Editor's note: This article first appearedon iii.org and is adapted and reprinted here withtheir permission. Read the original post.

As the summer vacation season heats up, insurance agents andbrokers may get questions from clients about coverage issues forvacation home rentals.

Here's a handy overview of what homeowners insurance or rentersinsurance policy issues should be reviewed and fully understoodregarding personal property and other perils as travel plans arefinalized.

[Related: The 10 keys to keeping your home safe while onvacation]

Renting a vacation home can be a great escape, whether you'reheaded to a mountain cabin, a beach bungalow or a city condo.You'll likely bring various personal possessions along—clothes,luggage, a camera, a computer, sports equipment and even jewelry.For peace of mind, it's worth determining whether or not yourpossessions will be covered in the event of loss due to fire, theftor other events.

You may already have coverage

The good news is that your homeowners insurance or rentersinsurance likely has “off-premises” coverage. This means yourpersonal possessions will still be covered when they are outsideyour home—for instance, property stolen from your car or from yourvacation rental. You will also be covered for the perils listed inyour policy, such as fire, theft, vandalism and hurricanes.However, homeowners policies do not cover breakage or wear and tearto your possessions in transit.

(Photo: Shutterstock.com)

Caution: Check for off-premises coveragelimits

Some homeowners and renters policies limit off-premises coverageto 10% of the amount of coverage you have for your personalpossessions. As an example, if you have $100,000 worth of coveragefor your personal possessions, you would have $10,000 foroff-premises coverage. Check your policy or ask your insuranceprofessional. If your off-premises policy limits are too low foryour needs, you may want to consider purchasing a policy withhigher limits.

To help keep track of your possessions and file an insuranceclaim if necessary, create a “vacation inventory” of all of theitems with which you travel. The I.I.I. provides a free Web- andapp-based inventory tool, Know YourStuff®, which makes it easy to store information and photos ofyour possessions, all in one place. You can also use this tool torecord all of your possessions, whether you travel with them ornot.

Consider adding a floater to your homeowners or renterspolicy

If you travel with highly valuable items, such as jewelry,expensive sports equipment or a musical instrument, you may want toadd a floater (also called “an endorsement”) to your homeowners orrenters policy. This supplement to your policy will cover the costof specific higher-value items, whether you're at home or onvacation. A floater will also usually cover “mysteriousdisappearance,” which means you're covered if you simply lose theitem.

Depending on the type of homeowners or renters policy youpurchase, your possessions will be covered on either an “actualcash value” or “replacement cost” basis. Actual cash value coversthe depreciated value of the item, not what you paid for itoriginally or what it will cost to replace. Replacement costcoverage will cover the cost of replacing the insured item, with nodepreciation subtracted. Regardless of which type of coverage youhave, you'll first have to pay your deductible—the amount you payout-of-pocket before your insurance kicks in.