You already pay money each month towards auto insurance, health insurance, and maybe even life insurance. Why do you need to buy another insurance? This insurance is important because it will protect your stuff. You should definitely decide to take out a renter’s insurance policy before moving into your new apartment.
What will renter’s insurance do for you, and why do you need it? Renter’s insurance is only going to cover your property, including your furniture, electronics and clothing in case something happens. Maybe you are a klutz and accidentally set fire to your bed while smoking in it. Luckily, you didn’t burn down the whole building, but ended up with a charred mattress and bedding. Now, you have to either sleep on the floor or buy a new mattress. If you had renter’s insurance, it would cover the cost of a new replacement bed.
You may think that you don’t need renter’s insurance, because you don’t really have a lot of stuff, and if a fire came and burned everything to a crisp, you would be pretty happy, because your possessions are just junk that you schlep from apartment to apartment with you. If you figure out what exactly you have and add up the cost of all of it, it would be a huge financial blow to you if you had to replace it all. In fact, you probably have a lot more than you think you do. Add up the cost to replace your furniture in your house. Even just replacing your couch and chairs in your living room is going to run you hundreds (if not thousands of dollars).
Renter’s insurance is going to protect you against theft, fire and other natural disasters that can happen. It’s a lot like buying homeowner’s insurance, in that it will protect your investment.
If you think that your landlord has insurance on your stuff, you are probably wrong. Even if something happens, and it is your landlord’s fault, there is little that you are going to be able to do to get money for your stuff. For example, if a pipe bursts in your apartment, ruining all of your furniture and electronics, your landlord’s insurance is going to pay for repairs to the apartment, but you are probably going to be out of luck if you don’t have renter’s insurance. Renter’s insurance is going to pay for you to get all new furniture and to replace your electronics, so it can really be a budget saver.
There is so much that can go wrong when you are living in an apartment building, that buying renter’s insurance should be a no-brainer. Imagine trying to clean up your sofa after the apartment upstairs has a toilet leak over. You wouldn’t want to do it, and you probably would never want to sit in that sofa again. Your landlord is not going to have any sympathy for you, and renter’s insurance can help you out. If a fire goes through the entire building, a hurricane makes your building unlivable for months, renter’s insurance is going to help you out. In fact, a good renter’s insurance policy is going to help you find a new place to live (or a temporary place), if you can’t live in your apartment for some reason.
You may be thinking that renter’s insurance is going to be a total waste of money, but for the price of a pizza, you can get a month’s worth of protection. It isn’t going to cost you an arm and a leg, and hopefully, you aren’t going to ever have to use this insurance and make a claim, but it’s better to have it there if you need it.
James Mattox is the founder and CEO of WhatsTheRent.com, a totally free site to search for roommates, apartments, houses, condos and more. Free and user friendly to either list a property for rent or search for a new place to call home. Find Roommates and Apartments
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