Did You Know? You Need Renter’s Insurance!

No one wants to think about something catastrophic happening in their home. Of course, it’s unlikely that something bad like a fire or a natural disaster would compromise the structure of your apartment or destroy your personal belongings, but it’s always a great idea to be prepared just in case.

As a renter, you may not be responsible for the actual structure or materials inside your apartment, such as the kitchen appliances and carpeting. However, you should know that your landlord is not liable for any of your personal possessions. That means that if your new electric guitar is sitting in the living room and a fire breaks out, your landlord isn’t obligated to replace it (even if the fire wasn’t your fault).

If you’re renting an apartment or a house for any period of time, you must get renter’s insurance. Some landlords will even require you to have it before agreeing to take you on as a tenant. Your landlord can and should have insurance on the property you are renting, but none of that insurance will be able to cover you or your things.

Here’s a quick rundown of how to obtain renter’s insurance and what you can expect it to cover.

What Does Renter’s Insurance Protect You From?

So now that you know you need renter’s insurance, you’re probably wondering what it’ll protect you and your things from. Does it only cover natural disasters, or is it also there in case of theft?

Here’s what a typical renter’s insurance policy will protect you from:

• Fire or lighting
• Windstorms or hail
• Explosions
• Riots or civil commotions
• Damage caused by aircraft
• Damage caused by vehicles
• Smoke
• Vandalism or malicious mischief
• Theft
• Volcanic eruptions
• Falling objects
• Weight of ice, snow, and sleet
• Accidental discharge or overflow of water from a plumbing, heating, air conditioning, or automatic fire-protective sprinkler system or household appliance
• Sudden and accidental tearing apart, cracking, burning, or bulging of a hot water heating, air conditioning, or automatic fire-protective system
• Freezing of a plumbing, heating, air conditioning or automatic fire-protective sprinkler system or household appliance
• Sudden and accidental damage from an artificially-generated electrical current (does not include damage to tubes, transistors, or similar electronic components)