Comments on: Why Renter’s Insurance

By: lifeisdynamic

lifeisdynamic — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:56:03 +0000

Although expensive for many, insurance of all kinds is worth the investment (that is what it is really). Like so may others, I have paid insurances of all colours for many years and not made any claims and questioned when things were financially tight some years, whether I could opt not to continue or reduce my policy. There have been a number of times I have thought this, only to find the following year I have needed to make multiple claims. When I added how much damage there was to property and how much I spent on premiums over the years, I realised I had well and truely (and then some) had value for money – not to mention peace of mind during the period of no claims.

By: melissa

melissa — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:12:39 +0000

i work for an insurance company and i am always surprised at how many people turn down renters insurance. i’ve seen several people that i offered the coverage to turn it down on the spot (thinking that i am trying to upsell them), only to suffer a catstrophic loss. one person that declined the coverage had an apartment fire that destroyed all of his belongings about 4 months after he moved in, a loss that he is still struggling to recover from. the kicker is that since he has his car insured with us, adding that coverage would have only increased his monthly bill by about $6. if you rent, ask your auto insurer about a multi-line discount, and the savings on your auto insurance will make the renter’s policy almost free.

By: Arthur Savage

Arthur Savage — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:59:20 +0000

I think renters insurance is very important. I wouldn’t be without it. On the other side of the coin landlord insurance is important for your let property.

By: Jordan Clark

Jordan Clark — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:24:00 +0000

I also agree with Phil. I’ve looked into rental insurance and I have to say I don’t think it’s worth it for us specifically. However I should also say I think it’s probably a good idea for most renters.

Here are my personal reasons:

1. We self insure by having an emergency fund of 6 months of living expenses, if we lost everything it would not financially devastating.

2. Our family is frugal and just starting out so a lot of our possessions were hand-me-downs and don’t have much value. We could probably replace everything for less then $10,000

3. We live in a new secure concrete building with fire sprinklers which are very effective. Fire insurance is of limited effect because the damage would be limited to a single room.

4. There has never been a theft in our building, we aren’t on the ground floor, and we have steal doors/door frames, good building security and our computers are secured with steal cables so the chances of theft are also small.

Plus when I checked online for renters insurance the premiums I found were in the $30/month ballpark.

By: Ram

Ram — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 10:59:52 +0000

I agree with you Phil. I have really grown to believe that “Insurance” is evil so only take it when absolutely necessary. I believe this is a risk an individual can bear. I see risk taking as a measure of financial well being. If one can’t stomach a risk of 10-30 thousand dollars then it a sign of something fundamentally wrong. It could be either not saving enough or keeping expensive things at home that really must belong elsewhere.

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:56:06 +0000

I have a hard time stomaching insurance. In my mind, insurance companies are much like casinos. They rip off the vast majority of people, benefit greatly a few, and always make money for the shareholders.

Are there (m)any not-for-profit, or community based insurers? That’s something that I could get behind.

For now, I will play the house odds and save my $18 a month.

Anyone else feel this way?

By: Toni

Toni — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:03:03 +0000

When my apartment was broken into, I was so glad I had renter’s insurance. I don’t understand why folks would think it is optional.

By: Jeff from All Renters Insurance Info.com

Jeff from All Renters Insurance Info.com — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:03:42 +0000

The picture does it for me, so many times you find yourself making decsions because you’re short of money. Renter’s Insurance is something you just need to have to give you the peace of mind.

By: Renee

Renee — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:34:54 +0000

Great post. Often people don’t think about these things until it is too late. 20 dollars for peace of mind is worth it.

By: Sam of Fix My Personal Finance

Sam of Fix My Personal Finance — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:23:31 +0000

Good post. They’re not really expensive so its worth it especially when you consider what you get in return. The average cost for $20,000 worth of insurance is only around $100 a year, depending on where you live, according to Diggs. For only a small price-about the same as a couple of take-out pizzas each month-the financial burden of buying new things after a catastrophe could be significantly lessened.