We’ve been homeowners for many years now. But there was a time when we rented. We’ve rented an affordable 2 bedroom apartment in a no-frills small apartment complex. We’ve rented a 3 bedroom apartment with lots of amenities in a large apartment complex. We’ve rented a townhouse in a cute little are in South Carolina. The one thing we always had was renter’s insurance.
For some it’s easy to dismiss renter’s insurance because most of the time you’re not required to have renter’s insurance like you are home owner’s insurance. Some people think “Why should I pay for renter’s insurance if the landlord has insurance?” The landlord’s insurance will only cover repairs to the building. It will not cover all your personal belongings. This could include things like: prescription glasses, jewelry, TVs, appliances, and other expensive items that you’d have to replace in the event of a disaster.
Renter’s insurance is often very affordable. When we had our 3 bedroom apartment we had about $25k in coverage and only paid about $18/mo. My brother had $10k in renter’s insurance and only paid about $8/mo. But he ended up finding that amount of coverage just wasn’t enough.
My brother ended up having a house fire in the duplex he was renting. The fire started from faulty wiring. They lost just about everything either from the fire itself, smoke damage, or water damage from the water to put out the fire. They’re now finding that $10k will only be able to replace appliances and some of their needs. So it’s important to really think about how much coverage you really need. What would need replaced if there was a catastrophe? If you’re ever in that moment you’ll have enough worries.
Another thing my brother learned is to make sure you update your policy regularly. The coverage might have been enough at his old place but not at the new place. Also he never took his ex’s name off the policy so now she is entitled to half of the money even though she never lived in that house or paid anything towards living in that house. This issue is currently being decided between the lawyers.
My brother does have a GoFundMe for his recovery from his house fire. If you can donate or share it would be greatly appreciated.
Now that we’ve talked about the sobering truths of renter’s insurance check out these insurance fun facts.
