You absolutely DO need renters insurance. But don’t worry… it's cheap!

Your landlord's home insurance policy does not cover your belongings. It also doesn't cover your legal liability if someone else's property is damaged or if someone is hurt inside your apartment.

The only thing the landlord's insurance policy will cover is the actual structure of the apartment. Whatever happens to anything within those four walls is on you.

But don't freak out about the extra expense. You can get a policy for as little as $16 per month that will give you $30,000 of property coverage and $100,000 of liability coverage.

Get quotes from a bunch of companies in one shot by going to a big, trusted, unbiased web site like insurancerates.com to save even more on your insurance rate.

If you don't think it's worth it, just look around the room where you're sitting right now. Start adding up the amount of money it would cost to replace all the stuff in it--the computer you're looking at right now and the chair you're sitting in, probably a printer/scanner, your carpets, drapes, pictures on the walls, dishes in the cupboard, clothes in the closet. It all has a value, and replacing it all at once would cost you a bundle. Why not let an insurance company pay for it?

Renters insurance doesn't just protect the things destroyed in the event of a fire, hail, or wind storm or someone driving through your front window. It will also cover you if any of your things are stolen.

The best part about renters insurance policy is they also cover items stolen from your car! So even if you don't have comprehensive auto insurance, you can still protect the items lost (Note: Renters insurance will not cover damages or theft of the car itself.)

Convinced? It really makes sense to spend a small amount on renters insurance to save a very big headache down the rad.