Question

Our landlord is suddenly requiring us to have renters insurance. We have never had such insurance, what should we be looking for/to cover? *There are many issues with the home we are renting, we did list most upon the ‘new’ landlord taking over the home and since it’s been a few years those existing issues have gotten worse and of course new problems have popped up. We always let him know and and though he has fixed minor urgent things with no problem, and also has reimbursed us for small things my husband has fixed, I worry he will try to claim/blame us for these bigger issues.  

Answer 1

State Farm is like $10/month & they have great coverage

Comments

@columba56026 I have them $17. 75 a month. Paying it off for the year when income tax hits

Answer 2

Bundle with your auto insurance. Our renters insurance is about $125/year

Answer 3

You should really have that anyway if your renting to protect your goods the landlord will not cover like you will. It is pretty reasonable since your just covering personal items not the home.  

Answer 4

GET IT! We rented a house and there was a terrible storm that caused damage. We had to be out of the house while they made repairs. Our renters insurance covered our stuff being put into storage, they even packed it up for us, movers to bring it to storage, and put my husband and I in a Residence Inn for 6 weeks with our newborn, pre-schooler, and cat. The landlord's insurance covered the house issues. We would have been up the creek without insurance. If there is a burglary, fire, flood, or anything like that, they will help you out. We use Liberty Mutual and I think we pay like $28/mo for our belongings (plus we pay extra for a specific rider for musical instruments and my engagement ring).  

Answer 5

Renters insurance will not cover in the case of flood. So you may want to look into flood insurance for contents only.  

Comments

@majorette88953 You can only buy flood insurance if you live in a flood plane. I what believe most people are calling flood is actually some type of big leak from plumbing or appliances.  

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@churchill7511 I’m not 100% sure. We’ve lived in. It’s Louisiana and Florida (hurricanes, flooding with torrential rains) and has friends we rented and had renters insurance but not flood insurance and lost everything. Thankspically if you aren’t required to have flood insurance it’s really cheap.  

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@conan thank you. I have flood insurance I would never not have it. I don’t risk Mother Nature.  

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@churchill7511 anyone can buy flood insurance whether they are in a flood plain or not. It will factor into premium if they are in a high flood zone, but it is available for anyone to purchase

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@contrite Are you an agent?  

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I’m licensed to sell insurance in TX and work for an agent, yes

Answer 6

I pay $16 a month for rental instance though lemonade. com

Answer 7

I have $40k in coverage for $22/month. It’s not expensive.  And I’m surprised it wasn’t in your original lease. It seems standard

Answer 8

Check with your city offices, most have someplace where you can turn landlords in for not fixing these that aren’t safe. Ours here is called Public Safety.  

Answer 9

I pay 25 with State Farm.  

Comments

@obumbrate0 it’s on my own. It’s separate from car insurance.  

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I’m sorry it’s with progressive not State Farm.  

Answer 10

Y’all I got a quote from progressives rental ins division. over $400 for the year! That’s INSANE

Answer 11

If there is anything the landlord doesn't know about, tell him asap. If there are things he does know about but hasn't fixed yet, maybe see what the deal is? We have a home we rent out and as we are not a business, we cover all repairs out of pocket. If they aren't urgent, we sometimes opt to save up for them. If theres some issue that is making you consider moving out or not renewing your lease, make this clear to the landlord. It will become a priority because getting new tenants is REALLY expensive.  

Answer 12

We pay $15-$20/mth ( can’t remember which I took) for ours. We are with State Farm because we have our car insurance through them also.  

Answer 13

It’s super cheap and totally worth it

Answer 14

I’m not sure if it’s different than here, but I only ever had renter’s insurance to cover my own personal property in case of damage or being stolen. I wasn’t responsible to have insurance to cover the rental property itself. That’s why homeowners have homeowner’s insurance.  

Answer 15

We combined it with our car insurance and it's only like $15 extra a month

Answer 16

Renters insurance covers your belongings and a stay in another place if there is damage that makes your house uninhabitable. If your water heater leaks and floods the place you will still be liable for paying rent even if you are not allowed to live there until repairs are made. Renters insurance will cover a hotel for you and replace all damaged personal property in this scenario and many others. Even in a storage unit. Definitely get it. It costs us $22 and most $10-20!  

