What do I need to know about Tenant and Renters Insurance?
RentWhiz Team
Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone impacted by the extreme weather conditions across the country and a special thank you to all the emergency personnel helping save lives and properties. If you don’t have tenant or home insurance, you should probably look into it. We’ve heard some horror stories from some of our group members in certain parts of Canada that have experienced property damage recently, so we wanted to give you an idea of things you need to consider when shopping around for insurance.
How much are you willing to pay
When shopping for insurance, one of the first things you need to determine is how much you are willing to pay for insurance. Some items we will talk about in this blog such as property value, insurance coverage options and deductibles often impact how much you have to pay each month but before you even consider these items, ask yourself how much you can actually afford to pay each month.
Assess the value of your belongings and your property
One of the first things you’ll be asked when purchasing insurance is the total value of all the items you would like to insure. So, you’ll need to do an assessment of what you would like to insure and how much it’s worth. You can always hire an appraiser, do it yourself or use an online calculator. It’s up to you to decide what works best for you. As a side note, it’s always a good idea to take pictures of the items you are insuring and record any serial numbers if they have one. This will come in handy if an item is stolen and you need to track it down, or if you need to calculate the replacement cost of an item that’s been damaged or stolen.
As we mentioned in ourhandy student deals blog companies will often have deals for students. A quick search on the internet will give you a list of companies and banks that have good deals for students. If you have a bank account or any other sort of insurance policy, reach out to the institution and ask them if you can bundle your insurance policies. This will usually save you money since you have more negotiating power with them.
Understand the insurance terms
Before signing any contract, it’s always a good idea to read the fine print, and insurance policies are no exception to this rule. Many people often overlook the deductible they must pay or the insurance coverage maximums and are surprised when they make a claim and get less than what they expected. Understanding what is covered is just as important as understanding what isn’t covered.
Speak to your landlord
As a tenant, you should always have insurance and the same applies to your landlord. If you have a chance, speak to your landlord about their insurance policy and understand what’s covered and what isn’t. Not only will it give you a better understanding of what each of you are responsible for, but your landlord may have some useful tips and advice since they may know the property and the surrounding environment and neighbourhood better than you do.