What do I do when the house i'm renting floods from the sewer?

Question

The homeowner said his homeowner insurance won't cover the furniture and that I shouldn't bother with my renters insurance because he will pay for what has been ruined himself. The homeowner is a trusted friend of the family. I am not familiar with insurance and don't know if it's ok to have the renters insurance and for the homeowner to have insurance as well. I think I should do a claim with my renters insurance but do not want to get the homeowner in trouble if we are not supposed to both do a claim. any suggestions?

Answer 1

His insurance covers NOTHING of yours.  Period.  No matter what.  

The standard renters policy doesn't cover it, either - unless you have "backup of sewers and drains" coverage.

The person who owns the house you're renting, well, his HOMEOWNERS doesn't cover the house, unless he's LIVING in it.  So he's committing fraud.  That's probably why he wants to pay this out of pocket.   But he might change his mind about paying it, when he sees how much it could end up being.

Don't throw anything away - that's my suggestion.

Answer 2

His homeowners will not cover your personal property. File with your renter's insurance and explain to your landlord (friend) that you appreciate his concern, but prefer to handle it that way.

Answer 3

His homeowners insurance will not cover any of your property.  And why would you let him pay for your stuff?  That is why you have renters insurance in the first place.

You won't him in trouble by filing a claim with your renters insurance, but your rates may go up slightly.  Just file with your insurance company, so he doesn't have to pay out of pocket.  He is already leasing you the property.  Don't take advantage of that friendship when you have other options.

Answer 4

The homeowners policy will not cover your personal property.

You have to have a renters policy to cover the damage to your items.  Most renters policies are a named peril policy. That means that the damage to the property has to be caused by a loss specifically listed in the policy (fire, lighting, theft, etc).  Back up drains or sewers is usually excluded (not covered).

It is a good idea to have a renters policy.

However, you may want to speak to your agent to see if your policy will provide coverage for sewer back up.

Answer 5

If you are renting a one family home, the owner needs to have a landlord policy or a dwelling fire policy for a nonowner occupied dwelling.  Sewer water backup would be excluded in this policy.  I do not think it is available to purchase on most fire policies but he would have to ask his agent.  If it is a 2 family home & he lives in the other apartment, he can still have a homeowners policy.  Either way, his policy will NOT cover YOUR things.

You would only be covered for sewer water backup IF you have purchased an additional endorsement called "backup of sewers & drains".  If you didn't buy it, you do not have coverage.  You may have to take him up on his offer to pay for your things.

Since this is considered "black water" it is loaded with bacteria & you need to call a professional service to clean the area & to try to save your items.  Some items will probably be saved, some won't.  You need to let them know what you would like to try to be saved.  Whether this ends up being covered or not, you need to do this for your own health & safety.