As a former claims handler and fraud investigator, Jason Metz has worked on a multitude of complex and multifaceted claims. The insurance industry can be seemingly opaque, and Jason enjoys breaking down confusing terms and products to help others mak.
Jason Metz Lead Editor, InsuranceAs a former claims handler and fraud investigator, Jason Metz has worked on a multitude of complex and multifaceted claims. The insurance industry can be seemingly opaque, and Jason enjoys breaking down confusing terms and products to help others mak.
Written By Jason Metz Lead Editor, InsuranceAs a former claims handler and fraud investigator, Jason Metz has worked on a multitude of complex and multifaceted claims. The insurance industry can be seemingly opaque, and Jason enjoys breaking down confusing terms and products to help others mak.
Jason Metz Lead Editor, InsuranceAs a former claims handler and fraud investigator, Jason Metz has worked on a multitude of complex and multifaceted claims. The insurance industry can be seemingly opaque, and Jason enjoys breaking down confusing terms and products to help others mak.
Lead Editor, Insurance Les Masterson Deputy Editor, InsuranceLes Masterson is a deputy editor and insurance analyst at Forbes Advisor. He has been a journalist, reporter, editor and content creator for more than 25 years. He has covered insurance for a decade, including auto, home, life and health. Before cove.
Les Masterson Deputy Editor, InsuranceLes Masterson is a deputy editor and insurance analyst at Forbes Advisor. He has been a journalist, reporter, editor and content creator for more than 25 years. He has covered insurance for a decade, including auto, home, life and health. Before cove.
Les Masterson Deputy Editor, InsuranceLes Masterson is a deputy editor and insurance analyst at Forbes Advisor. He has been a journalist, reporter, editor and content creator for more than 25 years. He has covered insurance for a decade, including auto, home, life and health. Before cove.
Les Masterson Deputy Editor, InsuranceLes Masterson is a deputy editor and insurance analyst at Forbes Advisor. He has been a journalist, reporter, editor and content creator for more than 25 years. He has covered insurance for a decade, including auto, home, life and health. Before cove.
| Deputy Editor, Insurance
Updated: Mar 5, 2024, 4:20am
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
Getty
Your landlord might be a nice person who takes care of problems like leaky faucets and broken appliances. But your landlord is probably not nice enough to replace all of your belongings if your apartment catches fire. And neither will your landlord’s insurance company. When it comes to problems like fire and theft, you’re on your own.
Fortunately, there’s a solution: Renters insurance. It offers coverage for a wide range of problems, including fire and theft, providing you with the protection you need. And the best renters insurance may be more affordable than you realize.
Renters insurance is a contract between you and your insurer that specifies the types of problems that are covered and how you’ll be reimbursed if you file a renters insurance claim.
Renters insurance includes coverage for your personal property, accidental injuries and property damage to others, medical payments to others and additional living expenses if you can’t live in your home due to a problem covered by your policy (like a fire).
Art and jewelry Building structure Permanent fixtures (such as a stove) Pet damage to your home Electronics Your roommate’s belongings Kitchen items See More See LessRenters insurance provides multiple coverage types, including coverage for personal property, liability, medical payments and additional living expenses.
Personal property coverage is what most people think of when they’re buying renters insurance. It covers all that stuff you’ve been accumulating over the years—everything from your furniture, clothes, jewelry, pots and pans, electronics, bicycle and even the little decorative items you keep on your shelves.
