I will be moving soon. When should I start looking for renter’s insurance for my new apartment?

Renters insurance is an effective method of protecting you against liability claims and personal loss. Each policy written to cover a specific location, and is customized to provide coverage for your personal property. You should start shopping for coverage as soon as you know when and where you are going to move.

Before you move, make sure that you have already shopped for coverage for the new home. Since one of the variables affecting the cost of renters insurance is the actual location of the home, you cannot start looking for renters insurance until you have an address picked out. However, you can use the cost of renters insurance in any given area to help you determine the possible risks of living in that home, effectively fine-tuning your pick of residence by looking at the risks associated with different Zip Codes in a given regional area.

It is a good idea to have a renter's insurance policy in place before you begin moving property into the home. This is especially true if it will take more than one trip to make the move because your property will be vulnerable when it is unloaded and everyone has left the home to get the rest of your things.

A good rule of thumb is to buy a renters insurance policy as soon as you have signed the lease agreement. Once you know for certain that you will be living in the home, you have also accepted responsibility for any liability claims that might be filed against you. With the lease in hand, finalize your renters insurance contract so make sure that your property and family are covered, even if you are not going to move into the home for another few days. By signing the lease, you have agreed to be responsible for the property, and being properly insured is your best defense against the unexpected.