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Why Renters Insurance Is a Must-Have Purchase for New Grads
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Whether you’re starting from scratch or you have significant emergency savings built up before moving into your first home post-graduation, it’s important to purchase renters insurance. Although it’s great to have those funds on hand, you might be surprised how much an unexpected incident can eat into them.
Accidents happen
Sarah V. from Rhode Island will tell you why renters insurance is a must-have purchase.
“One hot summer evening soon after I moved into my new apartment, I accidentally left the faucet running and couldn’t hear it over the air conditioner in my bedroom,” explains Sarah. “The next time I opened the bedroom door, I found that the kitchen was entirely flooded with about a half-inch of hot water. Thankfully, my landlord took pity on me and didn’t make me pay for the damage, but I made sure to get renters insurance ASAP in case of any future mishaps.”
What is renters insurance?
If you’re not familiar with the product, renters insurance is a type of property insurance that helps to protect you and your belongings when living in a rental property. It covers the cost of your possessions in the case of damage, loss, or theft, and it also offers coverage against liability and medical claims — if someone gets hurt at your home, for instance. Some policies also cover damage caused by pets, which is handy if your pup has a habit of chewing on baseboards. If you don’t have a renters insurance policy, you’d have to pay for these types of expenses out of pocket.
Ready to get your own policy? When purchasing renters insurance, you’ll want to make a detailed list of everything you own and its value, and it’s also a good idea to photograph all these items as evidence of ownership. From here, you’ll be able to determine how much coverage you need. Don’t worry too much about the cost, either — most policies are quite affordable, costing between $15 and $30 a month on average.
If you’re living with a roommate, most providers will allow you to take out a policy together, but be sure to read the fine print before you commit. Because you’re both on the policy, one person’s claim will typically show up on both of your records, and you may also run into issues fairly splitting the cost if one roommate’s belongings are more valuable than the other’s. In this case, it’s best to have an open and honest conversation regarding the policy and talk with a representative about your various options.
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