I live in a College Dorm, why do I need Renters Insurance?  When you live in a College Dorm Room or in a Frat style house, you should have a Renters Insurance policy. A policy may cover your personal belongings such as a music player, computer and other items. It may also cover you in the case someone is injured. You may also live in off-campus housing. Click here to start.

Why Renters insurance ? Renters Insurance policies are designed to indemnify (cover your loss) you in the event of a covered loss to your personal property and protect you in the event you are responsible for bodily injury or property damage to others. It is available for apartments, rented house, condo, co-ops, dormitories, and roommate arrangements.

A visitor to your rented apartment or dorm may  slip on a wet kitchen floor and break and arm. Who is responsible for the medical costs? In most circumstances you are.  Renters Insurance in general provides "named peril" coverage - the policy states what you are insured against. 

Liability coverage also includes Medical Payments coverage, which applies to nonresidents of the insured premises. This coverage pays for the actual medical expenses incurred up to the limit for a non-resident guest.

Renter's Insurance Costs You might think you don't need Renter's Insurance if you rent, but think again! Add up the cost of your furniture, your electronic equipment, your CD collection, computer, garments and other personal property. Can you afford to replace everything in the event of a fire or burglary?  
Renter's Insurance is relatively inexpensive. The average cost of renter's insurance is approximately $10 a month for around $25,000 worth of property coverage and $100,000 worth of liability coverage. 

Renter's Insurance may cover:  repair or replacement of your personal property damaged, destroyed or stolen as the result of peril -- fire or lightning, windstorm or hail, explosions, smoke, vandalism, theft, damage by glass, electrical surge damage, and water-related damage from home utilities, and more. If your home is made unlivable by one of these perils, Renters insurance will pay for the associated expenses (cost of a temporary residence, meals eaten out, etc.). Coverage is usually limited to a percent of the total value of the policy.

Claims Actual cash value or Replacement cost coverage. Although you pay about 15 percent more for it, you're usually better off with replacement cost coverage, which pays for what it actually costs to replace the items you lost. Actual cash value pays only for what the property was worth at the time it was damaged or stolen. 

My Landlord is Responsible for my stuff, right?

Of course, you can always count on part of your landlord's policy, right? Well, not quite. Many renters are under the impression that their landlord's policy covers their belongings as well. Unfortunately that's not the case, and they often don't find that out until the worst possible time, after a disaster or a robbery. Your landlord's policy doesn't cover anything that's yours. The only exception to this would be if the loss was caused by negligence on the part of your landlord, and then you would still have to prove it in court. 

You'll also have the unbiased information you need, like how a company rates in the business world, so you can feel safe with your decision. Click here to start.

In Partner with Rentlaw.com - The National Landlord Tenant Guide