Source: Apartment.com
27 Jul 2010
Renters are 50 percent more likely to experience theft than those who own homes, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Despite these risks, most apartment dwellers are still living without renters insurance. According to a recent Apartments.com survey of nearly 1,400 apartment hunters around the country, 67 percent said they do not have renters insurance. The top reason survey respondents gave for not being covered is that they cannot afford it, followed closely by many who claim they did not know this type of insurance existed. Other respondents believe they do not need renters insurance because their possessions are not valuable enough to make the investment worthwhile and nothing bad has ever happened to them.
Nearly a quarter of apartment seekers surveyed are under the assumption that renters insurance is too rich for their blood, yet the average premium is under $200 a year, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The majority of Apartments.com survey respondents who choose to protect themselves with renters insurance said they pay on average $12.50 a month or less and one out of 10 renters said they have had to use their insurance at one time or another.
The two most common components of renters insurance include protection against theft and destruction to personal belongings, including televisions and computers, and liability, which defends renters from judgments that go against them in the event that someone is injured on their property. While a large percentage of apartment dwellers are not carrying renters insurance, 33 percent of survey respondents said they are covered and list the most compelling reasons for purchasing renters insurance as protection against:
Theft (79%)
Fire/Lightning (70.7%)
Water Damage (52.3%)
Weather (e.g. Hail, Windstorm) (40.5%)
Smoke Damage (40.6%)