Oh My Apartment

Renter’s insurance is important for anyone renting a space, whether it be an apartment or a house. Just as all homeowners should carry homeowners insurance, so should all renters carry renter’s insurance. There is no difference in the school of thought. The purpose of the insurance is to protect yourself, and protect your belongings in the event of a burglary, accident, fire or other disaster.

What Does Renter’s Insurance Cover?

Renter’s insurance covers the cost of replacing your personal belongings in the event that they are stolen, damaged in a fire, or other unfortunate event. If that unfortunate event leaves you without a place to stay, such as a fire, the insurance policy will cover the expense of your staying in temporary housing until your rental is repaired.

Renter’s insurance also covers your liability if someone injures himself and decides to sue you. For example, if you live in an apartment, and you left your wet shoes in the hallway between your door and your neighbor’s door. Your neighbor trips over your shoes, and breaks her ankle, and then sues you for damages. A renter’s insurance policy will cover this liability.

Also called tenant insurance, having insurance on your rental protects you in the event that a guest in your home injures himself. Let’s say your sister’s family is visiting with your small nephew, and he hits his head on a table corner and needs stitches. Your sister may not decide to sue you, but it would be nice for her to not have to worry about her insurance picking up the medical bills. Your tenant insurance will cover this and other medical injuries.

How Much Does Renter’s Insurance Cost?

The cost of renter’s or tenant insurance is based mainly on the value of your personal belongings. The insurance rates vary depending upon if the policy you choose covers replacement or the actual cash value of your property. Replacement means just that, the insurance will replace what you had before the damage occured, and actual cash value means that the insurance will give you the value of your property for its current worth. Actual cash value takes into account depreciation. Consequently, a policy that covers replacement will have higher insurance rates.

If you have any items of great value, such as an engagement ring, you may decide to add a separate rider onto your insurance for this item. These additional riders, though perhaps necessary, will raise your premium.

That being said, the average renters’ insurance policy is somewhere between $150 to $300 per year. This is a small cost in comparison to the costs of losing everything in an unfortunate event.

Tips Before Purchasing a Tenant Insurance Policy

1. Make sure to inventory your personal belongings, including the value of each item. Take pictures or recordings of them if possible.
2. Keep your premiums low by using the same insurance carrier for your auto insurance policy.
3. Get an insurance quote from different carriers, and compare them.
4. Don’t over insure, but don’t under either. Speak with a knowledgeable agent that will advise you on the best coverage for your situation.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 10th, 2009 at 9:33 am and is filed under Renters Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.