Renters often think that they do not need renter’s insurance. This is a misguided thought as they believe they do not need it since the landlord already will be having it. What escapes the attention all these people is the fact that the landlord’s insurance cover extends only as far as his property and not to cover the renter’s belongings. The following instances give us an idea as to why you would need renter’s insurance.

• The burning down of the apartment building
• A robber breaks into the house
• One of your guests injures himself in your kitchen by slipping
• Water damage

It is to cover yourself and belongings in situations such as above that you need renter’s insurance. There are several different categories of renter’s insurance and renter’s insurance cost. They are actual cash value policies, replacement cost policies and floater policies. The actual cash policy is where a payment is made for the damage suffered after the deduction of the maintenance cost spent on the place and the possessions. The sum here is dependent upon the insurance cover taken. The next type of renter’s insurance is called replacement cost. This basically pays for the all the damage that was incurred without any deductions and is limited only by the policy. The third type is known as a floater policy. All those belongings which do not come under renter’s insurance cover will be insured by this. This functions as a separate policy although it is usually tagged to the renter’s insurance policy. This generally covers valuables such as jewelry, silver, items like furs and valuable electronic equipment. One mistake that most people make is that they think that they do not have enough valuables to be covered by an insurance policy. But, this is a mistake. Make a list of all the valuables and you will see that there are enough things which are worth covering with an insurance policy.

It is important to know when the insurance policy applies. This of course will be set out in the insurance cover of the renter’s insurance policy. In the jargon of the world of insurance it is called ‘named peril’ coverage. This named peril could be anything from fire, lightening, windstorms, smoke, theft, vandalism, malicious mischief, accidental discharge of water or any other common loss perils. An important aspect of the coverage here is that it covers injury to others on your property at the time. The coverage also enables you and others on the property to have medical care if injured in the process. This coverage may be extended to pay for the legal fees if you have to defend yourself under these situations.

Most o f the time renter’s insurance tend to be expensive and therefore people shy away from getting covered. But, there are ways to lower the premiums and yet reap the benefits of renter’s insurance as can be seen below.

• Opt for reduced cover and lower the premium-This has to be done with care so as to balance the coverage and the payments that have to be incurred monthly.
• Increasing of the deductibles-This is one assured way to reduce the premiums. The deductibles will be what you are liable to pay for before the insurance company starts its pay out. Consequently, if you raise the deductible the premium will automatically come down significantly.
• Increasing the safety and security features of the property- This will enable the premiums to come down as the insurance company will be more than willing to give coverage for protected properties.
• If you have more than one policy with the same company it will allow you to get a bigger discount.

The bottom line is that it is very important to have renter’s insurance.