Here are the causes of damage covered by renters insurance:
Accidental discharge or overflow of water or steam A pipe suddenly bursts in your apartment, which destroys your furniture and clothing Something falls from a plane and damages your belongings A gas grill explodes on a balcony, destroying some of your belongings Falling objectsA large tree limb crashes through the side of the building, causing a huge hole and leaving your apartment inhabitable
Fire or lightning Your belongings are destroyed in a fire Pipes freeze, causing a burst pipe and destroying electronics and computersPeople taking part in a riot throw rocks through your windows, damaging your 42-inch TV in the process
Your building’s oil burner has a blowback, which fills your apartment with smoke, damaging your clothing and furniture
Sudden and accidental damage due to short circuiting A power surge destroys your computer and electronics Sudden and accidental tearing, cracking, burning or bulgingA hot water heater suddenly develops a crack and dumps water into your basement apartment, damaging your rugs, furniture and clothes
Someone breaks into your apartment and steals your TV, computer and jewelry While breaking into your home, the thief damages your property A car crashes into your first-floor apartment and destroys your TV and furniture Volcanic eruption A volcano spews ash into your area, which fills up your room with dust, damaging your property Weight of ice and snowYour area gets two feet of snow, which causes part of the building’s roof to collapse, damaging your furniture
Windstorm or hail A wind and hail storm breaks your window, which soaks your living room set and entertainment center See More See LessYou may notice two big natural disasters missing from this list: Earthquakes and floods. If you want coverage for those, look into earthquake insurance and flood insurance for renters.
When buying renters insurance, you’ll pick a personal property coverage limit. This is the maximum amount your renters insurance company will pay if your personal belongings are damaged or destroyed due to a problem covered by the policy (like a fire).
For example, you might select $20,000 to cover all your belongings. If you have expensive furniture, clothes or other belongings, you might select $100,000 or more.
Make sure your renters insurance policy includes replacement cost coverage. This will reimburse for new, similar items. The alternative is actual cash value coverage, which will pay you only the depreciated value of your damaged items.
A good way to determine how much personal property coverage you need is by creating a home inventory. A good home inventory can be as simple as a written list, or you can use an app or take video with your phone. Then estimate the cost to replace what you have.
Liability insurance pays for injuries or property damage to someone else for which you’re responsible. For example, if you knock an errant baseball through a neighbor’s window, liability insurance can pay to replace the window. It also covers your defense costs if you’re sued over an incident covered by your policy.
“A coverage that most renters never consider is liability,” says Josh LaRoche, spokesperson for Toggle by Farmers Insurance. He asks renters to think about a common scenario, like a guest who trips and falls while visiting your apartment.
“That klutzy visitor can sue you for their medical expenses. If they do, renters insurance can help you handle it—both your legal expenses and any medical expenses you might be responsible for, up to the coverage limit.”
Personal liability coverage may help in these instances:
You will be able to select liability insurance policy limits. A common default liability coverage amount on a renters insurance policy is $100,000, but you can purchase more. A good rule of thumb is to buy enough liability insurance to cover what you could lose in a lawsuit.
A smart way to get extra liability insurance is by adding umbrella insurance to your renters policy.
A standard renters insurance policy includes “medical payments to others” coverage, which pays small medical expenses if someone else gets injured in your home, no matter who is at fault for the accident. For example, if a guest bumps their head on an open cabinet door and requires stitches, your medical payments to others coverage can pay for the trip to the emergency room.
Medical payments to others coverage is meant to cover minor medical claims and is usually sold in small amounts between $1,000 and $5,000. Larger medical claims are generally covered under liability insurance (when you’re legally liable for them).
Certain types of accidents that happen away from your home can also be covered by “medical payments to others” coverage. For example, if your playful pup accidentally scratches someone at a dog park and they see a doctor, this could fall under “medical payments to others.”
Here are examples of medical costs that can be covered by “medical payments to others”:
Your “medical payments to others” coverage will not cover property damage to others, their pain and suffering, or legal fees if you are sued because of an accident. Those expenses are covered under the liability portion of a renters insurance policy.
“Medical payments to others” coverage does not cover your injuries or injuries to others in your household. If you get injured in your apartment, you’ll have coverage through your own health insurance plan.
If you can’t live in your apartment due to a problem covered by your renters insurance policy (like a fire or tornado), additional living expenses (ALE) coverage pays for hotel bills and other extra costs, including restaurant meals and pet boarding fees. This coverage is sometimes called loss of use.
“Think about all the expenses you could rack up above your normal daily spend if you had to leave your place,” says Yael Wissner-Levy, a spokesperson for Lemonade Insurance. “Not being able to live at your own place is expensive. But luckily, your insurer will be there to help.”
Renters insurance can cover other expenses such as:
Renters insurance doesn’t cover everything. Here’s when renters insurance won’t help you.
Was this article helpful?
