Why You Gotta Get Renter's Insurance

During lean economic times, many of us start looking to trim extraneous expenses from our household budgets. But even if you've recently downsized your home and belongings, getting renter's insurance still makes a lot of sense. After all, how many of us could afford to replace all of our worldly posessions in the event of a fire or theft?

Replacement Insurance

When you start thinking about renter's insurance, the first question is whether you should get replacement insurance or just insure the value of your belongings. Well, we all know that things drop in value the minute you buy them, right? So, if you insured the contents of your closet for its value would you be able to get even one decent outfit with the cash?

Replacement insurance costs more than insuring your property at its actual value, but it also means that the insurance company will pay you something close to what it costs to replace it. That means paying you to replace your three-year-old Xbox 360 instead of paying you the yard sale value of it. Your flat-screen television, video game systems and appliances are just one reason to get replacement insurance. The other is that closet full of clothes. You didn't accumulate it all at once, so chances are you never thought about how much it would cost if you had to go out and buy new jeans, sweaters, shirts, and shoes all at once.