Why Renter’s Insurance Is A Good Idea

You may not have thought about getting renter’s insurance in your search for an apartment but it is a very good thing to consider. Your landlord’s insurance will not cover your belongings, it only covers damage to their property and the appliances that are rented to you with the apartment. Many things could go wrong that would leave you without your things such as a fire, storm, or even theft. Thinking that you don’t need the insurance because these things probably won’t happen to you isn’t the mindset you should have either, considering renter’s insurance is actually pretty cheap for what you would get out of it should the need arise.

Payments

With renter’s insurance, there are options on how you pay for it. You can pay month to month or you can choose to pay all at once, once a year. If you choose to pay all at once, there is often a discount on the overall cost but sometimes it’s easier on the bank account to pay month to month even though you end up paying more in the end.

Being Ready

So now that you’re looking into insurance, you should know how to be prepared in the event that you end up needing to use it. A good plan of attack is to have all of the numbers that you would need to call in one place along with a list of information that they are going to ask for.

Inventory

One of the main things that they are going to want you to have is an inventory of your belongings and their actual worth. You may not think that you own that much capital in your belongings but the average person owns about $20,000 in belongings. Your table may be a thrift shop find but you’ve still got your computer, textbooks, clothes, etc. to consider. After you’ve got a list put together of your belongings, make sure you keep it safe. A hard copy kept in the freezer (in a plastic bag) should keep it safe in the event of a fire or your computer being stolen.

Understand Your Policy

Your renter’s insurance covers more than just your belongings. Depending on your policy, it would most likely also cover liability if somebody is injured and there are medical expenses in your rental property and it should also cover living expenses if you are displaced from your rental for reasons such as repairs.

Types Of Coverage

There are many types of rental insurance coverage. The thing to consider is whether you want to get ACV (Actual Cash Value) or RV (Replacement Value) insurance. ACV takes into account the depreciation of your belongings on a payout where RV estimates a payout based on what it’ll cost you to replace the belongs. An RV policy will have a higher premium but the policy would make it easier to replace your things should anything happen to them.

2024-12-21 06:48:12 Dominic Anzalone