Tenant’s Insurance – Are You Covered?

The first time I heard about “renters” (also known as tenant’s) insurance I was in my twenties and moving into my 2nd or 3rd place. The landlord had written it into the lease that I was to obtain insurance and I promised I would get it by my move-in date. I looked into a little bit, but I didn’t really give it much thought and never got the insurance. I was lucky, I had no issues at that place. Even in dealing with clients, I glossed over the insurance part.

Not really pushing or encouraging it while also not discouraging it. I let them know if they Seller/Landlord required it and give them an idea of how much it would cost monthly. But I now get more detailed.

That was until a Lease Client was a victim of a fire during the process of looking for a new place to live. Thankfully, they were not home when the fire occurred, but the place was deemed unsafe and they were unable to enter for days. They didn’t have insurance.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, The client did photography and all the equipment was inside the apartment. Now you may know how much a camera for us regular folks would cost, now double/maybe triple that for a professional camera.

Add to that the television(s), dvd player, clothes, shoes… this stuff adds up. Imagine being faced with having to replace all these things at once?

And you have to earn a living, but the tools to earn said living are ruined? Talk about a nightmare.

Thankfully, most things were okay. I think the mattress had to be replaced, and groceries, but the big ticket items (camera, computer, tablet) were fine.

Let’s do some quick math;

– tablet $400

– laptop $1700

– TV $600

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$2700

Approximate cost of tenant’s insurance annually

$400

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That’s like $35 a month. Less than $10 a week.

Although the place where you are living may be insured, that DOES NOT, I repeat DOES NOT cover your things.

You don’t have to be a millionaire or even a thousandaire to place value on your things. Everything costs something these days. The outfit you have on right now; shoes, socks, belt, pants, undergarments, shirt, coat- adds up.

Not only will tenant’s insurance cover your belongings, it may also cover you in the event that you are found liable for any damage done to the property or to anyone visiting or living there.

If you are a renter, get informed and contact an insurance agent to get a quote on tenant insurance. Find out the options available for you.

It is definitely worthwhile.