Moving into a new rental can be exciting! However, you may be thinking of items such as moving, location amenities, insurances and other administrative items associated with relocating.
And when it comes to renter’s insurance, you may find yourself with more of a stress load than you bargained for. But once you understand the basics, you’ll have a grasp firm enough to keep yourself moving during your new rental journey.
What is renters insurance?
Renters insurance offers protection for personal goods in a rental property, and many complexes and landlords require tenants to purchase a renters insurance policy.
It’s similar to homeowners insurance as it protects your personal items. However, renters insurance is cheaper than homeowners insurance. On average, it costs about $15 a month.
What does renters insurance cover?
Renters insurance offers personal property coverage and liability coverage. Some policies may even offer coverage for additional living expenses should you become unable to occupy your rental residence. And for those without additional living expenses in their policy, many insurance companies will offer additional add-ons for said coverage.
What renters insurance does not cover
Even though renters insurance offers coverage against a wide range of perils, there are some things not covered. In fact, many policies won’t cover pests, earthquakes or flooding. However, that doesn’t mean your personal property cannot be covered. You may just need to take out additional coverage to fill in the areas that your required policy may leave empty.
Is renter's insurance a good idea?
Renters insurance policies offer protection when disaster strikes, leaving you and your personal property covered. Without it, you may find yourself liable for situations that are not your fault, such as a neighbor accidentally starting a unit fire that impacts neighboring units.
This alone could run you as much as $20,000 or more, depending on the damage done from someone else’s negligence.
So, while renters insurance may be a requirement for some, it’s worth the purchase for all. After all, peace of mind is one of the facets that makes a home comforting, regardless of ownership.
About the Author
Sandy Malbrue
Hi, I'm Sandy Malbrue and I'd love to assist you. Whether you're in the research phase at the beginning of your real estate search for representation or you know exactly what you're looking for, you'll benefit from having a real estate professional by your side. I'd be honored to put my 14 years real estate experience to work for you. Be it to gain wide exposure for your home with my marketing plan, negotiate offers or manage the transaction once you've accepted an offer, in a way that will get you the best price and cause the least amount of disruption to you life as possible.
If you are a buyer, allow me put those skills to work for you to help with the pre-approval process, work with you to locate and arrange for you to view homes of interest to you , and negotiate your offer. Once you have an accepted offer, I will help you arrange inspections, I will manage the transaction for you, from helping to arrange for inspections to keeping you up to date on contingency removals and walking you through the process to a new set of keys.
Let's do this!