Rental Insurance
Renting a home instead of buying a home can certainly have its advantages. If you want to move when your lease is up, you don’t have to worry about selling the home. Usually, if something in the house breaks then it’s the landlord’s responsibility to fix it. You don’t have to worry much about the normal wear and tear on the property for the most part, and if you leave stains all over the carpet then your biggest worry is probably whether or not you will receive your security deposit back when your lease is over. You may not be building up equity in the home as you would if you owned it, but on the other hand you aren’t losing it either.
Renters must not fall into the pattern of thinking that everything is taken care of when you are a renter. If something were to happen to the residence, such as a massive flood or a fire, you could find yourself in a situation where you have nowhere to live as well as no coverage for all the belongings you lose in the disaster. This is because the homeowner insurance your landlord carries probably doesn’t cover your personal belongings. Instead, it covers the structure, property and liability in the event that you or one of your guests gets hurt on the property and you decide to sue the landlord. Your furniture, electronics and other items, on the other hand, aren’t usually covered.
One of the aspects of effectively managing your personal finances is making sure that you have sufficient insurance coverage. You probably have insurance for your car and may even have coverage for certain items that are expensive -such as your computer- but are you sufficiently covered for everything else you own?
The good news is that renter’s insurance is traditionally not very expensive at all. Different factors determine the cost of your policy, such as the value of your belongings and the city or town that you live in, but all in all most renters find that the expense is worth the relief you get in knowing that in the event of a theft, storm or other unexpected event, your belongings are covered. You’ll probably save more money on a policy if your landlord invested in a security system for your place or if you live very close to a police station.
To make sure that you are properly covered, compose an inventory of your belongings and take photos of items that are valuable or that are heirlooms. Periodically review your insurance needs and increase or decrease your coverage as needed, but don’t convince yourself that the expense of renter’s insurance isn’t worth it.
