Sometimes it takes me a while to get out the door in the morning. I’m usually scrambling (in some groggy fashion) to get stuff together that I’ll need for the day, and I’ll check to make sure I haven’t left any appliance on that could cause the apartment to burn down. I come from a long line of worriers, so caution is ingrained in my genes.

Hooray for Renters Insurance!I don’t worry as much now that I bought renters insurance. I still worry, but within reasonable limits.

Everything Zac and I own is now protected from theft, fire and even water damage. Our policy doesn’t cover natural disasters like an earthquake or flood, but renters insurance is still great anyway. One of my co-workers decided to get renters insurance after I talked about it at the water cooler. Here’s the gist of what I told him.

First off, all personal belongings are covered at home and away from home. This was a huge selling point for me because I love taking my laptop to coffee shops. There has been a sharp increase in the number of laptops stolen from cafe patrons in San Francisco, and hearing about someone getting stabbed for their laptop isn’t all that uncommon. For a $250 deductible, I can get the replacement value (reimbursement of full cost to replace an item at market value) of my laptop if I just surrender the laptop in a robbery situation and thereby hopefully avoid bodily harm. (For laptop-specific insurance coverage, see this post from Nina.)

It’s a great comfort to know your personal belongings are covered anywhere in the world, but think about how much stuff you have at home and how much it all once cost you. With all the weirdos out there, you never really know if all your belongings are safe when you’re away from home. Because I selected replacement value coverage, I can buy new stuff to replace every single damaged or stolen belonging. Experiencing fire or theft is bad enough, but at least renters insurance takes the financial bite out of the misfortune and hassle of having to replace everything.

I bought renters insurance from AAA, so I can’t speak for how other insurance agencies would work for the following. Applying for a policy was a lot easier than I expected. I didn’t have to itemize every single thing Zac and I ever bought. I just took a worksheet they gave me and estimated what everything was worth, and AAA based my premium on the coverage amount I requested. It was as simple as that.

My policy also includes protection against unforeseen circumstances such as Loss of Use; Personal Liability and Medical Payments coverage. Loss of Use coverage would provide me and Zac money for alternative housing arrangements should our apartment become uninhabitable due to fire or some other covered loss. Personal Liability coverage would pay for losses or damages if we were found liable for a guest’s bodily injury on our property, or for our inadvertent damage to the property itself. We’re even covered for medical payments if some shady character said they were injured on our property.

I once worked as an insurance defense paralegal for a brief amount of time, and the one thing I learned from that job is that you should ALWAYS read every word of your policy. I suggest you ask your insurance agent as many questions as needed to clear up any ambiguity. Insurance companies deal with lots of scammers, and they have a vested interest to stay in business by doing whatever it takes to protect their bottom line.

All in all, I spent about $265 for one year of renters insurance. That includes a AAA membership, which is nice, but since I don’t really need a car in this crowded city, I’ll have to find creative ways to use AAA discounts and services to make the most out of the membership. $265 for some peace of mind is a bargain though.