RENTERS INSURANCE

Renters insurance is fairly simple in what it will cover. Essentially, it will insure your belongings against any number of losses that could occur to them while they are in your possession. This includes everything from theft of valuable items to accidental damage that may occur from fire or water (or even a tornado or hurricane). When it comes to renters insurance, you’re looking at covering some of the most expensive things you own. Because you’re not responsible for any of the construction or maintenance costs on your apartment building, you don’t have a lot of personal investment into what happens if something goes wrong.

This is crucial to understand when it comes to renters insurance. You’re basically putting aside a certain amount of money each month to insure your valuables (which may be spread over many monthly payments, depending on your policy). Because of this, it’s important not to skimp on the amount you spend on rental insurance and protect yourself from potentially losing everything you own. If you do have a pet, be sure to double check that your renter’s policy will cover that as well (most do).

1. Protection from damages you cause. If you cause a fire in your rental home that spreads to your neighbor’s rental, you may be responsible for those damages, not you landlord.
2. Protection from fire. Now let’s say your apartment building caught fire and it was not your fault, then the liability is on the landlord and you’ll be reimbursed… not actually. Your personal items are still at risk, also you will need to find a temporary place to live, all of which can be quite hefty out-of-pocket expenses if you don’t have renters insurance.
3. Protection for your visitors. If you have renters liability insurance and a guest falls and gets injured, your policy may cover the cost of the medical and legal bills.
4. Protection from theft. If you add up the value of just your clothing and electronics, it probably wouldn’t take long to get into the thousands of dollars. If these items were to be stolen or damaged in an accident than you would need to pay out of pocket. If you were to have rental’s insurance you would be covered for your things (clothes, furniture, electronics…that kind of stuff) up to your coverage limit.

• The average renters insurance policy in Connecticut ranged from $280 – 330 per year with our partners Amica coming in as the cheapest, with an annual average rate of $182 based on a Value Penguin study.