Renters Insurance
Your landlord insures the building. Nothing in that policy covers your belongings, your liability to a guest, or a hotel bill if the unit becomes unlivable.
- Usually the least expensive policy in a household's budget
- Liability coverage that follows you, not just the apartment
- Additional living expenses if you are forced out
Request a renters insurance quote
Tell us what you need covered. A licensed agent follows up with options, usually the same business day.
What a renters insurance policy actually does
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Personal property
Furniture, electronics, clothing, kitchen equipment, replaced after a covered loss such as fire, theft, or water damage from a burst pipe. Add up what it would cost to rebuy all of it and the coverage stops looking optional.
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Personal liability
Covers you if someone is injured in your home, or if you damage someone else's property. This follows you off the premises too, which surprises most people.
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Additional living expenses
Pays for a hotel, a short-term rental, and the extra cost of eating out while your unit is uninhabitable after a covered loss.
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Medical payments to others
Covers modest medical bills for a guest injured in your home regardless of fault, which often resolves a small incident before it becomes a liability claim.
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Replacement cost vs actual cash value
Replacement cost pays what it costs to buy the item new today. Actual cash value pays what your six-year-old sofa was worth, which is very little. The difference in premium is usually small and the difference at claim time is not.
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Flood and earthquake
Excluded from standard renters policies. Both are available separately, and in some areas both are worth having.
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High-value items above sub-limits
Jewellery, firearms, and collectibles have low internal caps. A scheduled endorsement covers them properly.
Renters Insurance questions
How much personal property coverage do I need?
Walk through each room and total what it would cost to replace the contents new. Most people substantially underestimate this: the total is usually somewhere between $20,000 and $40,000 for a modestly furnished apartment.
Does my roommate's policy cover me?
No. Coverage applies to the named insured and relatives in the household. Roommates need their own policies unless they are specifically added.
Is renters insurance required?
Not by law, but very commonly by the lease. Many landlords require a minimum liability limit and ask to be named as an interested party on the policy.
Does it cover my things outside the apartment?
Usually yes, at a reduced limit: a laptop stolen from your car or luggage taken on a trip is generally covered. The specific percentage varies by policy.
Related coverage
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Homeowners Insurance
Structure, contents, liability, and loss of use, with the exclusions spelled out before you buy, not after you file.
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Mobile & Manufactured Home Insurance
Manufactured homes need their own policy form. A standard homeowners policy will not cover one, and many carriers will not write them at all.
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Landlord Insurance
Renting out a property turns it into a business asset. Landlord coverage adds lost rental income and the liability a homeowners policy excludes.
Not sure what you need?
Tell a licensed agent what you're insuring and what you're worried about. We'll walk through the options and what each one actually costs.