PDLW vs Renter’s Insurance: Difference and Comparison

Insurance is a contract agreement between the insurance company and the individual insured. It protects the individual from financial losses that may occur due to accidents, catastrophes, and other unintentional events. The renters’ insurance and the property damage loss waiver are the insurance policies that protect the owner and the resident from financial losses in certain circumstances listed in the policy document.

Key Takeaways

1. PDLW is a warranty service that covers accidental damage to personal electronic devices, while renters insurance covers personal property damage and liability.
2. PDLW has lower coverage limits than renters insurance and is only available for electronic devices.
3. Renters’ insurance is more comprehensive and covers many perils, including theft, fire, and natural disasters.

PDLW vs Renter’s Insurance

The difference between PDLW and renter’s insurance is that the Property Damage Loss waiver protects the apartment owner or manager from the financial losses incurred because of the negligence of residents, while the renter’s insurance protects the resident’s personal assets from disasters, accidents, and theft in the building. PDLW only covers damages to the building, while Renter’s insurance covers all the assets in the home.

PDLW is an option in the renters’ legal liability program (RLL) to protect homeowners or building managers from financial losses when any damage occurs to the building due to the negligence of residents. The program covers four events: smoke, fire, explosion, and water leakage. The residents must participate in the program and pay extra monthly rent to use the property. 

On the other hand, renters insurance is a policy where the resident has to get insurance on personal assets like jewellery, electronic machines, people, furniture, and other essential home assets to get financial support during natural disasters and accidental injuries. The renter’s insurance policy provides medical support; arrange other buildings to relocate in case of calamities. 

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	PDLW	Renter’s Insurance
Insured	Property owner or manager	Resident
Covers Events	Fire, smoke, explosion, water leakage, overflow, and sewer backup.	Smoke, vandalism, lightning, theft, explosion, windstorm, hail, storage units, water leakages, volcanoes, and others on the insurance company.
Protects	It protects the building.	It protects all the assets of residents like electronic devices, people, pets, furniture, kitchen appliances, and other assets.
Payment	The resident has to pay additional rent per month to the owner if the owner participates in the PDLW program.	The resident has to pay a premium amount to the insurance company monthly or yearly.
Benefits	The waiver benefits both the owners and other residents in the case of multifamily buildings.	The policy benefits both the renter and the homeowner in case of any said accident happens.

What is PDLW?

The Property Damage Loss Waiver is open in the renters’ legal liability program where the homeowners or the property managers register themselves to protect themselves from the financial losses that incur due to the negligence of residents. It is not a policy but protects the owners of buildings from indemnification losses. With this program, the community of buildings has reduced the losses.

The community or the homeowners get a minimum of $100000 as compensation in case of damage to the building. The other residents of apartments also get $10000. The program monitors the behaviour of the residents on the property to protect the buildings from damage. 

The program also covers student housing, military housing, assisted housing, automated homes, manufactured housing, and HOA. The Property Damage Loss Waiver covers four events: smoke, fire, water leakage, and sewer backup. The homeowner is insured and is the direct person to claim the PDLW amount in case the above event occurs.

The PDLW does not provide any protection to the residents nor provides any replacement of the resident’s property items. The resident can claim the amount if no damage occurs to the building. The Property Damage Loss Waiver program only protects the homeowner’s building. It benefits only the homeowners and not the resident of the building. 

What is Renter’s Insurance?

Renters insurance is a policy that protects a resident’s personal belongings in case of natural disasters like cyclones, hail, wind storms, and other incidents like vandalism, theft, explosion, water leakage, and fire. The Renters insurance policy protects all the resident’s belongings and the owner from financial losses. The renter’s insurance policy requires a list of inventory and proof of ownership to claim the insurance. The cost of insurance depends on the property coverage. 

The owner can choose the replacement value or the actual cost value at the time of applying for insurance. The average actual cost of insurance will be between $15 to $30 per month, while the replacement cost will be more than the actual cost. The renter’s insurance also provides medical support to other persons and pet animals that got injured. The rental insurance also applies to the property outside the home, like cars and other belongings. It also covers additional living expenses such as hotel bills, restaurant bills, and food until the home is recovered. 

Main Differences Between PDLW and Renter’s Insurance

1. PDLW is a condition in the corporate single or multifamily property management agreement between the owner and the renter to transfer the financial liabilities to renters when any damage is caused to the building due to the renter’s negligence, whereas the Renters insurance is an insurance policy to protect the personal assets in the building when any uncertain situation occurs.
2. PDLW protects only the building, whereas renters ensure all the assets in the home of a resident.
3. The homeowner or the property managers can claim the PDLW amount, whereas the resident is the insured person in the renter’s insurance policy to claim.
4. The resident has to pay additional rent to the owner in PDLW, while the resident has to pay a premium amount to the insurance company.
5. PDLW covers only four events: smoke, fire, water leakage, and sewer backup. The renter’s insurance covers events like vandalism, smoke, fire, hail, storms, volcanoes, and natural disasters as per company standards. 

References

1. https://www.rentwerx.com/pdf/RLL-SingleFamily_Brochure.pdf
2. https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Renters_Insurance/dcKA9ad6860C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Renters+insurance+pdf&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover