Renting a home can come along with benefits such as flexibility and not having to pay as much money in the beginning as you would with a mortgage. Obtaining homeowners insurance is the smart move for a homeowner, but what about renters insurance?
Landlords can require you, the tenant, to have renters insurance while under the lease. Even if the landlord doesn’t require renters insurance, it’s important to consider obtaining it. Chances are, there are many valuable items in your rental home or apartment and if those contents were to be damaged in any way, they would not be covered without renters insurance. The landlords policy only covers the STRUCTURE of the property while the renters insurance is additional protection. Therefore, it is beneficial to think about the benefits of renters insurance.
Avoiding Damage Payments
If a natural disaster were to occur in the tenants home and destroyed personal items in the process, the landlord may be apprehensive to repair the damage that has taken place. With renters insurance you get the peace of mind knowing that your personal items are covered.
Covered Deductible
If the tenant damages the property, the cost of repairing the structure of the property will be covered under the landlords policy but will still be responsible for paying a deductible. However, if the tenant is covered under his or her own renters insurance, the landlords deductible will be paid in full.
There’s no law stating that landlords require their tenants to obtain renters insurance, although it’s a wise decision to sign up for it. In fact, renters insurance is relatively inexpensive with an average monthly cost of $17 per month. Investing in renters insurance will remove the burden of being solely responsible