We’ve talked about getting your first apartment and before you get all comfortable in your apartment, there is one more thing you have to take care of: insuring your stuff. That’s where renter’s insurance comes in. In the event your apartment is damaged due to fire or other disaster you want to make sure you can recover your materials. Your landlord has insurance so they can get money for damages done to the apartment but that has absolutely nothing to do with your stuff. Their insurance policy does not cover your belongings, so don’t expect the landlord to owe you payment should anything happen to your stuff in the apartment.
If your apartment burned down…
American Red Cross would put you up in a hotel for three days and give you a stipend of just $150 a day but if you had renter’s insurance, at least with Allstate, “We will cover additional living expenses for up to 12 months — unlimited dollar amount. In English, your apartment burns down, we will pay your rent at a new place along with additional expenses you incur due to the fire. Whether it is: meals, rent, water, etc.,” says David Gonzalez, President of David Gonzalez Agency, Inc. Another example of the benefit of having renter’s insurance is: “you have a party and someone spills a drink. You figure you’ll clean it up later. Someone slips on the spill and turns around and sues you. The liability coverage you have under your renter’s insurance would cover you,” says Gonzalez.
Another scenario Gonzalez gave: “You are having a party at the beach in your backyard and a kid drowns on your watch. Your liability coverage would cover you.” If you didn’t have renter’s insurance, got sued and found at fault, in some states Connecticut, New York and New Jersey to name a few, they’d allow garnishing of your future wages, and any assets (home, stocks, bonds, etc.) until the debt was paid. Yikes!
What is covered?
Now that I have your attention, you might be wondering what can be covered under your policy. Just about everything can be covered. Gonzalez stated that “usually, the only items that need to be scheduled onto the policy for specific coverage are jewelry, watches, musical equipment, furs, arts, anything with significant value. TVs, computers and your everyday camera do not have to be on the policy. Once scheduled, it’s worldwide coverage.”
How much does it cost?
It’s really not that expensive to get covered either, costs can range from $12 to $15 a month. That’s not bad considering all that it covers. This is a must on your to do list.
Comments on this entry are closed.