In the spirit of every reasonable insurance question is deserving of an answer, I submit. Tenant Homeowner or Renter’s policies cover damage to your personal property and food certainly would be considered “Personal Property”. As long as the power outage was caused by one of the named perils in your policy (fire, lightning, wind, vehicle damage, etc.) and it occurred on your premises, you may have a valid claim for food spoiled as a result of a power outage.
But if the power outage was caused by something that occurred away from your residence, most Renters’ policies specifically exclude that type of loss unless the power outage then causes covered damage to your residence.
Remember however, most Renters’ policies have a deductible of $250 or more so make sure you take that into consideration. Add to that the effect submitting a small claim, one less than $1000, could have on your future premium or the willingness of your insurance company to renew your coverage. It may be a good idea to pass on submitting this type of claim even though you may have some coverage.
In addition, most policies require you to take reasonable steps to preserve your property following a loss. Make sure you have done what you can to prevent your food from spoiling following a power outage.
Some policies include a number of “additional coverages”, often an effort to make one company’s policy appear more attractive than another. These additional coverages provide nominal amounts of insurance covering specific loss situations such as key replacement or food spoilage. Here again, you may be tempted to submit a claim because you have coverage but consider the impact a claim might have on future premiums and renewal terms. You may be better served to simply replace the food.
When an event like this occurs, try to recall why you purchased insurance in the first place. More than likely, it wasn’t to reimburse you if the food in your refrigerator went bad.
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In the spirit of every reasonable insurance question is deserving of an answer, I submit. Tenant Homeowner or Renter’s policies cover damage to your personal property and food certainly would be considered “Personal Property”. As long as the power outage was caused by one of the named perils in your policy (fire, lightning, wind, vehicle damage, etc.) and it occurred on your premises, you may have a valid claim for food spoiled as a result of a power outage.
But if the power outage was caused by something that occurred away from your residence, most Renters’ policies specifically exclude that type of loss unless the power outage then causes covered damage to your residence.
Remember however, most Renters’ policies have a deductible of $250 or more so make sure you take that into consideration. Add to that the effect submitting a small claim, one less than $1000, could have on your future premium or the willingness of your insurance company to renew your coverage. It may be a good idea to pass on submitting this type of claim even though you may have some coverage.
In addition, most policies require you to take reasonable steps to preserve your property following a loss. Make sure you have done what you can to prevent your food from spoiling following a power outage.
Some policies include a number of “additional coverages”, often an effort to make one company’s policy appear more attractive than another. These additional coverages provide nominal amounts of insurance covering specific loss situations such as key replacement or food spoilage. Here again, you may be tempted to submit a claim because you have coverage but consider the impact a claim might have on future premiums and renewal terms. You may be better served to simply replace the food.
When an event like this occurs, try to recall why you purchased insurance in the first place. More than likely, it wasn’t to reimburse you if the food in your refrigerator went bad.