The Difference Between Apartment Owners and Homeowners Insurance

Renters Insurance Basics

Thanks to the once exploding real estate market, many apartment complexes and apartment buildings have functionally gone condo: That is, the apartment is no longer rented, but rather owned. And for that reason, many renters are faced with the need to insure their property, and everything inside their apartment home. For this reason, apartment owners insurance is now available through many insurance companies. In most every respect, apartment renters insurance is the same as condo owners insurance, but very different from apartment renters insurance, which is concerned primarily with protecting the renter’s personal possessions.

Apartment owners insurance has much more in common with homeowners insurance than it does renters insurance, but there are also some differences.

Apartment Owners Insurance

When you move from one kind of domicile to another, your insurance needs change dramatically. As we’ve already mentioned, apartment owners insurance is very different from renters insurance. There’s more you need to protect than just your possessions: You are responsible for everything in your apartment, floor to ceiling, wall to wall, including the floors and walls themselves!

Most apartment complexes and apartment buildings insure the infrastructure, land, and other common areas, but each unit’s interior construction is the responsibility of the homeowner. If your apartment is damaged, it will likely be up to you to replace drywall, flooring, cabinets, lighting fixtures and so on.

While the specifics covered by a individual policy are contingent on the insurer, many apartment owner insurance policies cover:

• Personal Property Protection:
  The loss or damage to your belongings.
• Real Property Protection:
  Things you own such as fixtures and other installations that are not typically considered personal property.
• Family Liability Protection:
  Provides legal representation and insurance against judgments.
• Guest Medical Protection:
  Medical costs for visitors injured at your home.
• Additional Living Expenses:
  Reimbursement for costs of temporary housing during reconstruction.

Homeowners Insurance

Those who own physically detached houses are usually familiar with homeowners insurance. The fundamental difference between this type of insurance and that of apartment owner insurance, or condo insurance, is that a homeowner is also responsible for the physical structure of the building, as well as the land upon which it is built. So while apartment owners insurance does not cover things like the frame of the building, the electric, plumbing, duct work, or the land and things on the land, like sheds and fences, homeowners insurance does.

In the end, what an apartment owner has in common with a homeowner, is that they have made an investment which they now own and are responsible for. And for that reason, to protect their investment, apartment owners insurance is a must.