Everything You Need to Know About Baltimore Renters Insurance

With housing growing more difficult to afford across the United States, many individuals and families are opting to rent instead of buy. This is particularly true in Baltimore, where property values have reached an all-time high, making the city a seller’s market. With home ownership being as expensive as it is, you may choose to rent instead of buying — but how can you help safeguard your possessions and safeguard yourself against liability? The answer is renters insurance.

What is Renters Insurance?

Basically, renters insurance is akin to homeowners insurance, but for people who (obviously) rent their housing. It works similarly to homeowners insurance, but is much less expensive overall, and offers different coverage than homeowners insurance.

Some tenants operate under the assumption that their landlord’s insurance will cover them in case of fire, flood, or other disaster. Unfortunately, this is not true — your landlord’s insurance protects their property, but will do nothing about yours.

Is Renters Insurance Mandatory in Baltimore?

While renters insurance is not compulsory by law in Baltimore, you may find many landlords require it anyway as part of their lease agreement. Why does a landlord care if you’re insured? In part, because renters insurance helps protect them against liability lawsuits. It also motivates both parties to keep the rental unit in good condition, as this helps keep expenses down for tenant and landlord alike.

But even if your landlord doesn’t require renters insurance as part of your lease agreement, you should give some serious thought to getting it anyway — the benefits are numerous, the drawbacks negligible, and the expense very low for what you get in return.

What Renters Insurance Does (and Doesn’t) Cover

Now let’s talk a little about what your renters insurance will cover.

First and foremost, renters insurance provides protection for your belongings such as clothing, furniture, and other valuables. It will provide compensation if you lose your possessions to fire, burglary, or other named peril. Renters insurance will also protect you against liability claims if someone else is injured while inside your rental unit.

Those are the basics, but there are some other perks to having renters insurance that you might not know about. For one, renters insurance may cover belongings that were outside your rental property — for example, if your laptop was stolen from your car or your smartphone stolen while you were outside your apartment.

If, for whatever reason, your rental unit is deemed temporarily uninhabitable, renters insurance may also provide coverage in the form of paying for hotel bills, restaurant meals, etc. while you are displaced from your home.

There are, however, some things your insurance won’t cover. For example:

Renters insurance will not cover you against damage to your property done by pets.

It also may not cover the full replacement value of items, but rather the depreciated value of those items.

As with most insurance, renters insurance is not likely to cover earthquake or flood damage on its own. You will likely have to purchase a separate endorsement for that.

Big-ticket items such as art, jewelry, and electronics may require extra coverage to ensure you can be sufficiently compensated in case they’re lost.

How Much Does it Cost?

Now for the good news: renters insurance is incredibly cheap, often around 10% as expensive as homeowners insurance. Kristine Lee, at insurance comparison platform The Zebra, points out the average annual cost for renters insurance in Baltimore is $267. Only a mere $12 more than the national renters insurance average in Maryland. Lee also points out that you can get a much cheaper premium depending on your chosen insurance provider. State Farm, for example, offers premiums for about $124 a year, while Travelers offers around $146. Shopping around and comparing quotes is a great way to save money on your insurance bills.

That’s not the only way you can save some money on your insurance, either — you might consider bundling your renters and auto insurance together for a discount, which could save you another 5% or so on your annual premiums. Also, don’t be afraid to ask your insurer about discounts for veterans, certain occupations, and more.

Being Prepared

Renters insurance can be a godsend in case of mishap, but you should also do your due diligence to make sure you’re sufficiently covered. Scrutinize your contract and ask your insurer for any clarifications. Take a full inventory of all your belongings and their value to ensure accurate coverage, and be clear on what your policy does and does not cover. Finally, don’t be afraid to request replacement value cost to your policy, and add any additional riders or endorsements for items you need covered.

Insuring your belongings against damage, loss or theft isn’t just a privilege for homeowners — as a renter, you can and should get the same coverage for a much lower price.