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If you live in an apartment or other form of rental housing, it is in your best interest to purchase renter’s insurance unless your rental situation already provides this service to you. Did you know that you can handle all the hands-on work to obtain renter’s insurance in as little as half an hour? When you look at it this way, there is little to no excuse for not buying this valuable coverage to protect yourself and your investments. Especially considering the fact that renter’s insurance isn’t even expensive. The average annual renter’s insurance premium in this country was just one hundred eighty-two dollars, or fifteen dollars a month last year. It varies from state to state, but it is still quite inexpensive. People living with roommates will pay even less, because they will be able to split the bill.

You can obtain your renter’s insurance quote right on the World Wide Web. Your current car insurer might offer you a discount for bundling this type of coverage, or you could ask family and friends for recommendations. You might also want to do your research on how different insurance companies are rated for reliability and customer service, as well as prices. To get your renter’s insurance quote, you will need your own basic information: your name, address, date of birth, and social security number. You can also expect to have to answer many difference questions about your residence: what year it was built (ask your landlord), how many units are in the building or how many people live in it, the distance between your unit and the nearest fire hydrant and/or fire extinguisher, the approximate square footage of your unit, how many bedrooms and bathrooms it has, how many stories it is (is it a townhouse?), whether it has a fireplace, whether it has a garage, whether it has a security system, whether you have pets, and a ballpark estimate of the value of all property you have within its walls. There are calculators online that can help you establish a baseline estimate of this figure, or you could get on the phone and speak to an actual agent who should be able to help you get the number.

It’s a good thing to shop around for the best quote on your renter’s insurance plan, but if you have to do it in person or over the phone, you can expect to be subjected to a lengthy and intense sales pitch every time. It’s just something for which you need to prepare. You might be tempted by one of those Web sites where you enter all your personal information with the hope of getting multiple insurance quotes all in the same place, but these sites are very much a matter of bait-and-switch. It’s likely that you will simply be directed to a page with the names of companies who are going to contact you with quotes. Not only will you have to wait for the vital information, but you are also forced to have a conversation with several insurance agents, which is a real pain. Therefore, you might as well just go to the insurance companies themselves for your quotes. The biggest names in rental insurance are the same ones that you hear about in terms of car insurance and/or homeowners insurance: Allstate, Esurance, Geico, The Hartford, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, State Farm, Travelers, USAA, and so forth.

Here is the scoop on what you need to know about renter’s insurance. First of all, you will want replacement cost coverage for your property, as opposed to actual cash value coverage. It might be more expensive, and not every single insurer will offer it, but trust me when I saw that you prefer the former. What’s the difference, you might be asking right now. Well, as the name suggests, replacement cost coverage will pay to completely replace your property. Actual cash value will only pay what your things were worth when they were destroyed – for example, what you would have gotten for selling them on Craigslist or a yard sale. Replacement cost coverage is worth it, despite the expense, because otherwise you will never be able to afford to get all your stuff back.

Liability coverage is similar to liability coverage included in homeowners’ insurance, in the sense that it covers you if someone should happen to get injured on your property. If someone slips on your area rug and breaks a leg or your dog takes a chunk out of them, you will be covered for legal expenses and any court judgments up to the value of your policy. Financial experts advise getting at least one hundred thousand dollars in liability coverage, although you can certainly get less. More is better if you can afford it.

You will need a separate rider for your policy in certain cases, since insurance doesn’t cover every single possible disaster… surprise! If you live in a state prone to natural disasters like earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, or floods, you will need to purchase a rider if you want to be covered against this kind of damage. I live in Florida, so my renter’s insurance carries a storm rider. Additionally, if you have many valuable items in your home, they might not be covered if their value exceeds a certain amount of money. Jewelry, electronics, and antiques are covered up to a certain point – think fifteen hundred dollars for jewelry and fancy textiles, like furs or designer clothing. Housewares are normally capped at twenty-five hundred dollars. If you have an heirloom watch or ring, you will need to get it professionally appraised and obtain a separate rider. The same goes for any fancy decorative items, expensive rugs, rare books, or one-of-a-kind paintings you might happen to have laying about.

