This is a society that believes in filing lawsuits. Most of the time, when things go wrong to a person or organization in this country, it is many times resolved by suing somebody. The person or the company with the deepest pockets will sometimes end up paying. But, that doesn’t prevent a person from suing you, and letting the insurance companies fight it out amongst themselves.
This is why a tenant should get Renters Insurance. It protects you and your assets from being sued directly. Renters Insurance pays for your personal belongings in the event you have a fire or theft loss, or other similar damages to your home or appliances, such as your refrigerator, or a computer. It protects you from any lawsuit filed against you in or around your apartment.
The landlord does carry liability insurance, but that is for his property. It does not cover any other belongings but those that belong to him. Even if it comes out that the fault was that of the landlord, a tenant should always carry his or her own liability insurance.
Sometimes the homeowner’s insurance company will go after the tenant if the company believes the tenant is at fault. An example would be if you started a fire in your apartment from improper disposal of a lit cigarette. Renters Insurance can protect you from being sued by your landlord if you do anything that severely damages the property.
Renters Insurance can also protect you from your own family, visitors and friends. Yes, it does happen. Perhaps your friend fell in the bathroom and broke his ankle. He could sue you for the accident. If nothing was physically wrong in the bathroom, but you left some water on the floor, you may be held personally liable.
The premium amount depends on how much coverage you want for your belongings. It is amazingly cheap, and pretty much standard everywhere. Go through your apartment, and make a list of everything you have of value furniture, appliances, toys, clothes, furs, computer, beds, etc. Put a value next to each item, and add it up. That will tell you how much insurance you will need to buy.
If you have any receipts of your purchases, save them in case you are asked to produce evidence of a purchase. If you do not have receipts, make sure you take good pictures. Also, put down when you made the purchase. This is important, because companies will try to depreciate the value of your items depending on when you made the purchases.
Ask your landlord where you can get renters insurance. Contact any insurance company, and ask for rates based on your list of valuables. Go to the yellow pages, which has a list of insurance companies near to you. Do it before you suffer a loss.