Do you live in a rented apartment or house? If your answer is yes, then there are a few things that you should know of. For instance, you may want to look into the rights of the tenants and the code that you need to abide by in your state. In addition to that, you can also benefit by learning about renters insurance, like, is renters insurance worth it in the first place? In this post, we will discuss the pros and cons of renters insurance in detail.
Pros of Renters Insurance
1. Liability coverage
Liability coverage protects you from lawsuits that result from your guests getting injured in your house. For instance, if you have a pet dog and it attacks someone who has paid you a visit- an acquaintance, postman, landlord, etc. then they can sue you for that. With renters insurance that offers liability coverage, however, you can cover the costs of the medical bills, legal fees, etc. and protect yourself from both a financial burden and mental torture.
2. Theft protection
Do you think that locking the doors and windows in your apartment is enough to keep intruders at bay? Think again! If you keep precious items like jewelry, laptops, and lots of cash at your home, then you always face the risk of losing it all in a burglary or theft. Again, this is where renters insurance can help. It can reimburse you for all the loss in thievery. In fact, you might be covered even when the items are located outside your house but within a certain radius (available in some schemes). For instance, if you use outdoor shelters to store vehicles, then your insurance provider may reimburse you if your car or motorcycle gets stolen.
3. Temporary Accommodation
As a renter, one of the last things that you want to face is a flooded home or rat infestation. Problems like these can be a big nuisance and may make your house unliveable as well.
While pest problems can be dealt with within a day or a few days tops, flooding and fire may require repairs and renovation that can last for weeks. What are you to do during this period? If you have to stay in a hotel, then the accommodation costs coupled with laundry, transportation, food, etc. can amount to a lot. If you have renters insurance, however, then the provider can take care of these costs for you.
4. Affordability
Having no renters insurance can be a mistake that costs you $5,000 even though the premium itself costs no more than $20 a month on average. Most people don’t get renters insurance thinking that it’s expensive. However, that’s merely a misconception and you can compare the rates in your area to realize how cheap it really is.
Cons of Renters Insurance
Renters insurance has many advantages, as you read about them above. However, it has some disadvantages too. For starters, there is the expense component as you have to spend a small portion of your earnings on the insurance premium. Also, you may find that some of the most affordable insurance plans don’t offer comprehensive coverage that includes protection against hurricanes and floods. So, these are some of the things that you can think about when you consider buying renters insurance.
Bottom Line
You can compare the pros of renters insurance with the cons and you will realize that the former outnumber the latter. In other words, while there are a few cons of investing in renters insurance, they don’t stand against the pros that are many and in many ways priceless. So, if you want to make your experience as a tenant more memorable and comfortable, then it’s wise to get renters insurance rather than take comfort in the fact that you saved a modest $20 a month. In the long term, the investment is worth it, you will see.