Renters Insurance Guide

When you have an apartment, renters insurance is an absolute must. But wait, doesn’t your landlord have insurance? The answer is yes, but they’re not going to pay a dime for your stuff if it gets damaged or stolen. Still confused? That’s alright, most people are! Whatever questions you have about renters insurance for apartment dwellers, ApartmentSearch has the answers.

What is Renters Insurance?

Renters insurance is essential for anyone living in an apartment. Although your apartment will be insured by your landlord or rental company, their insurance covers the physical building, but not you, your guests, or your personal belongings. Because accidents and bad things can happen, it’s important that you’re covered from day one in your new apartment.

What Does Renters Insurance Cover?

Simply put, renters insurance covers everything that doesn’t come with the apartment. Generally speaking, here’s what your renters insurance will cover:

Personal Property

Your personal belongings are covered under renters insurance. That means if

they’re stolen or damaged by something like a fire, you’ll be covered. It’s important to realize, though, that just because your items are insured, they are likely covered for certain kinds of damage, but not others.

For example, a normal policy may not cover every kind of natural disaster. If you’re concerned about a potential flood, earthquake, or mudslide, you may want to consider additional coverage to help protect your belongings, as damage from these disasters is not typically going to be covered by standard renters insurance.

Liability

It’s also important to find a policy that covers you for liability. That means that if there were to be an accident and someone were to become injured in your apartment, or someone’s things were to become damaged because of an action taken in your apartment, you’d be covered.

Examples of liability insurance might be if you asked a friend to help you rearrange some furniture and they break a finger (or worse) trying to adjust your bookshelf, or if you leave the bathtub on and water damages belongings in the apartment below yours. With liability coverage, your insurance company will pay for these things, and any potential legal fees, instead of you having to pay out-of-pocket.

Loss of Use

Depending on the policy, you may be covered in the event that your apartment gets damaged and you’re unable to live there temporarily. For example, if a car drives into your living room and you’re unable to live in your first-floor apartment during the repairs, this type of renters insurance would pay for a temporary secondary residence, like a hotel room, and anything else related to the inability to dwell within your own apartment.

How Much is Renters Insurance for Apartments?

After reading about all of the things that can go wrong in your apartment, here’s a bit of good news: the cost of renters insurance is relatively low. In fact, some insurance companies have estimated that the national average payment is only $20 a month. That's a tiny price to pay for peace of mind, just in case the worst happens.

As you can imagine, based on the last two answers, the price of your renters insurance policy depends entirely on what needs to be insured. If you have several pieces of expensive jewelry, top of the line electronics, and priceless art in your place, your monthly payment is going to be more than if you only have basic furniture.

Monthly payments will also change depending on how much of a deductible you’re willing to pay if your items get damaged or stolen. Whatever you choose to do, however, take an inventory of the items in your apartment, take photos of their condition, and make sure to keep that information safe just in case you need to submit a claim to your renters insurance company!

If you're ready to move into your first apartment or simply a new apartment, ApartmentSearch can help! We're the only apartment locator that pays you for using it. In fact, you'll get a $200 reward after signing your lease! Looking for furniture to rent or own? We can help with that too! ApartmenSearch is here to help make your move as easy as possible.