If you rent a home as opposed to being a homeowner, it’s important to protect your belongings. After all, you like your stuff, right? You probably want reassurance that if something disastrous happens you won’t lose everything you own. To protect your belongings, you need to obtain renters insurance. But before you do, check out these facts to ensure you’re purchasing the right policy for your needs.
Renters Insurance Cost
It might surprise you to know that the average renters insurance cost is less than $200 per year, as of January, 2019. In fact, according Value Penguin, the average policy cost is $187 per year. Of course, your actual rate will vary depending on your insurer, the value of your belongings, and where you live. Because of this, it’s important that you obtain a quote from several different insurance companies before you purchase a policy.
You Aren’t Protected By Your Landlord’s Insurance
Only about 40 percent of renters actually carry renters insurance, and this could be because many people incorrectly assume that their landlord’s homeowners insurance protects their property too. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Your landlord’s homeowners policy only protects the house, other structures on the property, like the garage or shed, and anything attached to the home such as fixtures. It doesn’t protect the belongings in the house, because the house is filled with your stuff, not your landlord’s.
Additionally, your landlord’s insurance doesn’t any liability for damage you might cause to their home such as a kitchen fire that started because you failed to clean a clogged grease filter or a plumbing problem that could have been avoided. So renters insurance protects your family from potentially owing your landlord a lot of money if you inadvertently cause damage to their home.
You Should Catalog All of Your Belongings
Before you purchase a renters insurance policy, you need to know the value of the items you own. Typically, people estimate the total value of their items, but you should consider using a home inventory app to catalog your belongings instead. Not only does this help you come up with a more accurate value of the things you own, but you’ll have a list of everything you own in case of theft or fire. Most apps let you store photos of your belongings so you know exactly what needs replaced if disaster strikes.
Renters Insurance Extends to Belongings In Your Car
Many people don’t realize that their renters insurance coverage extends to personal items in their car. For example, if your purse or laptop is stolen from your car, your renters insurance would cover the replacement cost — not your car insurance. Because of this, it’s a really helpful policy to have in place.
You Can Purchase Extra Coverage For Valuables
If you own high-value items, such as jewelry or artwork, you can add additional coverage to your renters insurance to protect those items. Typically, this type of coverage even applies if you lose an item that carries additional insurance. For example, if you lose your engagement ring while you’re on vacation, and you have additional insurance for it, your renters insurance policy would cover the cost of its replacement.
Ultimately, renters insurance is a cost-effective way to protect the things you own. And carrying it gives you peace of mind knowing your belongings are protected.
Partnered Post
That’s cool that your renter’s insurance covers items in your car as well as your apartment. I tend to keep a few valuables in my car so that sounds great that it would be covered if it got broken into. It would also be great to be able to replace anything stolen from the apartment as well as cover any damages.