Top Reasons to Get Renter's Insurance

One of the biggest advantages of renting the home you live in versus owning it is that you can avoid most of the responsibilities of homeownership.

As a tenant, you have the freedom to leave if you are not happy with a landlord or if you find better accommodations. (For more information on breaking a lease in Idaho, click here .) But there is one area where a renter's limited responsibility and love of freedom does not apply. Being a tenant does not absolve you of the responsibility for insuring your belongings.

Many tenants don’t know that insurance companies usually make a distinction between the tenant's belongings and the landlord's belongings. For instance, if a fire breaks out in the building, the insurer will treat the landlord's property differently from the tenant's.

They will pay the property owner for whatever loss or damage they suffered, but they will ignore the tenant. And this is even if the two sets of belongings were inside the same apartment.

This is because, as a tenant, the landlord's insurance does not cover your belongings. Just because the home you live in is covered by landlords; insurance, it does not mean you have the personal benefit of that insurance.

A tenant only has protection for their belongings if they have renter’s insurance. Renter’s insurance is an insurance policy specifically designed for the needs of people living in a rented property.

What are the top reasons to get renter's insurance?

1. Protection for your personal possessions

In the event of theft, fire, or some damaging event, renter’s insurance will pay to replace your items. Personal items covered by renter’s insurance include electronics, computers, clothes, furniture, and jewelry.

​Renter’s insurance can pay the actual cash value or replacement cost of lost and damaged goods. The replacement cost insurance pays enough money to buy a new item. Actual cash value insurance pays enough to buy a used one. Additionally, there a wide range of damaging events that your belongings are protected from under this policy

2. Payment for damage caused by you

If you visit a neighbor's apartment and the neighbor's property is damaged during the visit, renter’s insurance will pay for its replacement. This also applies to the damage caused by you inside your own apartment, such as when water overflows and damages the carpet.

​It also covers the cost of replacing any items that were lost or damaged while in your possession. This can include items that were borrowed and subsequently lost or damaged.

3. Protection from other tenant's actions
The policy also protects you from damage to your property as a result of another person's
actions. If you live in a multi-unit property and the neighbor above you leave their water on and
ruins your home, the policy still protects you. Even when the neighbor does not have renter’s
insurance you are sure of compensation for the loss of your personal belongings.

4. It includes liability coverage

Every time someone visits your apartment, you are exposed to the risk of personal liability if that person is injured in your home. Whether the injured person is a friend, neighbor, or a technician you hired to work in the apartment, your renter’s insurance protects you against personal liability.

The policy will cover the following costs or situations: medical bills for the injured person, legal costs if the injured person sues you, any claims the court awards against you, and coverage if your pet attacks and injures someone.

5. Protection while you travel
The protection afforded by renter’s insurance is not limited to the confines of your apartment. If your car is broken into and the items inside it are stolen or damaged, the policy's coverage will apply. Also, if your belongings are lost or damaged while traveling within a covered country or location, the lost or damaged items will be paid for by the policy.

6. Additional living costs

If for any reason your rented apartment becomes uninhabitable, the insurance policy will pay the costs of temporarily living in a hotel room. This often becomes necessary when your home becomes unsafe due to an accident.

Such situations would normally force a tenant to spend money on unplanned hotel stays. But if they have renter’s; insurance, they do not have to pay out-of-pocket for the stay. Additionally, renter’s insurance can cover the cost of spoiled food if the accident cuts of electricity supply and your food in the refrigerator goes bad.

7. Renter’s insurance is extremely affordable
For less than a dollar a day, you can get enough insurance to cover all the stuff inside your rented apartment. The average renter’s insurance costs less than $300 a year and will cover goods worth more than $10,000.

Compared to the cost of replacing your personal belongings if they are lost, the cost of buying renter’s insurance is negligible. Moreover, landlords often give preferential treatment to prospective tenants who have renter’s insurance, because they are seen as being more responsible.

The crux of the matter is: do you value your goods and your peace of mind? Buying renter’s insurance is one way to show that you do.