When visiting friends or family, you may never think about what insurance they must cover their home. If someone owns their home in New Jersey, they will almost always have homeowner’s insurance that includes liability coverage should someone suffer an injury while on the property. Their mortgage lender likely makes this insurance mandatory. However, if you visit someone who rents, there is not always a guarantee of insurance coverage for injuries.
Most landlords do carry insurance on a property, but this does not cover much but the actual structure. It is up to the renter to carry renters insurance. A renters insurance policy, according to Forbes, offers you protection should someone suffer an injury on your property. If you are the one with the injury, it helps to ensure you can receive financial coverage for the incident.
If you obtain an injury at the home of someone who does not have renters insurance, you may have to take the person to court to get any reimbursement for medical costs and other expenses related to the incident. This does not always work out well in the end. You will probably pay court costs and attorney costs without seeing much of a return if the person cannot pay you. Collection efforts for this type of debt generally are not easy.
It is not likely that you will ever find out your friend or family member lacks insurance coverage until it is too late. However, you can protect yourself if you rent by securing a policy. This information is for education and is not legal advice.
