Renters Insurance: Does It Protect You From Theft or Accidents? Find Out What It Covers!
In an era of natural disasters and valuable electronics, its more important than ever to have renters insurance to protect your things. What if someone breaks into your apartment and steals your $1000 computer? What if your careless landlord fails to fix a pipe before it breaks and destroys your entire closet? Are you covered?
Check with your landlord to make sure that you are covered by their insurance. Chances are that you’re not, so ask. Just to be sure. Luckily, renters insurance will only cost you around $15 a month depending on the value of your possessions.
What will renters insurance cover?
Renters insurance will cover your personal belongings, a lawsuit that comes out of an accident in your apartment, and reimbursement for living expenses if you are displaced.
Depending on how much coverage you’re paying for, your renters insurance will cover all of your possessions in the case of a natural disaster (excluding floods and landslides) and if your apartment is broken into or vandalized.
Many renters insurance companies will even cover your things up to a certain amount when they are outside of your house. If your $2000 bike gets hit and destroyed by a car, for example, you may be covered under renters insurance for the bike.
How do I know how much my stuff is worth?
All of us have been collecting possessions for an entire lifetime, so if you’re just now getting renters insurance it will probably be difficult to pinpoint exactly how much your things are worth. Make a spreadsheet that details all of your possessions and their estimated value. Then, add everything up and get yourself an insurance plan that will cover everything. Know Your Stuff is a great online resource for helping you detail your possessions.
What kinds of renters insurance are there?
There are two major types of renters insurance that you should know about: cash value and replacement cost. Cash value will pay you back up to a limit. So if your entire apartment burns down and you’re covered for $20,000 you’ll get that money back through the insurance. Replacement cost is a little bit more expensive, but will replace everything—which is great if you bought an expensive TV 3 years ago that has depreciated in value, for example.
Getting renters insurance is extremely important. There’s no way to plan for losing all of your possessions, and if you’re not covered there will be no way of getting them back. Whether your house burns down in a fire or a teenager breaks in and spray paints your computer monitor, you’ll be covered with renter’s insurance.
Have you ever had a positive experience with renters insurance?
Tell us about it in the comments!
Why is FinancesOnline free?
Renters insurance covers a great deal for the small cost involved.
Accidents in apartments can mean more than an injured visitor; negligently burn down the place and a renter could be pursued for significant damages, despite the fact that the landlord holds coverage on the building. Personal liability insurance is thus an invaluable coverage within the standard renters insurance policy.
Taking inventory of possessions not only helps renters determine the most accurate policy limit or principal coverage amount, it also helps evaluate the need for any policy endorsement for valuable items. A personal articles policy or floater endorsement can ensure that valuables are fully covered since some categories of personal property such as jewelry, silverware, computing equipment and more are subject to claim limits.
Leave a comment!