Unfortunately many people learn the hard way when they go from owning their own home to renting someone else’s. When you are a homeowner, you most likely had home owners insurance, otherwise known as hazard or fire insurance. If you lost your home to a foreclosure and now are facing the prospect of renting a home, make sure that you get your personal belongings covered in your new residence with renters insurance.
Renters Insurance Is Necessary If You Rent
When you owned your home, you were the landlord and your insurance covered you, your home, and your stuff. When you rent, your landlord’s insurance covers them and their stuff, but yours is not included. People do not realize that the landlord’s insurance policy only covers the landlord and their property – do not get caught with no insurance when a catastrophe strikes – get renters insurance.
Check Your Own Insurance Provider First - Then Compare Rates
If you go shopping for renters insurance, one of the best places to check is where you have your car insurance and where you had your homeowners insurance if you were a prior homeowner. You may be able to get a better quote going with your current insurance carrier than going out to another company. This is especially true if you had to move because of a foreclosure as your credit scores could have taken a beating.
Many insurance companies offer insurance premium pricing based on credit scores so if you go out and get a quote with someone who doesn’t have a relationship with you then you may find yourself getting some higher than necessary quotes.
Renters Insurance Not That Expensive - Protect Your Family
You also may be surprised that renters insurance is not that expensive when compared to your homeowners insurance. It is also pretty easy to get a quote. Typically they will ask you how much is your stuff worth and give you a quote based on that. You may be able to install fire and burglar alarms as well as fire extinguishers if your rented home or apartment doesn’t have any already and get a lower insurance premium rate. Make sure that you ask the agent giving you the quote about this and other ways to save money on your renters policy. If you have some higher end ticket items that you need quoted make sure that you mention and can document their value. This can help you when it comes time to file a claim if you ever have to.
Another factor that can lower the cost of your policy is a higher deductible. A higher deductible means that if you were to make a claim then you would be responsible for covering your personal losses up through the amount of the deductible and then your insurance policy would kick in and cover the rest. For example, if you had a $1,000 deductible on a $15,000 policy and you filed a claim for $5,000 then you would get a check from your insurance company for $4,000 and you would have to pay yourself the extra $1,000.
Renters insurance policies cover your personal belongings. Make sure that the policy you decide to take covers your personal stuff in case of a fire, flood, theft, wind, and other perils. Renters policies also can include provisions for alternative living arrangement expenses in the case that something catastrophic happens to the place you are renting and you need to live someplace else temporarily.
One last thing that you will want to be concerned about is liability insurance. When you live in someone else’s property you will still need to have liability insurance. The good news is that renters insurance policies can help protect you in the case of a liability lawsuit being filed against you.
Renting a home can bring some conveniences like having the landlord be responsible for fixing things around the home. Renting can also mean saving money versus having to pay for all the extra expenses surrounding home ownership. The one expense that you do not want to skip out on is renters insurance. It can protect you and your stuff from loss.
