Personal Finance in Your 20s & 30s For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 16

Home, Auto, Renter’s, and Other Insurance Policies

IN THIS CHAPTER

Insuring your home or rental property

Protecting your car

Knowing which coverages to skip

No one likes to pay his hard-earned money to an insurance company. But if you were to wreck your car or someone were to break into your home and steal some valuable personal property, you’d be mighty unhappy if you lacked the right coverage and had to fully pay at your own expense to replace those items.

So I understand that reading this chapter isn’t on your short list of fun things to do today. But I do promise to clearly explain how to get the insurance protection you need on your property and personal possessions and to do so for the best price that you can. I also discuss smaller-type insurance policies that are likely to be a waste of your money and thus are best avoided.

Protecting Your Home and Possessions: Homeowner’s and Renter’s Insurance

When you buy a home (typically with a mortgage), the mortgage lender mandates that you get homeowner’s insurance. The lender wants to protect its investment in the property for the same reason that you should want to protect your stake in the property. This kind of policy ...