In case you have rented the place, then the homeowners insurance of your landlord covers only the structure of the house and not the items in the house which belongs to you. In case of a calamity which results in the damage of the house as well as several items inside the house, then the homeowners insurance would pay the landlord for the damages that has happened to the house and you would be left alone to start from the scratch. To avoid this, it is wise for you to have a renters insurance, which is the insurance which covers for any damage that happens to the property while you have rented it. This covers for the damages that have happened to any of your belongings in the house and the structures that you have added to the house and also provides liability insurance for you. The liability coverage of your renters insurance would cover for any damages to another persons property for which you are held responsible or injury to another individual. It is also a common belief that renters insurance is very expensive. This is not true, the insurance is affordable and if you calculate the losses that you might incur in case of damage or a liability law suit against you, paying the premium for renters insurance would seem cheap. Also, many people believe that the belongings they have is not much, so why bother paying the premium which seems like a waste of money. But, if you take an inventory of all the articles that you have in the house and calculate the amount that would be needed to replace the articles which might be lost in case of a fire, you would be shocked to see the amount that it would come to.

Calculating renters insurance: The amount of renters insurance needed by each person is different from another. It would depend on the value of the belongings of the individual. It is better to take an inventory of all the items that you have along with the price at which you bought the item and its present market value. The amount that it comes to is the renters insurance that you would need. It would be a wise option to take photographs of all the items in the house and keep it at a safe place along with the inventory list. This would be helpful in case you have a claim. Do not keep the inventory list in the house itself, in case of a calamity like a fire, this also would be lost.

Coverage under renters insurance: Many insurers have limits to the renters insurance that they offer. There might be a limit to the amount of coverage for bank notes, securities, jewellery, fur, silver and gold ware etc. The limit could be on the amount which would be paid or on the damage that happens. Like in case of silver or gold ware, the limit is that the payment would be only on theft.

The coverage of renters insurance is for the damage of the belongings when you are in the house as well as when you are away from the house. That is to say, the insurance would pay in case of theft of your suitcase containing your clothes when you are off on a trip. The coverage includes losses caused by fire or lightning, ice, snow, explosion, aircraft or vehicles, smoke, windstorm or hail, theft, riot or civil commotion, falling objects, vandalism or malicious mischief, water leakage from the plumbing system or appliances. The coverage provides for the payment of living expenses in case the house is so damaged that it is uninhabitable. This includes the living and eating expenses in a hotel and traveling expenses till the time the house is repaired and articles replaced. The renters insurance also provides liability coverage up to the limits of the policy, which would pay for the damages that you are held responsible for, the damages, may include the injury to any person while being on your property or the damage that you unintentionally caused to any other persons property. In case of a law suit related to this, renters insurance pays for the legal costs also. Under this policy, the medical payments of people who were injured while on your property are also covered.

The coverage value of the policy is of two types. Replacement value coverage offers the amount that is needed to replace the damaged item. Actual value coverage gives the actual price of the item damaged. This is considering that the market value of the item that is damaged would be different from the actual value of the item. This also considers the rate of inflation of economy.

Losses not covered under renters insurance: Though the renters insurance is considered as a policy that would cover for all the damages to the personal property, there are certain losses which are not covered under the insurance. These include the damage that has occurred due to flood or underground water, earthquake or landslide, nuclear hazard, and war.

These losses are not covered in general under the renters insurance but there is optional coverage. The optional coverage would include earthquake, flood, increased liability, increased business property, incidental business liability etc. This is added to the basic renters insurance for and additional premium. So if you are living in an earthquake prone area, you should have a renters insurance with and additional coverage which would cover for earthquake.

Deductible: Every insurance usually has a deductible even if it is a very little amount. Renters insurance also has a deductible which normally varies from $250 to $1000 depending on the policy and your choice. In case of a claim, this amount needs to be paid by you before the renters insurance would pay you for the damages. And the amount of deductible that you have affects the amount of premium that you have to pay. The higher the deductible, the lower the premium.

Discounts: Many insurers offering renters insurance also offers discounts to the customers. This would depend on the number of policies that you purchase from the insurer. So, if you have the auto insurance and renters insurance from the same insurer, you stand a good chance of getting a discount on the premium that you have to pay.

Also the safety measures that you implement in your house would make you eligible for a discount. If you have a burglar alarm or a sprinkler in case of fire, the items would get you a discount in the premium. But the safety measures must be those which are recommended by the insurer.