Choosing to rent rather than own your home has plenty of benefits \u2014 some of your utilities may be covered, you aren\u2019t responsible for routine maintenance, and you don\u2019t have to worry about paying for repairs in the event of a fire or flood. Your landlord\u2019s insurance will cover the costs of repairs in the unfortunate event of a natural disaster, but if you don\u2019t have renters insurance, the cons of renting might outweigh the pros.<\/p>\n
As of April 2021, about 44.1 million US households rent their homes<\/a>. This number is higher than at any point since 1965, and surveys have found that 77% of Americans prefer to rent rather than own their homes. However, despite these numbers, only 37% of renters actually have renters insurance. If you\u2019re not among that 37%, you\u2019re seriously missing out.<\/p>\n Renters insurance<\/a> is pretty much what the name implies \u2014 property insurance designed to provide coverage for your personal belongings, liabilities, and potentially your temporary living expenses in the event that your home is damaged beyond livability. Additionally, renters insurance protects against liability claims, including injuries that might occur on the premises, as long as they aren\u2019t due to a structural issue with the property. If that\u2019s the case, the property owner\u2019s policy, not the renter\u2019s, would apply.<\/p>\n For some folks, taking out a policy is a complete no-brainer. For them, the potential benefits speak for themselves. However, plenty of other renters need just a bit more convincing, as we saw by the low percentage of renters with renters insurance policies. If you fall into the latter category, here\u2019s why you definitely need renters insurance<\/a>:<\/p>\n First of all, renters insurance is generally very affordable. On average, renters insurance only costs about $15 a month<\/a>, which works out to around $180 per year.<\/p>\n With the protection and peace of mind that renters insurance provides and the low cost at which it\u2019s available, you can\u2019t afford not to have it.<\/p>\n Contrary to a somewhat common assumption, your landlord\u2019s insurance only protects their investment \u2014 your home or apartment rental. Their policy protects the physical building but does not protect any of your personal belongings inside. Plenty of people take the value of their belongings for granted, but it\u2019s important to take stock of what they\u2019re really worth and what you would do if you lost them.<\/p>\n When you think about valuable personal belongings, fancy jewelry or expensive works of art might come to mind. However, even if your own personal items are a bit more practical, they\u2019re still plenty valuable and well worth protecting. With a renters insurance policy, items such as your laptop, TV, clothing, and furniture will all be protected in case of a robbery or damage.<\/p>\n You may think of liability insurance as something that only commercial businesses need, but as a renter, you\u2019re better off having it too. Liability coverage protects you in the event that someone visiting your apartment injures themselves and decides to sue. This might sound far-fetched, but think about it: what if your pet got a little too excited and bit someone? What if someone took a bad fall tripping over your furniture, or your friends got a bit too drunk at a party and managed to hurt themselves?<\/p>\n Of course, everyone hopes that nothing along those lines will ever happen in their home, but it\u2019s always better to be safe than sorry. Personal liability protection lets you protect yourself from any unforeseen, potentially litigious eventualities. It can help pay for third party medical expenses as well as help cover your bills for defense against legal claims.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve already mentioned that your physical home or apartment building is covered by your landlord\u2019s insurance in the event of serious damage, but it doesn\u2019t go so far as to cover your living expenses while repairs are underway.<\/p>\n Renters insurance can. Most renters insurance policies include coverage for additional expenses that will come up while your home is being repaired. This is called loss of use coverage and means that your policy could cover expenses, beyond the price of your rent, that you incur while staying in a hotel or other temporary housing.<\/p>\n Simply put, anyone who rents! Even if you\u2019re a college student<\/a> living off campus or a first-time renter without too many belongings to speak of, renters insurance is still well worth the $15 monthly investment.<\/p>\n Regardless of whether your landlord requires renters insurance or whether you think you\u2019ll ever need to use it, it\u2019s worth learning more about different policies and amounts of coverage so you can be sure you\u2019re making the right choice for your unique situation.<\/p>\n Technically, no. There\u2019s no legal requirement stating that you have to have renters insurance. However, it\u2019s perfectly legal for your landlord to make it a requirement. This is a case where it\u2019s a great idea to go above and beyond the letter of the law \u2014 just because renters insurance isn\u2019t legally required, that doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t get plenty of coverage to keep yourself and your personal belongings safe.<\/p>\n Now that you\u2019re (hopefully!) convinced that you should get renters insurance, let\u2019s run through how it works.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re happy with your current auto or life insurance company, that\u2019s a good place to start. Get some information on their renters insurance policy options, but feel free to shop around as well. Gather recommendations from friends and family and see what their preferred companies have to offer.<\/p>\n When comparing companies and policies, make sure you\u2019re looking at the amount of insurance that\u2019s actually right for you. The best way to determine the amount of coverage you need is to figure out the value of your belongings. From there, you can purchase enough coverage to ensure full reimbursement in the event that you lose your belongings in a disaster.<\/p>\n Finally, you\u2019ll want to consider certain types of supplemental insurance, such as coverage for floods, earthquakes, pests, or sinkholes, depending on where you live.<\/p>\n Most insurance companies offer plenty of policy information online and it\u2019s generally very easy to get a quote. With a little research, you should have no trouble finding the right policy for you.<\/p>\n Renters insurance<\/a> is an integral part of responsibly renting a home. It protects your belongings in the event of a disaster and can provide for your living expenses if your home is damaged to the point of needing serious repairs. What\u2019s more, it can help cover your legal expenses if someone is ever injured in your home and decides to sue. And even with all of those benefits, renters insurance is remarkably affordable, with the average cost at $15 per month.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re renting your home and don\u2019t yet have a renters insurance policy, don\u2019t wait any longer. Contact Elephant Insurance and get a quote<\/a> today.<\/p>\n The post Why you need to have renters insurance<\/a> appeared first on Elephant Insurance<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Choosing to rent rather than own your home has plenty of benefits \u2014 some of your utilities may be covered, you aren\u2019t responsible for routine maintenance, and you don\u2019t have to worry about paying for repairs in the event of a fire or flood. Your landlord\u2019s insurance will cover the costs of repairs in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/torrent411.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/torrent411.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/torrent411.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/torrent411.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/torrent411.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/torrent411.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":302,"href":"http:\/\/torrent411.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions\/302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/torrent411.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/torrent411.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/torrent411.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}So, what exactly is renters insurance?<\/h2>\n
Why do you need renters insurance?<\/h2>\n
Affordability<\/h3>\n
Your landlord\u2019s insurance covers them, not you<\/h3>\n
Renters insurance covers your personal belongings<\/h3>\n
Liability coverage<\/h3>\n
Renters insurance can cover your living expenses<\/h3>\n
Who should get renters insurance?<\/h2>\n
Do I have to get it (legally)?<\/h2>\n
How does renters insurance work?<\/h2>\n
Wrapping up<\/h2>\n