Cheap Renters Insurance

Renters insurance, also called apartment insurance or home insurance (as opposed to homeowners insurance), has two separate coverage provisions. The first part of even cheap renters insurace covers your loss of propery from the "named perils" specifically included in your renters insurance policy. If your apartment building burned down and you suffered a total loss of everything in your apartment the building owner's insurance would not cover you. You may think you do not have enough to insure but when you add up the replacement value of things like your furniture, your home entertainment system, your computer, musical instruments, jewelry, and clothing the total will be much more than you would want to come up with out of pocket in the event of a loss. Some renter's insurance policies will even compensate your for temporary relocation living expenses while repairs are made to your apartment building.

It’s a good idea to inventory your belongings and use pictures or video to document what you own if you do not have good records of receipts. In the event of a loss it could make settling your claim faster and easier.

The property owner's insurance covers the building structure itself and the common areas. If you rent a home instead of an apartment you should check with the landlords insurer to see if the appliances, interior lighting, and walls are covered in the landlord's policy. You may assume that they are but you never know.

The second aspect of renters insurance coverage is liability insurance. This covers you against the expense of injuries to persons on your property, which in most cases would be any person that comes across the threshold of your apartment door. Depending on your policy, this coverage often includes your injured visitor's medical costs, plus legal and other associated costs should you be sued as a result of the injury.

Note that this liability coverage most often does not include persons living in the apartment. Additionally, most policies include medical payments coverage that pays for the medical expenses of people who do not live in the apartment, but who are injured on your property.

Every individual renters insurance policy will be different. Before you buy cheap renters insurance review it to see what your renters policy will actually insure you against. The term of art for this in the insurance world, is "named peril" coverage.

The named perils in your renters policy may include:

• Fire or Lightning
• Windstorm
• Smoke
• Vandalism or Malicious Mischief
• Theft
• Accidental Discharge of Water
• Other common loss types

Very few, if any, renters insurance policies will cover you against floods or earthquakes. You would need a separate flood insurance policy.

You would want to ask your insurance answer center when getting a quote if your policy would cover you against damage that was caused to the owner's property from the same incidient, or a separate incident.

As with typical home insurance or homeowners insurance most renters insurance policies will also cover your personal property against loss from a named peril while it is located outside your apartment. Your laptop is stolen from a park bench, for example.

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the national average premium for renters insurance in 2000 was $175 for an annual policy. The premiums ranges widely by state from $104 to $239 per year. That's for the so called typical policy. If you have individual items of personal property with a high value you will pay more.

Your renters insurance covers your property on either a depreciation basis or a replacement basis. Replacement basis is the best because it will pay your for the actual cost to acquire a new equivalent – even if it costs more. Depreciation basis will pay you the original cost of each item of property less some arbitrary valuation of the wear and tear experienced over the time since you acquired the property. The cost of a replacement basis policy typically isn’t that much higher. You will have a deductible, of course, which will also affect the cost of the premium.

Most major insurance companies offer renters insurance. First contact the insurance agent who provides you with your auto insurance or your life insurance. You may find that you can add affordable renters insurance to your current policy or get a multi-policy discount. You won't know if renters insurance discounts are avialable until you get a quote.