Do You Need Renters Insurance to Rent an Apartment?

If you are renting an apartment, you may be required to purchase a renters insurance policy. Many apartments require that you have a minimum of $100K in liability coverage. But, even if you don’t have to have it, you should still consider purchasing a renters insurance policy.

Renters Insurance Types of Coverage

A typical renters insurance policy protects personal property as well as liability.

1. Personal Property Protection

Renters insurance covers the value of your personal property. Some of the more expensive items like jewelry and musical instruments have limits on coverage, in which case an endorsement should be included in your policy to cover the higher values.
There are two kinds of personal property protection: actual cash value and replacement cost.

• Actual cash value replaces the item up to the policy’s limits, minus depreciation.
• More expensive replacement policies cover the cost of actually replacing your personal property, without deductions to compensate for depreciation.

2. Liability Coverage

The liability portion of a renter’s insurance policy covers negligence that results in damage. For instance, if you are responsible for a fire in your building because you left a gas stove burner on, liability coverage is there for you. When you’re at fault for this kind of damage, the owner of your apartment can require you to pay for any repairs needed and medical costs should a neighbor have expenses related to injury from the accident. Liability also covers your defense costs if you are sued over the matter.

3. Loss of Use

If an event causes you to be unable to stay in your apartment for a while, loss of use coverage pays for your living expenses including costs for renting a hotel room and food while you are displaced and so forth.

4. Additional Coverage

Other Kinds of Renters Insurance Coverage:

• Medical costs if a visitor is injured in your home.
• Credit card and bank forgery if a thief breaks in, steals and subsequently uses your credit card or check book.
• Property of others, to replace damaged items in your home that belong to someone else.

Costs of Renters Insurance

Many landlords require a tenant to buy a basic renters insurance policy, which covers up to $10,000 in personal property and $100,000 in liability coverage. This kind of policy is available through most insurers and only costs about $10 to $15 a month.
Insurers typically offer discounts when you bundle renters insurance with your auto insurance coverage. As always, it’s a good idea to shop around and get a few quotes to compare. For more information, you can learn more from Einsurance.