Comments

@cadena64404 Exaaaaactly. I didn't have it for a lot of years and now I wonder why I didn't just get it ‍♀️

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@cadena64404 Geeeez. That sucks. I encourage everyone too. It's to cheap not to get!  

Answer 17

It’s really inexpensive especially if you bundle with auto insurance. Totally common requirement for renters.  

Answer 18

Look for content coverage and liability, see if he requires a certain liability limit. Check Geico website, if you have car insurance with them you might get a discount. You can get different deductibles, see which one makes more sense for you - that drives the premium. Also, make sure you select Replacement cost, instead of Actual cost for your content coverage. I work for an insurance company ‍♀️

Answer 19

I agree to bundling with auto insurance. And what to look for depends on what's in the home. Example, I used to rent a place with an indoor woodstove. So it cost a little higher with the fire liability. I have renters insurance bundled with my auto, only $82 for the whole year for the renter insurance! Super cheap for a good cushion of coverage. Gives me cover for my personal property while I live with my SO who owns and insures the home.  

Answer 20

Lemonade renters insurance! I pay $6. 00 a month for 100, 000. 00 Liability

Answer 21

I have Renters Insurance with Allstate. I pay $20 a month for mine. It covers up to $28, 000. I learned the hard way of not having rental insurance. We had a house fire years ago and lost almost everything. We didn't have rental insurance at the time.  

Answer 22

We pay $12 a month with usaa, I'm not sure on the coverage but I believe it's 30-40k. It's something good to have, even if not required

Answer 23

It’s super cheap to purchase. I paid less than $150 for an entire year.  

Answer 24

Ours is only like $12 a mo. I cant remember how much it covers but you never know what could happen. $12 a month or lose everything and start from scratch with no insurance. It's a good idea either way. :)

Answer 25

Should be inexpensive! I just get mine through my car insurance and bundle  

Answer 26

Check with your auto insurance company. It can give you a discount for “multi-line” and it’s pretty cheap. Unless you have extras like jewelry or high end electronics, you can probably get by with a basic policy. Check with your agent. It covers everything inside the building that you own, not the building.  

Answer 27

We always had it when we lived in apartments. Take video or pics of all your belongings.  

Answer 28

You should always have it. It’s super cheap. Just contact a local insurance agency.  

Answer 29

I work in insurance rental insurance only covers your personal property not the landlord he needs to have his own policy and that policy will not cover your stuff. They complement each other

Answer 30

Rental insurance is a great thing to have. It covers your personal belongings and liability! Let’s say you forgot to turn off your curling iron and it caught fire. That damage would be covered by the landlords policy but they would come after you for the damage. If you don’t have insurance to cover yourself it could become quite costly to you. It’s fairly cheap to have. I would get some quotes.  

Answer 31

We have it through our car insurance! It’s extremely helpful to have in case of fire, break in, etc. we just have a simple policy

Answer 32

Very good to have! For instance, if the house were deemed unsafe and you had to vacate immediately it is not up to the landlord to put you up in a hotel but renters insurance (should! ) Cover those costs.  

Answer 33

You should always renters insurance. The landlords policy will cover the house and the walls. YOUR renters insurance will cover everything within the walls. All your personal belongings. You will lose EVERYTHING if you have a fired or something and don’t have insurance. You will get zero compensation from the landlord’s policy on the house.  

Answer 34

My landlord sent a letter saying I needed to get renters insurance too but when we signed the lease it clearly says optional. I’m in nursing school full time so am extra expense isn’t happening right now. Check your lease

Answer 35

We’ve had apartment buildings burn down around here. People with renters insurance are ok. The people without it end up begging everyone for help because they have nothing.  

Answer 36

I have mine bundled through Geico with my car insurance. I pay $15/month. Well worth it!  

Answer 37

We’ve always had it and it may be only about $7 per month. So very worth it!  

Answer 38

We recently got it through our car insurance. Our landlord rents the house (which we are in) & two small complex’s behind the house (garage) & he had an incident with someone in the complex & they went to sue him. Better to be save then sorry.