Like many these days, you prefer renting to buying.
Maybe you choose to rent because of the financial benefits, such as no maintenance cost, repair bills, or real estate taxes. Perhaps you choose to rent so you can enjoy access to amenities such as a swimming pool or fitness center. Whatever the reason, renting is the right fit for you.
Since you don’t own the property you live on, the insurance to protect it is your landlord’s problem. So why should you worry about getting renters insurance?
The answer is simple: your landlord’s insurance isn’t going to protect you or your belongings should the unexpected occur.
5 reasons you should have renters insurance include:
- Theft
- Liability
- Unforeseen Perils
- Affordable Coverage
- Versatile Policy Options
If something happens to your belongings or you are held accountable for someone else’s bodily injury or property damage, your landlord’s property insurance will not have you covered.
5 Reasons to Get Renters Insurance Today
Protection If You’re Burglarized
You pull into the parking lot of your apartment building after a long day’s work. With your bag strapped over your shoulder and your empty cup from this morning’s coffee in hand, you walk upstairs to your second story unit. Noticing the door is ajar, you figure your roommate has come home early from her trip. But pushing the door open you find your apartment completely ransacked.
Your television is missing from the wall and desk sits empty where your $1200 computer should be.
Worse yet, what they didn’t take they destroyed. Bookshelves are overturned, sofa cushions torn, and DVDs are strewn all over the floor.
All this and you haven’t even seen your bedroom yet.
Can you afford the high costs of replacing everything that the thieves made off with and destroyed? With renters insurance you won’t have to cover the costs alone.
Theft Coverage
Renter’s insurance is designed to cover theft, helping you pay to repair or replace all belongings taken from you during the invasion.
Protection if Belongings are Destroyed or Damaged
You and your wife wake in the middle of the night to the chirping of a smoke alarm. Half asleep, you stumble out of bed thinking it needs fresh batteries. But, the moment you open your bedroom door, you catch a whiff of smoke and are suddenly wide awake. Realizing that your kitchen is on fire, you yell to your wife to grab the dog and go outside while you pick up your son his bed then run out after her.
Everyone is safe and you call for help. A fire truck arrives quickly but not before the fire has spread throughout half of the house. By the time the fire is out, the kitchen, office, and half of the living room are destroyed.
Your landlord’s property insurance has them covered for their losses, but what about yours?
Without insurance of your own, you’ll be stuck with the full costs of replacing all of the belongings you lost.
Named Perils Coverage
If your belongings are damaged or destroyed by specific perils – such a high winds or fire – your renters policy is designed to help cover the costs for repairing or replacing them. While the named perils that are included on a policy vary from one state to the next, most common dangers - like fire damage - are covered under renters insurance.
Protection if You’re at Fault for Bodily Injury or Property Damage
Your friend comes over to watch the season finale of your favorite primetime drama, bringing snacks and libations to share. After the show is over, the two of you discuss the cliffhanger for a while before she calls it a night. You walk her to the front door and say good night, but when she turns to leave, her foot catches on the leg of your porch chair and she hits the porch railing face first.
Running over to help her, you see blood and when she turns it is clear that she has lost some teeth. With shaking hands, you search your phone for a 24 hour emergency dentist. Getting her into the dentist’s care as quickly as possible, he determines that all he can do is clean up the affected area and give her something for the pain. In need very expensive dental work, she is looking at you to pay for it.
With costs ranging from $2,500-5,000 – per tooth – can you afford it?
If you have the right insurance in place, you won’t have to take it on the chin just because your friend bailed at your apartment.
Damage and Bodily Injury Liability Coverage
When someone – outside of your immediate family – suffers an injury resulting from you or your property, your renters insurance coverage is designed to help pay the medical costs. Furthermore, if you or your property cause damage to someone else’s property, the liability coverage in a renters policy will typically help you pay to repair or replace it.
Affordable Coverage
When you consider how much one injury, fire, or burglary could end up costing you, it’s easy to see the value of carrying renters insurance. Much cheaper than homeowners insurance, renters policies often come with a ‘pennies-a-day’ price tag and coverage that can help you when the unexpected occurs.
The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America determined that the average cost for $30,000 of property coverage and $100,000 of liability coverage renters insurance comes in at $12 per month.
When you have many thousands of dollars in personal property and liability to think about, renters insurance offers very affordable protection.
Versatile Policy Options
Customizable based on your personal needs, a renters insurance policy can be modified to cover you from one home to the next. As personal property changes, adjustments can be made to your policy to ensure that your coverage is current and comprehensive.
Be sure you don’t underestimate the value of your belongings by working closely with your insurance agent to determine the right amount of coverage necessary to protect you and adequately cover the value of your belongings.
Your landlord isn’t responsible for either the liability you face when someone sustains an injury in your home or something happens to your possessions. Be sure to protect your assets and your bottom line by carrying renters insurance.