A renters insurance policy is home insurance specifically designed for people who rent. Renters insurance covers your personal property and provides liability coverage. It's sometimes called tenant insurance.
Your landlord's insurance policy doesn't cover your belongings. Their policy covers the building and things they own, like the appliances, but your personal property isn’t covered. Renters insurance is the only way to protect your things.
Renters insurance also includes liability protection in case you’re responsible for injuries to someone else or damage to their property, and it will pay for a hotel and other related expenses if you can't live in your home due to a covered loss.
Read on for details on what renters insurance covers and how to get it.
Key takeaways
- Renters insurance protects the personal property of tenants, which is not covered by the landlord’s insurance.
- A renters insurance policy includes personal liability and additional living expenses coverage if you can’t live in your home during covered repairs.
- The average cost of renters insurance is $347 a year or $29 a month.
How does renters insurance work?
Renters insurance covers your belongings in a home you rent, whether it's an apartment, a townhouse or a single-family home. It also protects you from liability claims for injuries or damage to someone else and provides additional living expenses coverage.
The main difference between renters insurance and homeowners insurance is that renters doesn’t include coverage for the building. Insuring the building itself is the landlord’s responsibility, making renters insurance much cheaper.
A renters insurance policy may also be called tenant insurance; insurance companies refer to it as an HO-4 policy.
What does renters insurance cover?
Renters insurance includes three primary coverages:
Let's look at the details of each.
Personal property coverage
Personal property insurance covers all your belongings, from your sheets to your big-screen TV. Without a renters policy, there is no coverage for anything you own.
Renters insurance will cover your belongings anywhere in the world, not just in your home. If your laptop is stolen from your car, car insurance won’t cover it – but renters insurance will. However, there are limitations to coverage outside the home, usually 10% of the overall personal property coverage.
A standard HO-4 renters policy is what insurance companies call a broad form policy. That means it’s a named perils policy – it covers you for the perils listed, and anything not listed is excluded.
Some of the perils covered by a broad form policy include:
- Fire
- Lightning
- Explosion
- Smoke
- Vandalism
- Theft
- Water-related damage from sudden and accidental discharge
Like all home insurance policies, there are special limits on certain types of personal property, like jewelry, art, musical instruments and cash or valuable papers. These have a specified limit of up to $2,500, depending on the property type.
If you have high-value items that fall into these categories, you can purchase additional coverage, called a scheduled personal property endorsement (floater), that will cover individual items for their appraised value.
Personal property coverage is subject to a deductible, which you can select when you purchase the policy.
Personal liability coverage
Personal liability insurance for renters covers you when you’re at fault for injuries to someone else or for damage to their property. If someone slips on your kitchen floor and is injured or if your child throws a ball through a neighbor’s window, liability insurance will pay the bill.
Tenants insurance liability coverage is included with your policy. The standard liability limit is $100,000, but you can choose coverage of up to $500,000. Experts recommend at least $300,000.
In addition to the liability coverage in your insurance policy, renters insurance also has no-fault medical coverage called medical payments coverage.
"If someone gets hurt in your home, [they] can submit medical bills directly to your insurance company,” says Angi Orbann, vice president of property, personal insurance property at Travelers. “This way, expenses can be paid without a liability claim being filed against the renter. It should be noted that this coverage does not pay the medical bills for the renter's own family."
Typically, coverage amounts are between $1,000 and $5,000.
Additional living expenses coverage
Renters insurance also includes additional living expenses (ALE). This coverage, also known as loss of use, pays living expenses if a covered claim forces you out of your home during repairs.
"Additional living expenses on an HO-4 would cover costs associated with hotels, meals, laundry and other expenses that the tenant incurred while their apartment was being repaired, says Travis Biggert, chief sales officer with Hub International, an insurance brokerage.
ALE coverage could also cover costs associated with moving should the apartment not be habitable for an extended period.
What isn’t covered by renters insurance?
Renters insurance has some exclusions you should be aware of. First, anything not listed as a covered peril is automatically excluded. But there are a few other things that are more specifically excluded. They include:
- Floods
- Earthquakes
- War and nuclear disasters
- Pests, including bugs and animals
- Intentional damage
You will need a separate policy if you live in an area prone to flooding or earthquakes. Flood insurance is available from the National Flood Insurance Program, and earthquake coverage can usually be added as a rider to your policy.
It’s also important to note that while your policy covers family members living with you, roommates are not. Depending on the insurance company's rules, you might be able to share a policy with your roommate.
Renters insurance replacement cost vs. actual cash value
Most types of renters insurance use actual cash value to calculate how much the company will pay for your items if they’re stolen or destroyed. However, you can choose to upgrade your policy to replacement cost coverage.
Actual cash value policies consider depreciation when calculating the value of your possessions. Your insurer will only pay out the equivalent of the belongings' value at the time of the loss. Actual cash value is calculated as the replacement cost of the item new minus depreciation. So, if you have a 10-year-old TV that is stolen, the insurance company would pay for the replacement cost of a similar TV minus 10 years worth of depreciation (and minus the deductible.)
These policies are less expensive, but remember that you will have to cover the difference between what your policy pays and the cost of replacing your possessions with new ones.
Replacement cost coverage reimburses you for the actual cost of replacing your possessions. As an example, if your TV is destroyed, your insurer will replace it with a brand-new TV of a similar size and quality. These policies ensure that you will receive the full cost to replace your possessions rather than the depreciated value.
You will pay a little more for this coverage, but it's a worthwhile expense since personal property can take a huge hit from depreciation.
How much does renters insurance cost?
How much does a renters policy cost per month for an apartment or a house? Surprisingly, not much – it’s less than $30 a month.
Based on a 2022 Insurance.com rate analysis, the national average yearly cost for a policy with coverage levels of $40,000 for personal property, a $1,000 deductible and $100,000 of liability protection is $347, or about $29 a month.
Renters insurance rates will vary depending on the amount of personal property coverage you need. They’re also affected by where you live.
How much renters insurance coverage do you need?
Coverage needs vary from person to person. There is no minimum coverage amount that is right for everyone. If you have a lot of personal property and valuables, you may need more coverage than someone with a more minimalist lifestyle. A larger home has more rooms and thus more contents than a one-bedroom apartment.
If you’re unsure how to choose renters insurance coverage, creating a home inventory – a detailed list of your belongings and their estimated value – can help you calculate the right number.
You should also consider what you need in terms of personal liability coverage. Anyone with many assets to protect should consider an increased liability limit.
Frequently asked questions about renters insurance
Is renters insurance required?
No law requires renters insurance, but your landlord can require it as part of the lease agreement.
Can I get an auto and renters insurance bundle?
Yes, most companies offer a multi-policy discount when you buy car and renters insurance together.
You’ll get a discount on both the auto and the renters policy. Make sure you’ve compared the cost of buying them separately to the bundled price because it’s not always the best deal.
Should I share a renters policy with my roommate?
Most experts don't recommend sharing renters insurance for apartments or homes with a roommate. The cons can be substantial. All of your roommate's claims will end up on your insurance record, and if your roommate's possessions have a higher value than yours, a 50/50 split on the bill may not be fair.
Can college students get renters insurance?
Almost all homeowners policies will extend coverage to college students living in dorms or campus housing.
"Most homeowners policies include coverage for a college student's personal belongings while they are living on campus. Typically, the student's property is covered up to 10% of the amount on the parent's policy for personal property," Orbann says.
However, renters insurance will be needed if the student has permanently moved out.
