If you are renting a place and don’t have renters insurance, you should really look into getting a policy. Besides helping out when you lose some or all of your possessions, it can help you with temporary housing should the need arise.

Shop around to find a good deal on renters insurance.

How Much Renters Insurance Do You Need?

You want enough to cover your needs, but you don’t want to pay too much either. Start off by doing an inventory of what you have and deciding a ballpark figure of how much it would take to recoup what you could lose if there was a fire. According to MSN Money, expect to pay $150-300/year for coverage of around $30,000.

You may also keep in mind that you have to get separate riders for earthquakes and floods if you live in high risk areas for those. Double check with the agent that you’re getting replacement value with the policy and not actual cash value. Replacement value will cover the price it takes now to replace an item, not the depreciated value of the item.

Companies to Shop Around and Compare

It really does pay to shop around for insurance. I managed to save half of my old car insurance premiums by calling different companies and comparing rates.

Discounts You May Get

In addition to finding good prices on premiums, you should work on getting as many discounts as you can qualify for. Some things that may lower your premiums include:

• Security/Alarm system
• Smoke Detector
• Sprinkler System
• Non-smokers
• Credit score

Your Take

What tips do you have on finding affordable renters insurance?

Photo Credit: striatic

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