Renters Insurance is it worth the expense?

Many tenants ask if Renters Insurance is necessary?  If it is worth the money?  It’s only necessary when you need it. The point is to be prepared and hope you don’t need it. You don’t buy car insurance because you think you are going to have an accident, you buy it in case you have an accident.  As a renter you don’t think that you need coverage, you really don’t have that much to cover.  However, when you consider all of your furniture, electronics, clothing, appliances, and jewelry, as well as any art, books, or musical instruments you own, many renters underestimate their belongings value.  What if you had to replace those belongings?  Now, these belongings have value.  When a property owner decides to rent out their property they trade out their traditional homeowners policy for a rental policy which means only the structure is covered.  A homeowners policy does not have coverage for the renter’s belongings.  That is where a policy tailored to renters comes into place.  A rental policy will cover the following items:

• Personal possessions – coverage for your things (clothes, furniture, electronics…that kind of stuff) up to your coverage limit.
• Personal liability – coverage if you’re ever legally responsible for an injury or property damage, like if you drop some water and a guest slips and sues.
• Medical payments – coverage for medical expenses if someone (other than a resident) gets hurt in an accident at your place.
• Additional Living Expenses – coverage for extra temporary living expenses if your place is damaged and becomes uninhabitable.

The surprising fact is renters insurance is totally affordable.   You can add it to your other existing policies, for example, your automobile policy and possibly get a lower rate.  It may increase your bill $10 to $20 a month.  Which is economical if you think of its value.  Just ask your local insurance agent for a quote.

Many tenants are under the impression if an appliance an owner supplies for a rental stops functioning that the owner would be responsible for the contents in the appliance, for instance the refrigerator the owner supplied stops functioning and you just went grocery shopping and spent $300 filling it.  The owner would not be responsible for reimbursement for the spoiled food, that would be part of your renter’s insurance coverage.  The landlord may own the appliance, but they are not responsible for the damages the appliance inflicts on your personal property.

So my advice is to purchase renters insurance, it is better to be covered and prepared for the emergency that hopefully never comes.

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