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- We’ve spent a few thousand dollars on items like a stroller and crib, so we’re increasing our coverage.
- Having a baby will mean more time with people in our home, so we increased our personal liability protection.
- In order to keep our monthly premium low, we’re raising our deductible.
A couple of weeks after being a new mom, I sat down with my partner to discuss our personal finances. We finally had a grasp on different recurring expenses, from diapers to formula, and knew that we needed to update our monthly budget.
While we were figuring out how to adjust our spending and saving goals for the year, we also realized that we might have to update other aspects of our family planning. Besides looking into life insurance policies, we also decided it would be best to update current insurance coverage we have, including our renters insurance plan.
For the past four years that we’ve lived together in our current apartment, we had a renters insurance plan that cost us $18 a month and included low coverage amounts and a low deductible of $250 a year. I decided to review the details of our plan. I realized that now that we have a baby at home, we need to upgrade our insurance policy.
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1. I’m adding more personal property to my coverage
One of the biggest reasons we decided to get renters insurance in 2019 was because we furnished our entire apartment from scratch. At the time, we spent thousands of dollars on a new couch, bed, dresser, desk, and other household items, including new computers and other expensive appliances.
When I reviewed our renters insurance plan, I noticed that our current policy only covered $20,000 worth of personal property coverage. This means that this policy covers belongings if they are stolen or damaged.
But since we’ve spent a few thousand dollars buying items for the baby, from a stroller to a crib, I wanted to make sure that those items were also included in our coverage, so I’ll be increasing that policy to cover $30,000.
2. I’m increasing my personal liability protection
After reviewing my renters insurance policy, I noticed that it includes personal liability protection, which covers my husband and me in the event that someone brings a lawsuit against us for injury or loss of personal property.
Since we plan to hire people to come to our apartment and help us with the baby — from occasional weekend babysitters to a part-time nanny — I wanted to make sure that we had above average coverage in case someone gets hurt in our apartment or they damage something valuable to them (like their computer).
While most standard renters insurance plans offer $100,000 of coverage, I decided it would be best to increase our coverage to $200,000.
3. I want a higher deductible
With my current renters insurance policy, I have the lowest deductible that my insurance offers, $250 a year. This means that if I file claims that surpass that amount, my plan will kick in and cover those costs. However, a lower deductible does mean a higher monthly premium.
Since I wanted to make changes to my coverage that would increase the monthly premium cost of this plan, I decided to opt-in for a higher deductible ($2,500) so that I could pay less now, save the money, and have it ready in case we have to file claims in the future.