What Renters Insurance Covers (and What It Doesn't)

Renters insurance does more than most people realize, and it costs less than most people assume. Here's what's actually in a typical policy.

Your personal belongings

Furniture, electronics, clothing, kitchenware, basically everything you own inside your rental. If it's damaged by a covered event, fire, certain water damage, smoke, or stolen, this is what replaces it. It even typically covers your stuff if it's stolen somewhere outside your home, like from your car.

Liability protection

If someone is injured in your rental, or you accidentally cause damage to someone else's property (say, a bathtub overflow that damages the unit below you), liability coverage helps pay for their medical bills, the damage, and legal costs if you're sued. This is often the most valuable part of the policy, and the part renters think about least.

Additional living expenses

If your rental becomes temporarily unlivable due to a covered event, this pays for the cost of staying somewhere else while it's being repaired.

Medical payments to others

Separate from liability, this covers minor medical expenses for a guest who's injured in your home, regardless of fault, without needing a liability claim.

What's typically NOT covered

Renters insurance generally excludes flood and earthquake damage, just like homeowners insurance, and it doesn't cover your roommate's belongings unless they're specifically named on your policy. See Renters Insurance for Roommates: Who Needs Their Own Policy? for how that actually works. It also doesn't cover normal wear and tear, or damage that's really a maintenance issue your landlord is responsible for.

One more thing people miss

Renters insurance doesn't cover the building itself, walls, floors, the structure, because that's your landlord's responsibility through their own policy. See Does My Landlord's Insurance Cover My Stuff? (No, Here's Why) for the full explanation of where that line actually falls.

Get covered for what it actually costs

For what most renters pay, this coverage is one of the easiest yeses in insurance. Call Hall and Hall Insurance Services and we'll get you a free quote in minutes.