Why Ever Renter Should Have Renters Insurance

Every renter should have renters insurance to cover their personal property and personal belongings against loss and liability. Statistically speaking, only about 43% of all people who rent today have insurance to protect their property from any kind of loss – even though renters insurance is the cheapest form of insurance and costs only a few dollars per month to protect thousands of dollars of personal property..

Why Renter’s Insurance?

Look through your home or apartment and think about how much you have invested in your “stuff.” Can you ill afford to replace all of your furniture, clothing, electronics, computers, and the other property if it is destroyed by natural or unnatural causes? Now for just a fraction of the cost of replacing these items you can buy thousands of dollars of protection for this property. So why not?

Renters Insurance and Its Coverage

Some people mistakenly assume that when you rent a house or an apartment that the unit owner’s (landlord's) policy will cover all your losses in the event of fire, storm, lightening, vandalism, theft, or other. But a Landlord policy will only cover the building and the property it sits on.

You can also add liability coverage to a renters insurance policy so if a friend or guest gets hurt while visiting, you will have liability coverage to pay for resulting liability losses.

How Much Coverage Should Renters Have?

How much coverage you need depends on how much you own. Take inventory of what you own and also what you paid for each item to help determine how much coverage you need. Also while taking inventory make note of the model and serial number(s) in case these items ever need to be replaced.

Is There More Than One Kind of Renter’s Insurance?

There is replacement cost coverage and actual cash value coverage. Replacement cost coverage will allow you to replace an item with like kind and model – no matter how much the item now costs or has depreciated. Actual cash value coverage will give you what your item is worth today – i.e., its depreciated value. Very often this is a lot less than the cost to replace the item (replacement cost).

Conclusion

If you live in a rented dwelling, be it a rented home or rented apartment, you should seriously consider purchasing renters insurance to protect your personal belongings and personal property against loss and liability. The cost is small and can protect you against major losses. Are you willing to take the risk?