Many people enjoy the convenience of renting a house or apartment. There’s no
real commitment, you don’t have to worry about selling it if you decide to move,
and if something breaks – well, you can usually just call the landlord. Yes,
renters seem to have it easy sometimes! However, despite the convenience, rented
houses or apartments aren’t exempt from risks such as fires and smoke, theft and
vandalism, water and electricity damage, or damage from weather elements. It’s
most likely that your landlord isn’t going to pay to replace all your clothing
should your apartment catch fire or be burglarized. Therefore, you still need to
purchase renter’s insurance.
Renter’s insurance will cover living expenses, with possible limits, if you are
unable to live in your rented home or apartment due to damages. This is
extremely beneficial to those who don’t have family members or friends nearby
with room for boarding. And, if you’re renting a home because it’s more
financially practical for you, there’s good news – renter’s insurance is most
often much less than home owner’s insurance because you’re only insuring your
possessions. Your landlord will have insurance for the house or apartment; the
house or apartment itself isn’t yours to repair
There are two basic policies for renter’s insurance – the actual cash value
policy, which covers the cost to replace your possessions with a deduction for
depreciation up to your policy limit, and the replacement cost policy, which
covers up to your policy limit with no deduction. It’s important to remember
that many policies only cover a certain kind of valuables, so check with your
agent to find out what the limits are. If you need more possessions insured, you
may want to consider purchasing a separate floater policy that will cover the
additional items.
So remember, just because renting offers the luxury of less worry and
maintenance, you still need to protect your possessions within your rented house
or apartment.