Why Have Renters Insurance?

Renters insurance is a form of contents insurance that offers you financial help and protection against damage and loss to the personal items in your rental home. While your landlord is responsible for insuring the dwelling for damage or loss, a landlord’s insurance policy does not protect your possessions.

Many renters don’t think of getting insurance. Unfortunately when disaster strikes, it’s often the tenants who are the ones to lose everything without any access to compensation. With one in 15 Australians filing a claim on their Home and Contents insurance each year according to iSelect, disaster can strike more often than you think. Don’t make the mistake of simply thinking  “it won’t happen to me.”

 

What Does Renters Insurance Cover?

Renters insurance will ensure you don’t end up significantly out of pocket if your furniture, clothes, jewellery, books, computer and other valuable products are damaged or lost. Keep in mind that you have to keep your receipts and determine the correct replacement value for your items.

Renters insurance will generally cover:

  • Fire
  • Theft
  • Vandalism
  • Water damage
  • Storm damage
  • Floods
  • Earthquakes
  • Explosion and impact damage

Ensure you carefully read the specific terms and conditions of your policy so you have a good understanding of the limits, exclusions and conditions that may affect your coverage.

 

Types of Renters Insurance

Renters insurance differs from Home and Contents insurance in that the latter covers the cost of repairing, rebuilding or replacing the building itself as well as insuring contents. Renters insurance policies are all designed to protect just the contents in your home. However, they can come in different forms so you can tailor your policy to suit your needs.

For example, you can take out additional cover for unspecified items up to $1,000. Many insurers also offer low cost policies to protect your belongings against the two biggest risks of damage and loss in rental properties – fire and theft. Keep in mind that these policies can be quite limited in their cover.

You can also get motor burnout insurance which covers you for loss or damage to electric motors in common household appliances such as fridges, freezers and washing machines. This is an optional extra in most renters insurance policies.

 

Is Renters Insurance Affordable?

Renters insurance is surprisingly cheap and accessible. The cost ultimately depends on how much you want to cover. For example, to insure $25,000 worth of goods in a 2 bedroom flat in East Geelong with an excess of $500 would cost between $160 to $360 depending on whether you want standard or comprehensive cover. That’s less than $15 a month on average and $30 a month at its most expensive. If you live in a sharehouse, this cost can be split.

Large value items like expensive artwork or jewellery often needs to be specifically added to your inclusions or insured separately. This is sometimes called collections cover and allows you to insure these items at their appraised value. So long as you do your research, compare policies and talk through your needs with a professional, it can be simple to get the right coverage.

 

Looking for a rental in the Geelong area? Check out the latest rental listings at Hayeswinckle or contact us today if you have any questions.

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