5 Reasons Why You Need Renters Insurance | McGriff (2024)

Do you rent your home or apartment? Renters insurance protects your belongings from loss, damage, or destruction following things like burglaries, fires, tornadoes and other covered events. Plus, renters insurance also protects your liability (and your money) if someone is injured at your rental home or apartment.

Check out these top five reasons why you need renters insurance.

1. Protection for your personal belongings.

It’s a good idea to take inventory of your belongings. If the worst happened, how would you replace the costly electronics you own—things like smartphones, smartwatches, laptops, tablets, TVs and gaming systems? What about the hundreds or thousands of dollars’ worth of shoes and clothes you have? And what’s your furniture worth—sofas, tables, chairs, beds, mattresses and recliners? All of these personal belongings, and more, can be covered by a renters insurance policy.

2. Liability coverage if someone is injured at your rental home or apartment.

What would you do if a visitor got hurt at your place, and you couldn’t cover their medical bills? What if that person sued you—how would you cover the court costs? Consider these possibilities, which could happen to any renter:

  • Your dog bit someone’s child.
  • You had some friends over for a party, and things got unruly.
  • Someone tripped and fell inside your apartment.

With a renters insurance policy, you can rest easy knowing you have coverage to protect yourself and your assets (up to the stated liability limit in your policy).

3. You’re not covered by your landlord’s insurance.

Many tenants mistakenly believe their landlord’s insurance will protect them, but that’s just not the case. As the owner of your rental home or apartment building, the landlord has a form of homeowners insurance that covers the physical structure itself, but it doesn’t cover your belongings inside.

4. Coverage for additional living expenses.

If your rental home or apartment is damaged and uninhabitable while repairs are being made, most renters insurance policies include coverage for the additional expenses you’ll incur during that time. For example, if your monthly rent is $900, but you can’t live in your apartment for the next month while it’s being repaired, then your renters insurance policy would cover the additional living expenses beyond $900 that you incur while staying in a hotel, eating meals out, etc.

5. It’s affordable.

Across the United States, premiums for renters insurance average between $15 and $30 per month, depending on the location and size of the rental unit and your possessions. Disclosure 1 1 National Association of Insurance Commissioners, “For Rent: Protecting Your Belongings With Renters Insurance,”https://www.naic.org/documents/protecting_your_belongings_with_renters_insurance.htm(opens in a new tab) , accessed Jan. 3, 2020. To put that into perspective, you could insure all of your belongings (and your own liability) for about the cost of two movie tickets.

5 Reasons Why You Need Renters Insurance | McGriff (2024)

FAQs

5 Reasons Why You Need Renters Insurance | McGriff? ›

Renters insurance can help you repair or replace property after loss due to many types of damage or theft. It can also provide coverage for an accident at your residence. Policies usually have very affordable annual premiums.

Why do people need renters insurance? ›

Renters insurance can help you repair or replace property after loss due to many types of damage or theft. It can also provide coverage for an accident at your residence. Policies usually have very affordable annual premiums.

What are the 3 things renters insurance provides you with and what purpose does each of them have? ›

Renters insurance covers personal property, personal liability, medical payments and additional living expenses or loss of use, up to the limits of your policy. Learn more about what renters insurance covers and the types of renters insurance coverages.

Why do landlords want you to have renters insurance? ›

Without a renters policy in place, damage or injury from a gathering gone wrong could be your responsibility. Renters insurance can help protect a landlord against tenant negligence. Tenant negligence can take many forms, ranging from a kitchen fire while cooking to water damage from an overflowing tub.

What are the pros and cons of renters insurance? ›

Renters insurance can provide essential benefits to tenants, such as protecting personal belongings, liability coverage, and additional living expenses coverage. However, it has potential drawbacks, such as additional expense and limited coverage.

What are 2 reasons people typically do not get renters insurance? ›

Common Reasons People Don't Buy Renters Insurance
  • Some Feel That Renters Insurance is Too Expensive. ...
  • College Students Think Their Property is Covered Under Their Parents' Home Policy. ...
  • Some Renters Feel Their Property is Insured by the Landlord. ...
  • Some Feel They Don't Have Enough Property to Insure.
Aug 16, 2022

Why is insurance important? ›

Insurance is your financial plan's safety net – having the right insurance at the right amount protects you and your family from unforeseen events and provides a baseline financial cushion.

Which one of the following is not covered by renter's insurance? ›

Items not covered with renters insurance include: Personal property loss that exceeds the coverage limits on your renters insurance policy. Liability situations that exceed the limits on your policy. Damages caused to the structure of the building you are renting (which is covered by your landlord's homeowners policy).

Does renters insurance cover clothes? ›

Personal property coverage covers your possessions—including electronics, clothing, and furniture—in case of loss or damage. Your possessions may be covered even if you're away from home when the loss occurs.

What are 5 different events that would cause losses that would be covered by renters insurance? ›

9 Real Life Situations Covered by Renters Insurance
  • 1.Your phone's stolen at a music festival.
  • 2.Your laptop's swiped while traveling.
  • Your bike's stolen (even though you locked it)
  • Your neighbors leave their faucet on, and it floods your apartment.
  • Your friend slips and falls at your house party.

What does proof of renters insurance mean? ›

Proof of insurance is a document that shows your landlord, lender, or other individual that you actually have renters or home insurance.

Will cover you if someone steals your personal information? ›

Identity theft insurance can reimburse you for out-of-pocket expenses related to restoring your identity, from replacing lost or stolen ID to paying for lawyers to help restore your credit.

Is bed bug infestation covered by renters insurance? ›

Standard renters insurance policies typically won't offer coverage for bed bug infestations or any resulting damage. If an infestation occurs, you or your landlord are responsible for covering the extermination costs.

Why is renters insurance important? ›

Renters insurance protects your belongings from loss, damage, or destruction following things like burglaries, fires, tornadoes and other covered events. Plus, renters insurance also protects your liability (and your money) if someone is injured at your rental home or apartment.

What happens if you don't have renters insurance and there's a fire? ›

For example, if there is a fire in your apartment, and you lose everything, your landlord will not pay to replace your belongings, even if the fire is not your fault. The same goes for many other kinds of emergencies that could befall a renter. For this reason, it's vital to have renters insurance.

Why is renters insurance so expensive? ›

The Cost of Renters Insurance by Location

Insurers look closely at the property crime rate in your area, which affects your likelihood of filing a claim for stolen property. Your risk of natural disasters, such as tornadoes or hurricanes, also affects your cost of coverage.

Is renter insurance worth it? ›

Renters insurance coverage is almost always worth it. It is much more affordable than other policies, including home or auto insurance, and provides valuable financial protection. Even if you can save enough money to cover unexpected loss, renters insurance may be worthwhile.

What is the main reason someone would want to have and need to have renters insurance Quizlet? ›

Renter's insurance covers your personal property. What is the purpose of liability coverage on a renter's insurance policy? It covers unintended damage and accidents in the rental. There is no need for a college student to have a renter's insurance policy.

Why is renters and homeowners insurance important? ›

Devastating and costly disasters can strike where you live at any time. That is why it's important to purchase either homeowners insurance or renters insurance. Homeowners and renters insurance are similar. Both cover your personal property (your belongings) for problems like fire and theft.

How much renters insurance should a landlord require in California? ›

So, how much renters insurance should a landlord require a tenant to have? The best practice is to require a renters policy that covers the replacement cost of the tenant's belongings and provides at least $100,000 in liability coverage. This protects both parties' interests in the event of an unforeseen circ*mstance.

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