An Unexpected Way To Save Money: Renters Insurance, Explained

Take a moment and picture your apartment. What’s inside? For starters, there’s your furniture, clothes, headphones, and TV… and when you add up the value of all of it, you’ll get a pretty big number.

What would you do if something happened to all of it?

Truth is, this isn’t something we like to think about. We want to focus on experiences, not things. We also want to assume that bad things happen to other people, but never to us. And most of all, we don’t want to imagine (literally) paying the consequences if something happened to our stuff.

But if Mother Nature or theft takes its toll, a serious chunk of change may suddenly leave your pocket.

No fear – there’s an easy way to protect your stuff (and your wallet): renter’s insurance.

Yeah, you read right. But if you’re gonna get an insurance policy, make sure you get the best bang for your buck.

But wait, do I actually need renters insurance?

Renter’s insurance is that thing your parents keep reminding you to get, but you don’t think you actually need. Think of it this way – if someone broke into your apartment tomorrow and took your stuff, could you (or would you want to) replace everything at full price?

If your answer is no, you should probably think about getting a policy.

Here’s what would happen if someone broke into your house while you were insured: first, you’d file a claim, either over the phone or fax or, in a rare and lucky case, on an app. If it’s approved, your insurer would pay you back for the damage, so you wouldn’t have to pay yourself. Nightmare, dodged.

How can renters insurance save me money?

If you have a renters policy, you can get reimbursed for a wide range of situations.

Let’s start with your stuff. If something happens to anything you own because of an unfortunate event (think: theft, fire, lightning, windstorm, vandalism, freezing, damage from aircraft of vehicles, riots, etc), your renters policy can reimburse you, even if it happened outside of your home.

So if your phone gets stolen while you’re traveling abroad, your renters insurance can reimburse you, and save you the headache (and wallet ache).

But wait, there’s more!

Let’s say your friend, neighbor, or pizza delivery guy slips while they’re at your house, or you leave your stove on, and the apartment fire wreaks havoc on your neighbor’s apartment. In both of these scenarios, the parties involved may ask you to pay for the repairs, medical bills, and they might even sue you (ouch).

But no fear – your renters insurance policy will reimburse you for your legal fees, medical expenses, and damages to others. Who knew?

We’re not done yet. Your coverage would also kick in if your place becomes unlivable – if a pipe bursts and floods your apartment, for example. The cost of your hotel (and maybe even room service!) can be taken care of by your insurance policy. Because let’s be real: if your digs become unlivable, the last thing you want to do is spend more money on relocation.

That was a mouthful. To sum it up, renter’s insurance covers:

• Personal property
• Personal liability & medical bills
• Temporary living expenses.

… in the event of theft, fire, lightning, windstorm, vandalism, freezing, damage from aircraft of vehicles, riots, etc.

Okay, cool. any other benefits?

At the risk of being cheesy, renters insurance does one more thing that you can’t put a price on: it allows you to rest easy, knowing your stuff is covered and giving you financial protection in the case of unexpected events.

Ready to get a quote for renters insurance? Lemonade can give you one here.