Renters Insurance: If you rent, do you need it?

It seems at least once a week I hear about a building fire on the news. More often than not, the building catching fire is a rental home or apartment building.

During the holiday season, there are more residential fires, from faulty Christmas lighting, candles, Christmas trees, deep-frying turkeys, or other merriment gone awry. When I hear about residential fires on the news, it is sometimes noted the occupants do not have renters insurance.

Although more landlords these days require their tenants to have renters insurance, the majority of renters take their chance and go without it. The odds of you not having a huge financial loss involving your personal property, or a lawsuit against you, are in your favor, but not having renters insurance, if you need it, can ruin your life.

Don’t gamble with your future by going without renters insurance. Did you know sometimes having renters insurance & auto insurance with the same insurance company costs the same as auto insurance alone, due to multiple policy discounts? In some circumstances, it may cost LESS to have auto & renters insurance together, than only having auto insurance!

You may think you don’t have any personal property worth insuring, but it makes sense for everyone who rents to consider renters insurance, and at least look at how much it costs. Who knows? You could save money.

Before you decide to go without renters insurance, read my reasons why every renter should buy renters insurance.

1. Although you think you do not have any personal property worth insuring, you need renters coverage. Your landlord’s insurance does not cover your personal property.

Even though you may not have expensive personal property, like top-of-the-line electronics, high-end furniture, jewelry or other luxury items, or expensive sporting equipment, losing all your personal property to an event like a fire, is financially devastating to everyone.

Imagine if you lost everything you own: your bed, your clothing,  your sofa, your TV, your computer, your furniture, and your furnishings.

Maybe you could make do without your TV, computer, and some of your furniture. But you need a bed. You need clothing. You needs pots, pans, dishes & utensils. You may be able to replace some of these items inexpensively, but I think even the least materialistic of us would spend at least $20,000 replacing the personal items they need if they lost everything. Do you have $20,000 you want to pay to replace your personal property, if you lose it?

Also, say you come home from work to find a fire has made your apartment or home unlivable. Renters insurance will cover the extra cost you have to live somewhere else for the short term.

Losing everything you have may not be likely to happen to you, but it is not completely in your control to prevent it from happening.

If you live in an apartment building, what is the likelihood one of your neighbors has reckless habits like smoking in bed, leaving a candle unattended, or a bathtub overflowing? You may rent a one family home, but the rental house next door could go up in flames, causing fire & smoke damage to your property.

You may not be one of the people saving money with combined auto & renters insurance, but it is worth $10-$15 a month to avoid being unlucky, or having an irresponsible neighbor.

2. Signing a rental agreement makes you responsible for your rental unit. You have more to lose than your personal property.

You may decide, if you lose all your personal property, you can survive living out of a duffel bag and couch surfing at your friend’s homes. There is still a good reason, and probably the most important reason, to buy renter’s insurance.

The most important part of renters insurance, to protect you from a huge financial loss, is the personal liability protection it provides.

Say you are snowboarding or skiing, and you accidentally injure someone on the slopes. If you are negligent for the injury, you could be responsible for medical bills, compensation for pain & suffering, & lost wages, that could result in you owing tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands or dollars. Depending on the severity of injury and the situation, you could be looking at a multi-million dollar lawsuit. It doesn’t matter if you have no money. You could see your paycheck garnished and have to pay back the debt for the rest of your life, or file bankruptcy, promising you will have financial difficulties for at least a decade to come.

Okay, maybe you are a couch potato. Do you have kids or pets? What if they run into the street and cause an auto accident when a driver swerves to avoid them?

Losing all your personal property to a fire is a large financial loss most people are unwilling to bear on their own, but it won’t bankrupt most people, if they don’t have renters insurance.

An injury lawsuit CAN bankrupt you. You may not be negligent, but some people will take you to court anyway, and you will be out-of-pocket for the cost of your legal defense, without renters insurance.

When you sign a rental agreement, you are responsible for damage to your rental unit and the building. What if you, or your child, family member, or roommate forget to turn off an electrical appliance, and it causes a fire? You could be held responsible for the fire damage. Do you have $100,000 on hand to pay for it? That’s okay, your landlord’s insurance will pay for it, then sue you and take what assets you may have, and garnish your future wages until the insurance company gets its money back from you. Don’t think it can’t happen — I read on an Internet message board recently how this happened to someone having a fire in their rental home.

The renters insurance offered by insurance companies may differ to how they cover the contractual liability you assume when you rent a place to live, and under what situations they will cover damage to it.

Almost all (if not all) insurance companies will cover fire & smoke damage, but some insurance companies cover little more than those two things. Broader liability coverage is a better option for you, and may not cost you any more than a more restrictive renters insurance policy.

If you have a water bed or aquarium, you want to make sure these are covered if they leak and damage the building you rent. An agent telling you it is covered does not mean it will be covered if you have claim. Have your agent show you the wording in the policy showing it is covered, or have your agent put it in writing themselves.

You get a nice discount when you buy your auto & renters insurance together, but you need to have renters insurance with the broadest liability available. Shop with all the major insurance companies for both your auto & renters insurance. You may be able to get lower rates AND better coverage. Click the link below to see all the major insurance companies in the USA.

3. If you think you can’t afford renters insurance because your auto insurance is too expensive, you may be able to SAVE MONEY by buying renters insurance from your auto insurance company.

A typical discount on an auto insurance policy, for having renters insurance, is 5%. If you are under 25, and have an accident or ticket or two, your auto insurance might cost $2,500 a year. A 5% savings would be $125. If renters insurance costs you $100 a year, you will save $25 a year by having auto & renters insurance together, rather than paying $25 more a year to have auto insurance alone.

To find this savings, you want to get quotes from insurance companies offering both auto insurance & renters insurance. Companies like Geico, Esurance, 21st Century, & Progressive insurance sell auto insurance, but partner with other insurance companies to sell renters insurance, and may not have the biggest savings for buying renters & auto insurance together. As I always recommend, shop with as many insurance companies you can, to find the biggest savings, and get the best combination of coverage, service, and low price.

4. Buying renters insurance can save you a lot of money when it is time for you to buy homeowners insurance.

Homeowners insurance companies often give a substantial discount on their homeowners insurance for being claims free. To get this discount, you need to have property insurance, like renters insurance, for a period of time, such as one year to three years, up to the start date of the homeowners insurance, to qualify for the discount. Usually, the longer your continuous, uninterrupted property insurance history, the lower your rates.

If you are planning on buying a home in the next 5 years, get renters insurance now. Having it can save you money on homeowners insurance, and if something bad happens, where you are sued or have a large loss to your personal property, having renters insurance can protect you from financial setback, so you will be able to buy that home in 5 years.

If you float through life from job to job, from place to place, with no savings and few possessions, you can get by without renters insurance.

But if you are working on establishing a career and a life for yourself, or if you have people dependent on you providing them with a roof over your head, Don’t take the chance you will never need renters insurance.

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