Renter’s insurance is generally pretty cheap, but the final price tag for your policy will depend on a number of individualized factors. Dealing with sticker shock? There are ways that you can lower the cost of your premium. As is the case with any kind of insurance, you can always lower your out-of-pocket payments by choosing a higher deductible. Five hundred dollars an incident is generally the lowest deductible offered, but many people need not take this option unless they have no savings on which they could rely. Choosing a deductible of one thousand dollars or even higher is a good option if you want to see an instant and dramatic decrease in your costs. You can also buy things that make your home safer: a security alarm, a smoke detector, or a fire extinguisher. As is the case with most kinds of insurance, renter’s insurance companies deduct dollars for protective devices. If you take my previous suggestion and buy your policy from the same company that insures your car, you are likely to have earned a so-called “multiline” discount for bundling your different kinds of coverage. If you are over the age of fifty-five, you might also qualify for a senior discount. Membership in various clubs and organizations can also earn you various discounts of different amounts. As an interesting side note, you can decrease your likelihood of getting scalped on renter’s insurance in the future by carefully considering your choice of pooch when you go to get a dog. Certain breeds of dogs are considered high-risk due to temperament (pit bulls, chows, Dobermans, Rottweilers, German shepherds, wolf hybrids, or dogs that are mutts with any amount of these breeds in their bloodline), and could lead to you paying a higher premium or being turned down for coverage altogether.

In your quest to save money, however, please don’t skimp on getting as much coverage as you actually need. This is a decision that will inevitably come back to bite you in the rear. If everything in your home disappeared tomorrow, how much money would it take to get it back? Think about the years that it has taken to accumulate your stuff, and take some time to really ponder that question. I’m talking about all your clothing – jeans, underwear, shoes, tops, and so on. Your furniture… most people need a table and chairs, a few couches, a bed, a dresser, an entertainment center, a bookcase, and an end table or two – and that’s just scratching the surface. How about your electronics – your computer/printer/monitor, your TV, your game systems? How about the contents of your kitchen – your pots and pans, that fancy food processor and blender, your toaster oven, the china that you received for your wedding? Do you know the value of all your forks and spoons? How about your appliances? My apartment has a washer/dryer hookup, so I have both. Do you have a vacuum cleaner? A wall air conditioner unit? How about your jewelry, your baseball card collection, your kids’ toys, and the Christmas decorations you store in the closet? Anyone in your home play the guitar? You get the picture. Think about all these things – and then round up. The standard amount of coverage that most people need is twenty thousand dollars. If it costs you five or ten dollars a month to double that coverage, how much are you actually losing in comparison with what you risk? An insurance agent can educate you on the differences in price that you can expect to pay for differing levels of coverage. Whatever the amount, figure out how to pay for it.

And do it right away! You never know when disaster could strike. Nobody wakes up in the morning knowing that faulty wiring is going to burn their home down, or that a thief is going to target them. Protect yourself now and spare the heartbreak later. Most insurance companies doing business nowadays have the ability to take a check over the phone, at which point, the policy is active immediately, or it may go into effect at midnight. You might also use a credit or debit card to pay for the policy. Once you’ve made the payment, the policy is binding. You will be covered. Once you have purchased your policy, make sure you know what you have. If you need to make a claim, you’ll need a complete home inventory. Make it easy on yourself now, and gather the proof of what you own: receipts, pictures, and video. A video inventory is a quick and easy way of cataloguing your stuff as a start. If you ever need to file a claim on your policy, one of the first things that your insurer will ask for is this inventory. If you have just faced the fear and heartbreak of, say, a house fire, you will likely be too shaken up to be of much practical use to your insurance company at this difficult time. Do yourself a favor NOW and get these things done and taken care of. Obviously, don’t store your video or paper inventory inside the rental property unless you have a fireproof and waterproof safe! You can always give these documents to a trusted family member for safekeeping, or else stick them in a safe deposit box at the bank.