The amount of people that live without renters insurance completely boggles my mind. I understand the plight of the budget-conscious (or budget mandatory?) young adult, but to me, this is a necessary purchase and it’s so low cost.
What is renters insurance?
Renters insurance, also referred to as tenants insurance, is a type of home insurance you can (and should) purchase if you’re renting an apartment. It’s biggest uses are in cases of building and contents damage. Effectively, you insure everything inside your apartment (your contents), and the apartment itself if something happens, whether it was your fault or someone elses.
Why do you need renters insurance?
Gather around everybody, it’s time for a story. I moved out on my own at the ripe old age of 22, and one of the first things I purchased was renters insurance (and a couch, and a TV, and a bed… but mostly insurance). It cost about $25 a month, which was so little I forgot it was even coming out of my bank account.
Flash forward three years, it was a Saturday night and I was on my way home from drinks with a girlfriend when I was met with a barricade of fire trucks outside of my building. This was no fire alarm, the apartment three doors down from me was truly on fire.
The fire ruined the origin apartment, plus the two beside it and the hallway. Plus, the smoke had filled every apartment on the 22 floor and effectively ruined every piece of furniture, clothing, bedding and food that existed.
I was the ONLY one with renters insurance. This is no joke, out of the 12-odd apartments on the floor, I was the only one who bothered to pay that $22.50 per month, which means I was the only one who could afford to stay offsite, have all of my furniture cleaned or replaced and have my insurance company pack up my belongings and move me to a new building.
The remainder of the people on the floor ended up having to live in a smoke damaged building, pending they could get back into their apartment until the damage was fixed.
So yes, you do need rental insurance
When it comes down to it, renters insurance is an “if and when” scenario. But it’s one that you won’t want to get caught without if it turns out you need it.
The person who’d started the fire? Yeah, she didn’t have renters insurance and considering the damage caused it wouldn’t have been a cheap fix. Tenants insurance also protects you if you accidentally light the building on fire, leave a window cracked open and a pipe freezes, or really anything else.
It’s not a wasted expense. And while you hope you never need it, you’ll be really glad if it happens that you do. Be smart, sign up for renters insurance today!
Do you have renters insurance? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Looking for more insurance topics?
- Millennials Guide To Picking The Right Renter’s Insurance
- Tips For Getting The Best Home Insurance Coverage At The Best Price
- Tips To Reduce Your Auto Insurance Premium
Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!