Insurance - what do you pay?

[C(-)ris]

mattkime wrote:
i rent and don't own a car. no insurance for me.

You really should look into renters insurance. It is dirt cheap.

[JoeH]

I pay about $1500 a year to insure two cars. One has full coverage since it is on a car loan, the other has less since it is 10 years old and driven by my 24 year old son.

Yearly taxes on vehicles here in MA are paid to the town the cars are registered in. The rate is 2.5% of a book value based partly on size and age.

Home insurance for me is running about $900 a year. Would have to look at a bill at home to see the exact amount. I do get a discount since my home and auto insurance is with the same company.

[mattkime]

C(-)ris wrote:
[quote=mattkime]
i rent and don't own a car. no insurance for me.

You really should look into renters insurance. It is dirt cheap.
it doesn't make much sense to me considering that i have a well funded rainy day fund.

[Robert M]

Matt,

If I remember correctly, the renter's policy I had when I was in a rental only cost me $150 or so per year. Dirt cheap. Because of that, I disagree with you on this. In the event of a serious issue, the amount you pay out of pocket to replace items damaged/stolen/etc will likely be far greater than the cost of renters insurance that will cover the cost of replacing said goods. Definitely worthwhile if you have expensive items like electronics, antiques, valuable area rugs, etc. I look at it this way... Why should you pay more out of pocket than it would cost you in insurance in the event of an issue.

A friend of mine found out the hard way that renter's insurance was very worthwhile. Someone broke into his apartment and stole a significant amount of his belongings including electronics. Fortunately, his landlord put a claim under his homeowners and everything was replaced. If that hadn't happened, he'd've had to pay a thousands to replace everything that was stolen. It was his experience that taught me that if you rent rather than own, you absolutely should have a renter's policy.

Robert

[davester]

What Robert said. I find it unbelievable how many renters don't bother with renters' insurance seeing as how cheap it is. I rented out my house some years ago, and the renters asked me to install an very expensive burglar alarm system to protect "their stuff" (even though I'd lived there for years without a problem). When I mentioned to them that such losses should be covered by their rental insurance, they said something like "we don't believe in that". Go figure. No, I didn't install the burglar alarm.

[Black]

I would get renter's in a heartbeat if I could.

I don't understand why everyone is answering as if the initial question had only been about car insurance.

[mattkime]

alright - how do i get renter's insurance?

i looked into it a few years ago and it seemed like a hassle to get a quote

[davester]

It's pretty easy to get a quote online. Just use the google. You might want to check a couple of consumer websites to see which companies are the best.

[Robert M]

Black,

I can't speak for others but comparing the cost of homeowners is just as pointless. Way too many factors go into it to make any kind of comparison. I could pay $450 per year for homeowners and you could pay $800 a year. Just like with auto insurance, the difference is meaningless without knowing the details.

Robert

[Robert M]

Hi everyone,

SomethingI just remembered about renter's insurance. It isn't just for property. A renter's policy covers property, liability and, depending on the policy, even provides for a temporary residence in the event you can't stay in your home for a time. To me, the most important is liability. I can't believe I forgot to mentioned that in the discussion.

Robert