Five Reasons You Need Renters Insurance Right Now

In the midst of everything else you need to think about when renting a place – deposits, contracts, and contact with your landlord, to name a few – it can be easy to forget about renters insurance. Unfortunately, insurance is an important part of keeping yourself and your belongings safe and people who don’t purchase it often regret it. Here are five reasons you should be buying renters insurance right now.

1. Renters insurance protects your personal property

Imagine someone walks in your open sliding glass door and steals your computer. What are you going to do? If you don’t have insurance, the answer is that you’ll soon be shelling out big bucks to replace it. If you do have insurance, however, you can simply kick back and wait for your claim to come through. Renters insurance allows you to protect your personal property against things like fire, theft, and vandalism. For maximum protection, look for a policy that offers 100% replacement cost coverage.

2. Renters insurance provides you with peace of mind when you’re away from home

Now imagine that you’re using your computer at a coffee shop. You get up to use the bathroom and someone swipes your things. If you have insurance with ample “off premise theft” coverage, you can make a claim for the items you lost.

3. Renters insurance offers liability protection

Regardless of how careful you may be, unfortunate things happen. If you have insurance when a friend slips and falls down your stairs, the liability portion of your policy will kick in to cover any possible medical bills or legal expenses that stem from the accident.

4. Renters insurance is more affordable than you think

Many people avoid getting insurance because they think it’s going to be expensive. Fortunately, this isn’t true. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners reports that most renters insurance policies will cost you only $15-$30 each month. How’s that for affordable protection?

5. Having renters insurance can make it easier to rent an apartment

Landlords love seeing tenants who have their own renters insurance policy. In addition to conveying the message that you’re responsible and prepared, purchasing rental insurance before you go apartment hunting can easily increase the number of apartments you’re qualified for. This means more housing choices for you and a higher likelihood of approval by landlords.

Whether your concern is protecting your valuables or becoming a more desirable tenant, there are dozens of benefits to carrying a renters insurance policy. Insurance policies can help you replace lost belongings and they’re cheap enough that they won’t break the bank. Plus, having a quality insurance policy is a great way to ensure that you have a plan to cover your valuables in the event of a disaster or break-in. So, what are you waiting for?