How much should rental insurance cost - for an apartment

The apartment is in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Brand new building, ,100/mo. My parents would add it to their auto/home policy. The cheapest o...

The apartment is in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Brand new building, ,100/mo. My parents would add it to their auto/home policy. The cheapest one should be in the $80 – 120 range – just shop around. Search Google or Yahoo for "Renter’s Insurance" and fill out a few on-line form. Then a crowd of agents will call you offering quotes. If the reason for getting the policy is your landlord requirement (you are not looking for actual coverage) then ask to be quoted with no more than $20K property coverage and $100K liability – that is the cheapest design.

Another good advise – ask your property manager for a referral – the person might be of a real help. This is not something your parents can add to their policies. You need to take out renter’s insurance to cover your personal property. Renter’s insurance will vary in price because it’s primarily based on the value of your personal property. First, you need to add up the cost of your personal property, which is something a lot of people tend to underestimate.

Anything you would take with you if you moved out would be your personal property.  Clothes, shoes, CDs, books, computers, stereos, iPod, kitchen utensils, dishes, furniture, decorations, musical instruments…you get the idea. If there was a fire in your building and everything you owned was lost in that fire, how much would it cost to replace it?

Additionally, there probably will be limits on the policy as to how much they will pay out for things like jewelry, collectibles and computer equipment. If you have any jewelry for example, that’s valuable you should probably have that insured on its own. So, depending on the value of your property and the location, I’d say you are looking at your policy starting somewhere around $125 a year and going upwards from there depending on the amount of coverage you need.