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Renters insurance is a must for almost all who live in apartments. It protects you and your belongings from loss, theft, and damage. Renters Insurance policies are designed to indemnify you in the event of a covered loss to your personal property and protect you in the event you are responsible for bodily injury or property damage to others. It is available for apartments, rented house, condo, co-ops, dormitories, and roommate arrangements. It has been estimated that 75% of the Renters do not have coverage. More and more landlords are requiring Renters Insurance as a condition to rent. Suppose you have visitors to your apartment and someone slips on a wet kitchen floor and breaks an arm? Who is responsible for the medical costs? In most circumstances you are and the consequences can be costly!

Renters insurance in general provides "named peril" coverage, meaning the policy states specifically what you are insured against. Some named perils include Fire or Lightning, Smoke, Vandalism or Malicious Mischief, Theft, Accidental Discharge of Water and 10 or more others. Your agent will detail these for you. Liability coverage also includes Medical Payments coverage, which applies to non-residents of the insured premises. This coverage pays for the actual medical expenses incurred up to the limit for a non-resident guest. We have assembled some of the finest and cheap sources for Renters Insurance Quotes. The process is very simple - answer just a few questions and get instant and cheap Renters insurance quotes from several leading and reputed insurance companies!

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What standard policies cover
When disaster strikes, it doesn’t differentiate between rented buildings and owned homes. Renters face the same risk as homeowners. Your landlord or condo association may have insurance, but it only protects the building structure, not the personal items inside. Renters insurance can protect your belongings in case of disaster. It is therefore important to understand the coverage under the typical renters insurance policy in order to be able to extract a cheap renters insurance quote from your insurance company or your agent.

There are several types of renters insurance policies available and most of them cover losses to your personal property from 16 types of perils:

• Fire or lightning
• Windstorm or hail
• Explosion
• Riot or civil commotion
• Damage caused by aircraft
• Damage caused by vehicles
• Smoke
• Vandalism or malicious mischief
• Theft
• Volcanic eruption
• Falling objects
• Weight of ice, snow, or sleet
• Accidental discharge or overflow of water or steam from within a plumbing, heating, air conditioning, or automatic fire-protective sprinkler system, or from a household appliance
• Sudden and accidental tearing apart, cracking, burning, or bulging of a steam or hot water heating system, an air conditioning or automatic fire-protective system
• freezing of a plumbing, heating, air conditioning or automatic, fire-protective sprinkler system, or of a household appliance
• Sudden and accidental damage from artificially generated electrical current (does not include loss to a tube, transistor or similar electronic component)

Floods and earthquakes aren't on the list. If you live in an area prone to either, you'll need to buy a separate policy or a rider. In some coastal regions, where hurricanes might pose a threat, you might also need to buy a separate rider to cover wind damage.

Additional benefits
Liability protection is also standard with most renters and condo policies. This means if someone in your unit slips and falls, you're covered for any costs, up to your liability limit. If this person sues you, you're covered for what they win in a court judgment as well as legal expenses, up to your policy's limit.

Actual cash value vs. replacement cost
Consider whether the renters insurance company will offer "actual cash value" (ACV) or "replacement cost coverage" for your belongings. As the name implies, ACV coverage will pay only for what your property was worth at the time it was damaged or stolen. So, if you bought a refrigerator 3 years ago for $400, it would be worth significantly less today. While you'd still need to spend about $400 for a new refrigerator , your insurance company will pay only for what the old one is worth, minus your deductible. Replacement cost coverage, on the other hand, will pay what it actually costs to replace the items you lost (minus the deductible). In some regions, most insurers write ACV coverage. In others, they'll quote you replacement cost coverage by default. Replacement cost coverage will cost you more in premiums, but it will also pay out more if you ever need to file a claim. Jewelry, antiques and electronics might be covered only up to an amount that won't pay for their replacement.
If you have some items that are unusually expensive, such as a diamond ring, you'll probably want to purchase a separate rider. Without riders for expensive items you can't recover the full loss if it's beyond your policy limit.
Take inventory
To ensure you’re compensated for any belongings you lose from a fire, storm or other catastrophe, you should inventory all of your personal belongings. List each item, its value and serial number. Photograph or videotape each room, including closets, open drawers, storage buildings and your garage. Keep receipts for major items in a fireproof place. To make things easier, the Insurance Information Institute has free inventory software that helps you create a room-by-room inventory of your personal possessions.
When your home is unlivable
If your apartment or condominium becomes uninhabitable due to a fire, burst pipes or any other reason covered by your policy, your renters insurance will cover your "additional living expenses." Generally, that means paying for you to live somewhere else.
Keeping your premium low
Just like any other type of homeowners insurance policy, your renters insurance premium depends on a number of factors: where you live, your deductible, your insurance company and whether you need any additional coverage.
There are ways to reduce your renters insurance bill. Increasing your deductible (the amount you pay before your coverage kicks in) is one strategy. Make sure you can afford whatever deductible you choose. Most insurers offer a discount for "protective devices" including smoke and fire detectors, burglar alarms and fire extinguishers. Some insurers might offer discounts to policyholders who are over age 55 and retired.