Insurance 101 – Renters Insurance

Whether you’re renting a home, apartment, condo, or even just a room, renters insurance is worth considering. One of the benefits of renting is that most of the upkeep and insurance costs fall on the landlord. The owner of the property is responsible for insuring the building or home, but their insurance doesn’t cover your belongings or liability risk.

Renters insurance offers financial security by protecting both your belongings and your liability risk.

What does renters insurance cover?

Personal Property

The average renter has around $35,000 worth of personal belongings, but 60% of renters don’t have renters insurance. You may not think you have that much but once you factor in clothes, shoes, dishes, furniture, electronics, medicine, jewelry, and more, it adds up.

Without renters insurance, your belongings wouldn’t be covered if there was a fire, theft, or other loss. Renters insurance provides the peace of mind that if something happens, you can replace your possessions without paying for everything out-of-pocket.

If you leave any of your property in your car and it gets stolen, your renters insurance can also pay to replace what was stolen. Most auto insurance doesn’t cover property stolen from a vehicle, so homeowners or renters insurance is the best option for that coverage.

Many renters policies will also extend a percentage of your personal property coverage limit to belongings that are kept in a rented storage unit.

Liability

Another important coverage offered by renters insurance is Liability protection. This will help pay for defense costs and judgements against you if you are found legally responsible for someone’s injuries or property damage.

If someone gets hurt while in your home, your dog injures someone, or your kid hits a baseball through someone’s window, you could be responsible for paying for those medical bills or repairs. The Liability coverage on a renters policy would help defend you and pay for those damages so you don’t have to pay out-of-pocket.

Loss of Use

If your home becomes uninhabitable due to a covered loss, your renters policy will pay for the additional living expenses you incur. That can include paying for a hotel or long-term rental, restaurant bills if you’re unable to cook in the hotel, laundromat costs, etc. Your renters policy can even pay for some of your gas costs if you have to drive further to work.

Valuables

You can add extra coverage to schedule valuable items on your policy. If you have jewelry, a comic book or fine art collection, or some other item of value, you can purchase coverage to have it insured at a higher limit and for more causes of loss.

How much does renters insurance cost?

Renters insurance costs an average of $16/month. If you have higher limits of personal property coverage or add optional coverage, that cost can increase. But in most cases, renters insurance is extremely affordable.

Given the benefits it provides for a relatively low cost, I think it’s worth it to have renters insurance.

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Sources:
Sachon, L., & McGinley, K. (2020, February 4). Do I Need renters insurance? Retrieved March 24, 2021, from https://www.policygenius.com/renters-insurance/who-needs-renters-insurance/