The Importance of Rental Insurance

Renters insurance is designed to protect you when you rent a home rather than own one. Too many people think they don’t need this or their landlord’s insurance can protect them, but that isn’t the case. Your personal belongings are at stake if you don’t have renters insurance. 

Reasons to have renters insurance

Protection that’s cheaper

Renters insurance will protect your worldly belongings. Paying a small monthly fee for renters insurance is cheaper than paying to replace all of your possessions. It’s very likely that you own more than you realize. If there is a fire, flood, or other disaster that damages your belongings, you will probably lose out on a lot of things. Renters insurance will cover the cost of most, if not all, of these items that you may not be able to replace on your own. 

Do a home inventory. Write a list of everything you own and what it would cost to replace the same or equivalent model. Would you be able to pay that out of pocket to replace the item tomorrow if necessary?

Liability Coverage

If a guest has an accident while visiting you, your renters insurance can cover medical bills. A fall, cut, pet bite, or other injuries that need attention could be addressed by your renters insurance. It may also cover damage to other rentals if you are deemed at fault.

A Backup Plan

Renters insurance can cover alternative housing if your rental property is damaged and you can’t stay there. This may include hotel, meals, and even boarding pets until you can relocate. 

Take it wherever you go

Having a renters insurance policy is portable. Your policy can apply to your belongings even outside of your residence. If you are traveling or away from home and something is lost or stolen, your policy can cover it. 

What is covered by renters insurance?

Renters insurance covers personal property lost or destroyed by:

• Fire
• Plumbing failure
• Hail
• Lightning
• Wind
• Theft
• Vandalism
• Damage from a vehicle 

What is not covered by renters insurance?

Renters insurance may not cover: 

• Expensive valuables – collectibles and jewelry may not be covered by lower policies.
• Home business – property of your business, even your laptop that may be solely used for your business, would not be covered by renters insurance. 
• Vehicles, though personal belongings in your vehicle may be covered.

Be sure you understand your policy and what is covered. Plan options can vary and may be adjusted based on your need. 

In the end

The benefits outweigh the risks when it comes to renters insurance. All too often, people worry about the added monthly expense, but when it comes down to it, the risk is too high not to have it. You could lose everything very quickly, and it may be very hard to replace it. 

AFI – Armed Forces Insurance

Brought to you in partnership with the AFI Education Foundation. Armed Forces Insurance is here to protect those who protect our nation. Providing military members insurance for home, renters, auto, and much more. Created by former military leaders, AFI understands the challenges that military members face. Proudly serving active, retired, and former military members and their families for over 135 years. Click here to receive a quote today! 

Brandy Hall, Nurse Writer, turned a passion for patient teaching into content writing. She teams up with health and wellness providers to improve patient health and relationships. By creating easy-to-understand patient education content, she helps patients understand their health without complex terms and jargon. Now she explores the world through creativity and adventure as a mom and military spouse.