I hope everyone had a fantasmic Labor Day! Hopefully you used the time to... not do Labor and get some rest.

Now that you're all clear headed and rested up, let's talk about insurance.

Probably the best instance of something that you won't care about until you need it, there are three types of insurance that are important to most students - Health, Car, and Home/Renters.

Under most circumstances (in Texas, anyway) you can be claimed on your parent's insurance until you are 25, and car insurance is fundatory* so there's no sense discussing that. One of the most important things to consider as a young renter is renters insurance.

A recent study showed that renters are 50% more likely to have their apartments burglarized or damaged by flood or fire. Despite this fact, most college students believe renters insurance is 15 times more expensive than it actually is. I should know, I didn't have renters insurance and my apartment was robbed in July.

Luckily I was out of town and had my standard travel kit with me - computer, cameras, phone, and all the other goodies, but they still made off with a television, an old junk laptop, and several boxes of prescription contact lenses (which I still don't understand, but whatever).

I didn't have renters insurance because I thought it would be too expensive - but I found out the hard way and had to eat about $1,000 worth of costs.

Now that I've moved, I make sure that I have insurance on my little two bedroom apartment. The study says that most college students price all of their belongings at over $10,000, which seems a bit high until you realize the worth of the items you own - between all of Justin's guitars, drums, and art, and my electronics and equipment, we are at well over $10,000 on that alone.

But in instance of fire or flood, think about the things that would be more of a nuisance to replace - clothes, toiletries, prescriptions. The most irritating thing about my apartment robbery wasn't the television, which did suck, it was the fact that I had to replace six boxes of prescription contact lenses and a bottle of cologne. If you don't have a lot of big items, think about the little things.

I priced insurance for my apartment, and it came out to about $20 a month - just over $200 a year. Think of insurance as a necessity, not a luxury. At the end of the day for me, that $200 would have turned into $800 to replace the items in my burglarized apartment.

Still think you can't afford renters insurance? Some insurance companies will allow you to bundle renters insurance with the coverage they provide for your auto, and cut the prices. Its definitely worth looking into.

Think that your apartment is covered by management? Think again. Most landlords do not include any protection when it comes to theft, water, and fire.

It's easy to shop around for a quote online - almost every major auto insurer issues renters and homeowners as well. You can do everything online and have coverage tomorrow!

Have any instances when renters insurance would have helped, or have any tips for us? Leave it in the comment section! Remember, this month we are giving away The Beatles Rockband!

*Fundatory is a phrase that I learned while working in housing. It means fun and mandatory. But it usually wasn't fun.

DeAndre'

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