Recently, a customer I have known and helped for 10 years came into our agency to review her GA Renters Insurance policy just like she does every year. She was excited about purchasing new furniture for her apartment, which resulted in increasing her coverages. One month later, I got a call telling me that while out of town, part of her apartment building burned down. Her apartment unit was partially burned, but everything was a total loss because of the water damage from the Fire Department. In a few hours she lost everything.

Could you afford to replace everything in your apartment?

Watching the nightly news may have desensitized you to it, but apartment homes in Georgia, especially around metro Atlanta, burn down all the time. Ever listen to Neal Boortz on WSB Radio? He jokes on his radio show all the time about how all the local 6PM newscasts only shows apartment fires in Atlanta as their top stories. But it’s no joke!

People lose everything, all their personal possessions. And guess what? Most of them don’t have apartment renters insurance.

Thankfully, in most cases, they still have their lives and each other, but how do they now start all over from scratch? Especially in this tough economy, people don’t have $15,000 to $35,000 in cash at their discretion just to replace things.

What Does Apartment Renters Insurance Cover?

  • Food
  • Furniture
  • Kitchen ware
  • Clothing
  • Toys
  • And the cost of living if your home is “uninhabitable”

How Much Does Renters Insurance in Georgia Cost?

Renters Insurance is surprisingly cheap for all of the coverage and lack of exclusions in the policy.

It can be costly to start over; not to mention being displaced, even for multiple nights. But, apartment renters in Georgia have options. You don’t have to surrender to this overwhelming feeling of losing it all.

You might say, “I just can’t afford this, it’s not in my budget.” I can tell you that for less than 60 cents a day you can hold a renters insurance policy with our insurance agency.

Some people don’t realize renters insurance is so cheap! It will give you peace of mind knowing that you’ll get the help you need to get back on track and not fall victim to a situation where you lose it all. Our insurance agency will be there to help you and work with you if anything were to unfortunately happen, but the first place to start the relationship and move forward with getting you the needed insurance coverage is to give us your basic information and request a free insurance quote.

Some important things to remember when purchasing renters insurance include:

  • Knowing how much renters insurance coverage you will need (You’re insurance agent can help you determine this.)
  • Choosing a renters insurance deductible you’re comfortable with (minimum for GA is $500)
  • Understanding how your renters insurance policy will cover you in the event of a loss

It’s Important To Take Inventory

When you realize you need renters insurance coverage, the follow question is how much coverage do you need?

Go through each and every room of your house and take note of all your personal property from your shampoo, hair dryer, towels, clothing, furniture, kitchen ware and electronics. Stand there and look and imagine you had to replace it all, and then write down how much each item is. It adds up quickly! If you want to get more sophisticated, the Insurance Information Institute offers free online home inventory software to help you do this.

You’ll have an out of pocket deductible (again, the minimum for GA is $500) that you will have to pay if the damage to your personal property exceeds this amount. Assuming the loss is covered, the renters insurance carrier should pick up the rest of the bill.

Get Apartment Renters Insurance Coverage

Remember my client whose apartment burned? We filed a renters insurance claim for her immediately and the insurance company assisted her in finding alternate housing during the time it took her to find a new apartment. Had she not had renters insurance, she would have been paying for everything herself. Thankfully in this situation, no one was hurt, even though a lot of people in her apartment complex lost everything and, unfortunately, most everyone did NOT have renters insurance.

Talk to any of our local GA Insurance Agents and ask questions. Have them explain how a renters insurance policy works, including coverages and limitations. You don’t want to find out after you have had to file a claim, how your renters insurance policy works. Most importantly, get a renters insurance policy in place before anything happens!

**Let me get you protected today! Contact me at TJohnston@SouthernStatesInsurance.com or call me at (678) 715-0312.