Envision a situation where your apartment becomes uninhabitable because part of it caught on fire. You can no longer live in the apartment due to the smoke and water damage, and your computer and furniture are destroyed - leaving you not only without a home but also without essential personal belongings.
Scenario A: You start calling family, friends or hotels to find temporary housing. In addition, you will need to buy another computer and new furniture. The expenses accumulate quickly.
Scenario B: You call the agency from whom you purchased renter’s insurance. You review your policy details with them (and refer to the photo of the policy you kept on your phone in case the physical copy was lost). The policy you selected covers temporary housing and replacement of your computer and furniture.
Obviously, Scenario B is the best option in a bad situation.
Renters insurance usually covers temporary housing, if needed. This is incredibly important in the unfortunate event of a fire or other unexpected event so that you are easily able to find a place to live.
Renters insurance covers your personal possessions and provides liability coverage in case someone is injured in your home. You can determine the amount of coverage you need by adding up the value of your possessions such as, clothes, furniture, jewelry, laptop, iPhone, etc.
For these reasons and more, we ALWAYS recommend that tenants obtain renters insurance!