Renters insurance doesn't need to be expensive
IF you are renting a property then you will need renters insurance in place to cover your contents and possessions and the good news is that it doesn’t need to be expensive, with the average policy price in the UK being around £150 according to our research.
That means for around £150 – and in many cases it will be less than this – you can rest assured that all of our belongings are insured against theft, fire, water damage or any other mishap that may occur. They will probably be covered for accidental damage at that price as well and if you want you can specify that you want cover for various items when you leave the rented accommodation. That’s ideal for things like mobile phones, computers and bicycles that can all be valuable items but could suffer loss or damage when in a classroom, nightclub or work place.
The accidental and away from home coverage is a real benefit for people who use cameras and digital equipment as well. iPads and iPods are valuable and can be covered at home and away with good renters insurance. It is worth noting though, that the more you specify for accidental and away from home cover, the higher the cost of the insurance will be – although we are talking tens of pounds per item in most cases.
You will need to consider your excess cover when you buy renters insurance because if you set it too high you may get a slightly cheaper quote but will you ever use the policy in the event of a loss. If you have a £500 excess then you will need to pay the first £500 in every claim. Only the top of the range iPads cost more than £500 so if you owned one of them and it was stolen you would have to pay the first £500 and that makes the insurance less useful. You’ll need to find a large proportion of the money to replace the item yourself.
Much better is to set a realistic excess of around £50 – £100, or my personal preference which is nil. If I suffer a contents loss I don’t want to pay more than I have to getting it replaced. There may be a compulsory excess of £100 but at least that is a lot easier to find than £500.
Renters insurance is basically contents insurance for tenants. It is widely available and you can buy online in minutes. Just make sure you have it in place or you could be sorry if you suffer a loss and at around £150 a year on average you know it does not need to be expensive but the benefit could be enormous.
Jason McClean
The Property Insurer
