Short answer: Yes — landlord’s policy won’t cover your stuff
If you're planning to sublease an apartment in New York, consider protecting your belongings with renter's insurance. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Fewer than 1% of New York City apartments are available to rent at any given time, so people looking for a place to live generally inundate subletters with calls within minutes of an ad posting. But before you start unpacking, you should reach out to an insurance broker who can help you find a good renter’s insurance policy.
Why? The landlord’s insurance covers the landlord’s stuff, not yours. The landlord’s insurance will pay to reconstruct an apartment ruined in a fire or damaged by a falling tree, but it won’t replace your flattened flat-screen TV or Kindle-turned-kindling. And the person who’s subletting the apartment has less invested than anyone — they aren’t responsible for the building itself, and they certainly aren’t worried about whatever stuff you’ve chosen to bring with you.
That’s why you need a renter’s policy, even if you’re subletting. And at $10 to $20 a month, it’s less than you’ll spend on a dozen red velvet cupcakes from Baked, lunch for two at Pok Pok Ny or a good bottle of olive oil from Eataly.
You may think you don’t have a lot of stuff to lose, but it starts adding up when you have to replace even a minimalist lifestyle. Take a quick inventory: How much would it cost to replace all your clothes and furniture, your TV, your kitchen stuff, your computer and your Xbox? More than $20 a month, that’s for sure.
For 50 years, Gotham Brokerage has been connecting New Yorkers with the right apartment insurance, co-op insurance and condo insurance to meet their needs. It is a family-owned business based in Manhattan with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. To get a quote, call us at [telnumlink]212-406-7300[/telnumlink] or fill out the form at right.
