Renters Insurance

If you rent the property where you live or conduct business, you might think that you don’t need insurance. After all, in the event of a catastrophe, it won’t be your property that is put at risk, right? Unfortunately, this simply is not the case. While you may not have any risk when it comes to damage to the land or structure, you certainly do have the risk of loss or damage to your personal possessions. For this reason, you need renter’s insurance.

What is Renter's Insurance?

Renter’s insurance is insurance that is specifically designed to cover losses to personal property and equipment. For example, if a structure is destroyed, your renter’s insurance will pay to replace the clothing, tools, and furnishings that were destroyed along with it.

Renter’s insurance can also help out when it comes to the expense of finding a new place to live or conduct business from. If you are concerned about having to pay increased rent costs in the event of the destruction of your current location, renter’s insurance can help cover those costs.

Renter’s insurance is much cheaper than homeowner’s insurance. This is because homeowner’s insurance involves covering the structure itself as well as the contents thereof; in contrast, renter’s insurance does not involve covering damage to the structure.

How Does Renter's Insurance Work?

Renter’s insurance works much the same way that homeowner’s insurance does. If something happens in your apartment and, as a result, your personal property is destroyed or damaged, you can make a claim to have that property replaced.

To make a claim on renter’s insurance, simply contact your insurance agent and tell him or her that you need to begin the process. He or she will walk you through the rest. Depending on the specifics of your situation, you may find that it is easier to make a claim if you have a documented list of all of your property, along with the condition of each piece of property. Some people suggest taking a video recorder in going through your apartment, capturing each piece of property along with its general condition.

As noted above, renter’s insurance tends to be much more affordable than homeowner’s insurance because you are only insuring the contents of your dwelling place—and not the dwelling place itself. Given the price of buildings in the Melbourne and surrounding areas, you can see why the majority of the cost of an insurance policy goes towards covering the building.

If you live in an apartment complex, renter’s insurance is a must for you. Keep in mind that although you can mitigate the risk of loss due to your own careless actions, you can do nothing about the actions of people in adjacent apartment units. This means that, while you might never do anything careless, such as leaving a burning candle unattended, there is always the risk that someone else might do so—and this could easily lead to you losing your possessions. Rather than risking your possessions by placing too much trust in the level of care that other people take, get a good renter’s insurance policy, and give yourself the peace of mind that you need.

Why Would You Need Renter's Insurance?

You need renter’s insurance to protect yourself from the expense of having to replace all your personal property in the event of damage or destruction thereto. Renting a property, rather than purchasing it, can certainly be more cost-effective, but you must not neglect to address the risk that something could happen to that property. And if it does, you must realize that the landlord’s insurance won’t cover the loss of your belongings.

If you think you may need renter’s insurance, come see us. We can help you evaluate your needs and select the policy that will best protect you.