters insurance covers your personal belongings but doesn’t cover the physical mobile home. Landlord insurance, which is purchased by the property owner, covers the physical structure.

What Does Mobile Home Renters Insurance Cover?

A renters insurance policy covers multiple areas:

• Liability: Personal liability coverage pays for property damage and injuries you or household members accidentally cause to others. It can also provide funds to pay for legal costs if you’re sued and death benefits if someone dies because of accidental injuries. It also can pay for lost wages if an injured person can’t work. You should buy enough liability coverage to cover what you could lose in a lawsuit, so figure out your assets so you can properly cover them.
• Loss of use: Additional living expenses coverage reimburses you for extra costs you incur when the damage covered by your policy leaves your home temporarily inhabitable. For example, the coverage would pay for the costs of a hotel room and meals that exceed what you would normally pay had you not been forced out of the mobile home. This is also known as “loss of use coverage.”
• Medical payments coverage: A standard renters policy provides a small amount of money to cover medical bills of non-family members who are accidentally injured and blame you, regardless of fault. Medical payments coverage can also apply to injuries at or away from your mobile home—for example, if your dog bites someone down the street. This coverage is usually between $1,000 and $5,000.
• Personal property: Personal property coverage helps pay to repair or replace your personal belongings if stolen or destroyed by a problem covered by your policy. Such property can include furniture, electronics and clothing.

You won’t not need to insure against damage to the mobile home’s structure. The landlord insurance should provide that.

Why Do You Need Mobile Home Renters Insurance?

Landlords could require that you carry renters insurance as a condition of renting you the mobile home, but there are other reasons to buy this coverage.

A landlord’s insurance policy doesn’t cover your personal belongings, which is one reason why it’s important to buy renters insurance. Without it, you won’t get insurance money if your belongings are stolen or damaged in a fire or another problem covered by mobile home renters insurance.

A mobile home renters insurance policy also provides liability insurance. You could be sued if you accidentally cause injuries or kill someone. Without renters insurance, you could be liable for damages that may ruin you financially.

Living in a mobile home might increase your exposure to key risks, which in turn makes renters insurance even more important. For example, a mobile home might be more vulnerable to damage from a severe weather event like a tornado or hurricane. That means your belongings may be at more risk for damage compared to a house or apartment.

Factors That Affect Mobile Home Renters Insurance for Mobile Homes

Factors that typically impact mobile home renters insurance costs include:

• How much coverage you buy.
• The policy deductible.
• Where the mobile home is located.
• Whether you have consistently maintained insurance coverage.
• Whether you bundle your policy with other types of coverage.
• Your eligibility for other types of discounts.

The amount of coverage you want will likely play the biggest role in how much you pay for a mobile home renters insurance policy. If you have a lot of expensive personal property—or if you have many assets to protect from liability claims—you will likely want more coverage, which raises the cost.

It’s important to buy liability renters insurance in an amount that matches the total value of your assets. Liability coverage generally starts at $100,000 but you can buy much higher amounts if you need more.

And you should buy personal property coverage in an amount equal to the value of your belongings.

You might want to schedule personal property for high-value items you own. This is also known as a floater, rider or endorsement.

Scheduled personal property is optional coverage that allows you to insure your expensive belongings for their full value. For example, reimbursement for stolen jewelry is usually capped at $1,500, regardless of how valuable it is. Or, let’s say you have collectibles worth $20,000 and have $30,000 in personal property insurance. If a fire wiped out the contents of your mobile home, you’d only have $10,000 left to replace your furniture, clothes, kitchenware and other belongings.

Replacement cost vs. actual cash value coverage is another factor to consider:

• Replacement cost coverage reimburses you the amount it takes to replace destroyed possessions with brand new items.
• Actual cash value coverage only reimburses the items’ depreciated value.

Mobile Home Renters Insurance in Texas

Texas is vulnerable to tropical storms and hurricanes in areas along the coast. If you rent in a place where the risk of these events is high, it is crucial to have enough mobile home renters insurance to pay to repair or replace your personal property if damaged or even destroyed.

Keep in mind that a renters policy might not compensate you for damage from some events, such as flooding. You need to purchase a separate flood insurance for renters policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurance company to cover damage from flooding.

Mobile Home Renters Insurance in California

When most people think about California, two types of disasters immediately spring to mind: earthquakes and wildfires.

Standard renters insurance policies don’t cover earthquakes. You’ll need an endorsement or a separate earthquake insurance policy if you want to cover your personal property in the event of a quake. Mudslides are another type of event that can cause damage in some parts of California. Renters insurance typically doesn’t cover mudslides.

Renters insurance typically covers damage to your personal property from a wildfire. But some insurance companies are excluding coverage for wildfires, so be sure to ask about exclusions if you’re considering buying mobile home renters insurance.

If you can’t find a policy that will cover wildfire damage, you can see if you are eligible to buy coverage from California FAIR Plan Property Insurance.

Fair Access to Insurance Requirements, or FAIR plans, are designed to cover high-risk properties that traditional insurance companies won’t insure.

Mobile Home Renters Insurance in Florida

Florida is among the states most vulnerable to hurricanes. Renters insurance typically covers windstorms, but doesn’t generally reimburse you for damage from floods. You need a separate flood insurance policy for that coverage that you can buy through the NFIP or a private insurance company.

Sinkholes also can occur in Florida. Standard renters policies don’t cover sinkhole damage, but you can buy a separate policy to cover that damage, similar to earthquake insurance.

Mobile Home Renters Insurance in Michigan

Severe weather threats are relatively minor in Michigan compared to other states and the threat from an earthquake is small.

But tornadoes and severe thunderstorms can strike. And in the winter, snow and ice have the potential to cause some damage. Other types of threats, such as fires, are as likely in Michigan as anywhere else. So, it’s important to have the right mobile home renters insurance here, too.

Where Can I Get a Mobile Home Renters Insurance Quote?

Any insurance company that offers renters insurance can provide a quote for mobile home renters insurance coverage. Before getting a renters insurance quote, figure out how much personal property and liability coverage you need, and choose a deductible.

Mobile Home Renters Insurance Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)