If you live in a rented home — including an apartment, house, duplex, mobile home or seasonal-use dwelling — it's important that you protect your personal property from the unexpected, especially since your landlord's insurance likely will not cover your personal property. If your items were stolen or destroyed, would you have the funds to replace them?

For each type of property you rent from others (i.e., home, garage, outbuildings and other structures), you need specific property insurance to protect your personal items. Farm Bureau Member's Choice provides renter's insurance that can be tailored to your needs and budget. With renter's insurance, you can choose:

Actual Cash Value Coverage — Your covered household personal property may be repaired or replaced with like kind and quality, less depreciation and physical deterioration.

Replacement Cost Coverage — Your covered household personal property may be repaired or replaced with like kind and quality.

Renter's insurance is affordable. In many cases, for about $100 a year, you can protect your furniture, clothes and other personal belongings (excluding animals) in your rented home from loss by fire, explosion, smoke, theft or other covered losses. Your items in a rented garage or outbuilding are also insured, including golf clubs, bicycles and athletic equipment. Special items like jewelry, cameras or electronics may need extended coverage — talk to a Farm Bureau agent about special personal property coverage. 

If you live in a rented home located on property you actively farm or ranch, you may also purchase farm/ranch personal property coverage to insure the items used in your farming or ranching operation.

In addition, your renter's policy includes coverage for the following:

• Tenant's Improvements you make to your rented property, such as installing a ceiling fan or new carpet.
• Property Loss Assessment charges made against you by a corporation or association or property owners.
• Forgery and Counterfeiting up to $1,000 for losses from the forgery or counterfeiting of any check or negotiable instrument or acceptance in good faith of counterfeit paper currency.
• Additional Living Expenses for up to 12 months if your rented home where you reside cannot be lived in because of a covered loss, such as fire.

Optional Coverages
You may purchase additional coverage to meet your specific needs:

• Contents of Freezer or Refrigerator - This provides coverage up to the policy limits for contents in a freezer or refrigerator if the damage or spoilage is caused by a power outage or mechanical breakdown of the refrigeration system.
• Water Back Up of Sewers or Drains - This provides coverage for household personal property up to your policy limit if the damage is caused by water backup of sewers or drains.
• Earthquake - This provides coverage for damage to personal property caused by an earthquake.
• Identity Services and Fraud Expense Coverage - This coverage protects you from loss due to the unlawful use of your identification and certain reasonable expenses that result.

Home-Based Business
If you run an incidental business out of the rented home you live in, you can insure your business-related items, such as computers, lawn mowers, inventory items (i.e. Avon, Longaberger), etc.

Liability & Umbrella Coverage
With renter's insurance, it's wise to have liability insurance, which helps protect you against lawsuits or claims for bodily injury or property damage resulting from your property or personal activities. For example, this could help protect you if someone is injured while visiting you in your rented home or your dog bites him and you are sued as a result.

You may also purchase umbrella coverage, which provides additional liability protection for lawsuits or claims brought against you for which you're legally responsible.

One Deductible
If you have Farm Bureau Member's Choice renter's insurance and also insure your vehicle under this coverage, you can take advantage of only one deductible per occurrence or accident, no matter how many covered possessions are involved. For example, if the personal property in your rented home and the vehicle in your rented garage are damaged in the same event, such as a fire or tornado, you will pay only one deductible — not multiple deductibles. Plus, if your property loss exceeds $50,000 in any one occurrence, up to $500 of your deductible will be waived.

Protecting your personal property with renter's coverage from Farm Bureau is simple. Talk to a Farm Bureau agent today for a quote on rental coverage.