If you rent your home, there’s a good chance your landlord has some form of insurance to protect it. However, many tenants don’t realize that a landlord’s insurance doesn’t cover many of their own items.
For example, landlord insurance may cover physical damage to an overall apartment building. It typically won’t cover the items individual tenants have in their own apartments.
That’s why it’s also highly advisable to get renters insurance. Reasons to do so include the following:
Protecting What You Own
This is the most common-sense reason to purchase renters insurance. Odds are good you own a decent amount of items that play an important role in your life. You likely keep those items in your home. You should take steps to protect yourself financially in the event that anything ever happens to your belongings.
Avoiding Major Headaches
Renters insurance doesn’t always merely cover items in a home. It can also be very useful when a home is temporarily uninhabitable.
For example, perhaps a pipe bursts in your apartment building and the flooding makes it impossible to live in your apartment until the damage is addressed. If this were to happen, you would have to move out right away. This is a scenario for which you might not be financially prepared.
Luckily, many renters insurance policies cover the cost of relocating. For instance, if you have to stay in a motel room nearby until your apartment is once again ready, your renters insurance policy may cover the cost of the room until you can make other arrangements.
Managing Liability Issues
You may invite friends and family over to your apartment often. If someone was injured while at your apartment or a possession of theirs was damaged, you may be considered liable. If, however, you have renters insurance, your policy can protect you financially in these circumstances.
This may even influence your social life. Without even realizing it, you might not be inviting people over as often as you might wish to because you don’t enjoy the stress of wondering whether something will happen that will leave you responsible for compensating your guests financially. When you purchase renters insurance, you might find yourself inviting people over more often, as the experience of having guests will be less stressful.
Peace of Mind
It’s a simple fact: when you have renters insurance, you’re much less likely to constantly worry about your belongings, liability issues, and other potential sources of worry that renters insurance can address. This naturally makes it easier to enjoy life in general.
It’s also worth noting that tenants don’t need to be the only ones who look into renters insurance. If you’re a landlord, it’s a good idea to require that all tenants have renters insurance policies. This can help you avoid disputes later if a tenant believes you’re responsible for compensating them because they misunderstood what landlord insurance covers.
As a result, you won’t have to deal with one of the most common sources of headaches and frustration for landlords.
