Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to home renters insurance. Falling victim to a myriad of misconceptions can not only end up costing you thousands of dollars – it could land you on a buddy’s couch with nothing but the clothes you’re wearing.

“I’ve Got Nothing Worth Insuring”

You may not be sitting on the lap of luxury watching your plasma screen, but whatever you are sitting on is worth more than you think.

Even if your entire apartment is furnished from the latest fashions available at your local super center – when you add it all up, it would cost thousands of dollars to replace.

“My Roommate Has Home Renters Insurance, so I’m Covered”

Wrong. You’ve got a savvy roommate – good for you! Get on the boat buddy, because his won’t rescue you. You and your roommate will need separate policies, your stuff is not covered by his and vice verse.

“I Can’t Afford It”

Most people don’t realize that renters insurance is cheap! Even a first time renter living on Mac & Cheese can afford it.
Renters insurance will usually run you less than $200 a year for around $30,000 in coverage – and that generally includes things stolen from your car!

Better yet, most policies from the major companies include $100,000 or more in personal liability coverage.

“I Don’t Own the Place, I’m Not Responsible!”

Bad news. If someone busts their behind on your kitchen, or anywhere else inside your apartment for that matter, and gets hurt – you are liable. Your landlords insurance policy won’t cover it, so if you don’t have your own policy you are in for big bucks worth of trouble.

Renters Insurance Reality Check

Some form of renters insurance is better than none – but deciding which type you need is just as critical.

Don’t just sing up for the first policy you find. There are two different types of renters insurance policies and not knowing the difference can cost you.

• A cash value policy will only pay out the value of the property at the time it was damaged or stolen.
• A replacement cost policy will pay out the amount that it’ll take you to replace your stuff.

Taking an inventory of your things and determining what’s worth what is the best way of figuring out which policy to go with.

An easy way of going about it is taking pictures or video of every room then assigning a value to all the items.

If you have some expensive stuff, this record will also be a huge help when it comes to convincing the insurance company to fork over $5000.00 to replace your vintage record collection – so keep it in a safe place OUTSIDE your apartment.

You’re All Set, Now Go Get Some!

Now that you have insurance advice, time to shop!

Good news is you can shop around for a renters insurance policy online just as you do with car insurance. Just be sure to use an unbiased website that will have you enter information once and do the shopping to all the major insurance companies for you.

Compare insurance quotes at InsWeb.com to find the policy you need at the best possible price.