Why Don’t You Have Renters Insurance?

Statistics tell us that about 33% of Americans rent a house, condo, or apartment. Of those 33%, or 35 million Americans, only somewhere between 20% and 30% have renters insurance. Why? Keith Beausoleil, owner of Fortified Insurance Agency in Manchester NH suggests the following reasons:

1. Renters don’t believe they have enough personal property to insure

2. Renters underestimate the value of their personal property and, therefore, don’t think insurance coverage is needed

3. Renters think renters insurance is too expensive

4. Renters think the landlord has the responsibility to pay for any losses

Renters insurance can be written to cover as little as $25,000 in personal property to as much as $200,000 in personal property. Think $25,000 is too much? Add up your clothing for the family (winter, spring, summer, fall clothing), include shoes and coats, sporting gear, furniture, bed sets, TVs, stereo equipment, cds and dvds…you get the picture…it adds up fast!

The most common reason renters call our office for insurance is because they’ve just made a major purchase such as new furniture or a big-screen TV. Once they’ve explained their initial reason for the call, we talk about the importance of being able to replace the family’s clothing (aside from the new furniture and TV) and being able to pay for a hotel room so that life gets back to normal as quick as possible. All of these things are covered by renters insurance and for as little as $125 to $150 a year. Ask anyone who has been through an apartment fire and they would have gladly paid $125 to $150 to have insured their apartment.

And if you think your landlord is responsible, think again. Check your lease for details, but generally speaking, your landlord is not responsible for your personal property whether loss is from theft, fire, or some kind of water loss. Additionally, a landlord is not responsible for putting you up in a hotel while the apartment is being repaired.

Renters insurance is an “insurance bargain” as it’s relatively inexpensive and takes a lot of worry about what happens after a devastating loss. And, when combined with an auto insurance policy, reduces the price of both the renters insurance and the auto insurance coverage. In some cases, the auto insurance coverage credit is high enough to cover the whole premium for the renters insurance making the auto and renters package an outstanding value.

Fortified Insurance Agency specializes in coverage for renters insurance, condo insurance, and home insurance. Talk to our professional insurance agents about coverage in New Hampshire (NH) today or refer us to someone who needs renters insurance.