Renters — Renters insurance
Separate the landlord's insurance from the tenant's contents, liability, and additional living expense.
What this coverage is
Renters insurance addresses a tenant's belongings, personal liability, and additional living expense—areas the landlord's building policy generally does not protect for the tenant.
Decisions that usually matter
- Contents value and valuation method
- Personal liability limits
- What the lease requires
- Additional living expense and deductible
Terms to understand
- Personal Property
- Coverage for the tenant's belongings, subject to covered causes and valuation terms.
- Personal Liability
- Coverage addressing certain personal liability arising from everyday life.
- Loss of Use
- Additional costs when a covered loss makes the rental temporarily uninhabitable.
- Lease Requirement
- Limits or evidence required by the lease, checked against the actual policy.
Common gaps and misunderstandings
- Assuming the landlord's policy covers tenant belongings
- Underestimating the total value of contents
- Assuming a roommate is automatically an insured
When a review may be useful
- When signing a new lease
- When a roommate, spouse, or address changes
- When belongings increase materially
- When coordinating liability with auto or umbrella
Related coverage
Useful next step
Review current coverage first, or continue to the comparison entry where availability is checked.