Renters Insurance: All the Pros, None of Cons

You’ve decided to get out of your parents’ house and live on your own. Congratulations, you are one of the millions each day who shop around and decide to rent an apartment or home as their own. You purchase furniture, electronics, decorations, and other items that make it feel like your home. And as you sit down on your sofa, pop a soda or beer, and watch something on your new flat screen television, you go through the mental checklist to make sure you’ve done everything needed.

One of the items you may have forgotten to check off, or left behind altogether, is renters insurance. A recent survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found that almost one-third of all renters have not up for any type of insurance. Thing is, industry officials aren’t too sure why. With small monthly payments and a variety of companies that offer the product, renters insurance is the low cost alternative to losing everything through theft or man-made disaster. Where there are cons to things like death insurance, it’s all pros when it comes to purchasing this safety net for your rented dwelling. Here are some pieces of information to consider.

1. Renters insurance is sold by most companies that sell home insurance. This includes places like Geico, Progressive, and State Farm.

2. Monthly insurance payments are incredibly low. Depending on the amount of items you’re adding to the policy, renters insurance can cost about $150 a year — around $12 a month. Prices could be higher if you add property such as fine jewelry or expensive electronics. In addition, some auto insurance companies will lower your annual premiums if you pair up your car and renter policies.

3. Renters insurance covers most of the same things as home insurance. This includes theft of property and damage from water, fire, or other man-made disaster. Damage due to events such as a flood or an earthquake are not covered in this type of policy.

4. Full replacement price. Many renters insurance policies offer full replacement price for your valuables should they be damaged. You’ll need to check with the company you go with to determine if the items need to be added to the policy to be fully covered.

5. Temporary living expenses. Should you need to leave your residence due to water or fire damage, some insurance companies will help pay for temporary housing while the problems are repaired.

Like shopping for home or auto insurance, don’t purchase renters insurance in the blind. Do some research and compare prices and offerings between multiple companies. And once you have chosen the right organization, take an inventory of all of the property you wish to have covered in the case of potential damage. Make sure you keep a copy in a safe place while the other goes to the insurance company. Update this list on a regular basis in order not to miss something should theft or fire take place.