If you are one of the millions of people who rent an apartment, you should seriously consider getting apartment insurance. Do you think your landlord's insurance will protect you if there is a fire, flood, earthquake or theft? Think again.

Your landlord's building insurance will not replace any of your personal items. In fact, it will not cover anything that belongs to you. Your landlord's insurance only protects him, his building and his belongings. If your landlord owns the appliances in your apartment (like the refrigerator), then his insurance will cover it. If you own the appliances, they're not covered under his policy.

Think about what you have in your apartment: Clothes, personal belongings, a television, perhaps a laptop. That stuff adds up.

Renter's insurance for your apartment doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive. In most cases, it's actually only between $3 and $20 a month, depending on the value of your belongings. Renter's insurance is something all renters should consider. In case of a disaster, think about how much it would cost to start all over. Then insure your apartment belongings accordingly.

Before you buy renter's insurance, take inventory of all your possessions and how much they're worth. Do you have expensive jewelry? You might want to consider placing it in a safe deposit box because some renters insurance companies place caps on how much they will reimburse you if the jewelry gets stolen. Try to keep receipts for big items like video recorders.

Contact your primary insurance company first to see if they will offer you a deal on your apartment renter's insurance. Some insurance companies have packages they offer to customers who already have other types of insurance with them.

When you go shopping for renters insurance for your apartment, think about the area you live in. If you life on a fault line, you will probably want to get earthquake renter's insurance. If you live in an area where there are fires, get fire renter's insurance. If you live where there are hurricanes, you want flood renter's insurance. Customize your apartment insurance policy for your needs.

Ask the apartment insurance company if they replace items based on replacement value or actual cash value. You want renter's insurance that will pay you based on the cost it will be to replace the item-not what the item is worth.

Comparison shop for your apartment insurance. Treat it as you would any other type of insurance; nail down an insurance quote, go to a competitor, and see if they can beat it.

Learn more about this author, Eve Lopez.
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