How much renters insurance do I need?

If you rent a place, the landlord might ask you to buy renters insurance. Usually they’ll make it part of your rental agreement. Your landlord’s policy will only cover damages or loss for the structure that you are living in. It will not cover your possessions. 

The cost of renters insurance;

The Insurance Information Institute (iii.org), says the average renters insurance cost is approximately $182-$190 per year. The California monthly average for renters insurance is around $182 per year according to the III.

Is it worth it for you to buy renters insurance? 

Does renters insurance cover enough to make it worth the cost? It covers personal liability protection to pay for attorney fees. It will also cover damages or medical treatment for a person hurt on your rented property. Liability protection will cover no-fault medical coverage so if someone’s injured on your premises, they can submit their medical bills to your insurance company. The best part about this, is it can prevent a lawsuit.

It also covers your personal possessions if they are damaged in a natural disaster or stolen. There is protection to reimburse you for items that are lost and stolen from your car as well.

What amount of renters insurance do I need?

You’re going to want to purchase enough renters insurance to cover all of your possessions. Think of how difficult it would be to replace all the items within your home and how easy it would be to have a policy in place that would replace all those items in case of a natural disaster or theft. 

An easy way to figure out the value of all your stuff is to create a list. Make an inventory of all of your possessions. Include dates of purchase, serial numbers, appraisal documents & all receipts. Take photos of the inventory and save them to your records. Make sure all expensive items and electronics, including computers, home security systems, jewelry and any appliances you’ve purchased are included. Estimate the cost to replace those possessions, & then use that to calculate the amount of renters insurance coverage you’re going to need.

If you have pets you should also purchase liability insurance to cover property damage caused by your pet. If your dog is bigger than normal or a breed with more requirements from your insurance company, you might have to buy additional liability insurance.

How much liability coverage do I need for renters insurance?

Most renters insurance policies offer $100,000 in liability coverage. On average, this amount is usually good enough. Wrapping up, if you often entertain company at your rented home or if your possession value is beyond that amount, you should consider a policy that will cover the total value of your assets.