As the economy changes and home ownership may not be in your immediate future, let’s take a look at the insurance issues associated with renting an apartment or renting a home.
One of the biggest misconceptions that plague the insurance industry, is that the person or company that is renting you a place to live is somehow responsible for the things inside of your home. As a tenant, your insurance needs are in two very different categories of protection. Let’s take the most obvious, and the one that makes the most sense. You own “STUFF”. If you were to lose your “Stuff” because of theft, fire, broken water pipes… etc., Chances are that you will need to replace the items with new Stuff. Every Christmas, without fail, I watch the news on TV and see the night time picture of fire engine lights flashing and in the background you see the apartment complex that has just sustained a fire. There is always someone holding a child, usually in the rain or snow, and the TV anchor person , asking , “What are you going to do?” The response is the same…, “I have no place to stay and all my stuff has been destroyed.”
I want you to know that I have the biggest heart in the entire world, and I would not want this scene to play out in anybody’s life… but for $12.50 per month, (less than the cost of a pizza) you can protect yourself and your family from this senseless position. A renter’s insurance policy will give you a place to stay, it will provide the new clothes, TV, Beds and furnishing that you have accumulated. When I see this scene play out year after year, I think to myself, “maybe you just can’t fix stupid.”
If you own and insure a car at the same time you are renting a place to live, the savings that a renter’s insurance policy will give to your car policy is probably close to paying for the renters insurance policy. This is the biggest “No Brainer” purchase every renter should make!!
The second area of protection that the renters’ insurance policy provides is the one called Liability insurance. Because liability insurance is included in a renters’ policy, many apartment manager’s and Rental Dwelling owners are requiring their tenant’s to buy renter’s insurance. Here is why. Imagine making dinner, and you just added the ground beef to the skillet. The phone rings, and you take the call. We have all been in this situation before! You step out of the kitchen to get on with the call, and 20 minutes later the smoke detector is going off and the smoke is so dense in the kitchen you can’t see. Can you guess who is going to be responsible for the damages that were done to the apartment or home in this instance? YOU ARE. If you have a renter’s insurance policy in force, not only does it cover the damage that you caused to the building because of the fire, but you won’t be standing outside with the TV New crew letting the world know that you have no place to stay, and nothing to wear. You will be one of the folks talking on your cell phone, making arrangements with your insurance company for a hotel room and an emergency cash disbursement so that you can pick up a toothbrush and a change of clothes until the claim can be settled.
To find out more about renter’s insurance, please fill out one of our free Arizona Renters Insurance Quote forms.
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