Renters Insurance: Why You Need It

If you own a home, it is likely a condition of your mortgage agreement that you purchase insurance to protect your house in the case of a natural disaster. But what if you don't own your own house and instead rent? Renters insurance isn't legally required in most cases, but if you don't purchase it, you could find yourself in financial trouble. So why do you need renters insurance?

What Renters Insurance Protect

It is a common misconception that you landlord's insurance will cover you financially if something goes wrong. That's not usually the case. While your landlord does have insurance on the property, this insurance will only cover the building itself in most cases, not the possessions within. So, you'll be forced to pay to replace all your clothing, furniture, and other belongings in the case of a fire, flood, or other disaster unless you buy renters insurance.

Protection for your Guests

In addition to protecting your possessions, your renters insurance will also cover injury your guests may sustain while visiting you. Your landlord has a duty to ensure that his or her insurance will cover guests who are hurt when issue arise with the property itself, such as a lose step leading to a fall, but what if one of your guests trips over a cord or burns a hand on your stove? Your renters insurance makes sure that their injuries are covered.

Lost and Stolen Items

Do you ever travel with your possessions? Most of us do – and renters insurance can actually provide some coverage if these items are lost or stolen. Every policy is different, but most cover your possessions no matter where they are located, which can give you peace of mind when on vacation. Of course, if there's a break-in at your home, you can also turn to your renters insurance in this case to replace anything that was stolen.

Renters insurance costs just a few dollars a month, but can provide you with thousands of dollars worth of coverage should you need it. There's really no reason not to purchase a policy to protect yourself and your family.

Allison works with RentersInsurance.org, where you can go to learn more about this kind of insurance and get a renters insurance quote for you and your family.