Many young people who leave home and go out into the big wide world forget about some of the most important details they should take care of.  Renters insurance is very often one of these.

By going out on their own, either getting an apartment on their won or sharing with others, they will learn about what is involved in the rental world.   Things like having and keeping good references and records, applying for a lease, furnishing the apartment and generally doing all the things that they took for granted at home with their folks.

One of the most important of all these things is protecting their possessions.  These days with all the technical products that young ones have, these possessions value can add up to quite a sum.

Recently a couple of friends were renting a house, they furnished it all.  They each had the computers, printers, game consoles, TVs, DVD recorders, not to mention the computer games, DVDs, CDs etc that go with all these appliances.  Then there was their furniture, refrigerators, washers etc too.  All in all the value of their possessions total was a tidy amount.

Now these two people were very fortunate, the building next door to their house was burnt down during the night.  The firemen were able to contain the blaze and so the friends house was not damaged in any way, only everything had a smoky smell for several days. They were lucky in more ways that one.

You see, neither of these friends had taken out renters insurance for their possessions and until that fire, neither had taken the time or effort to even enquire about how to go about insuring when you are renting. Both had been advised by their parents to make sure they didn’t neglect taking out renters insurance but hadn’t gotten around to it.

The landlord only covers the building with the landlord insurance, a person renting the building needs to take out the correct coverage for their belongings that they will have in the building.

When enquiring about renters insurance there are a few things you will need to ask.  Things like

·    The type of loss or damage to property that is covered by the renters insurance

·    Renters insurance and replacing property in the event of loss or damage.  This can be the replacement costs or the actual cash value.  There may be deductibles, the higher the deductibles, the lower the premiums. (The deductible is the amount you pay before the insurance company starts to pay).

The other protection with renters insurance to ask about would be,

1.    Liability protection and guests’ medical expenses, some policies will cover anyone visiting your rental property, who is injured or have their belongings damaged. The outside and public areas of the property should be covered by the landlords insurance, so make sure to ask this too.

2.    Property loss while traveling, this will be cover for things like lost luggage, cameras, jewelry etc  while you are away from your home.

3.    Extra cost in living expenses due to a loss or damage, this can be if something happens to the building you are renting and you have to move out and stay somewhere else until whatever is rectified and this is more expensive.

4.    What premium policy add-ons are available?  This will cost you more but some of the add-ons include things like engagement and wedding presents, floods and earthquakes and for the extras cost could be worth it.

5.    Sharing with other people, do you all need separate policies or can the one renters insurance cover everyone.

6.    Discounts.  Always ask about discounts, you may have an insurance cover for your car, check if there is a discount for more than one type of policy.

7.    How to pay?  You may be able to pay by the month, which may suit your budgeting better.

8.    What if more than two people are sharing the apartment?  Some renters insurance will not pay for a claim if more than two people are sharing.  It has to do with security.  Even if someone has renters insurance and they move in with a few people, if they need to make a claim, the insurance company may not honor it.

The above is a very important question, so make sure you ask it first.

If you have an insurance consultant or insurance broker, make sure they get all this information for you.