Renters Insurance discounts and questions
Replaces your belongings after a fire, theft or burst pipe, pays when you injure someone or damage the building, and covers a hotel while the unit is repaired. The landlord's policy stops at the walls; this one starts there.
Discounts carriers commonly offer
- Multi-policy
- Renters and auto with the same carrier. On the auto side the discount is often larger than the renters premium itself.
- Claim-free
- No claims over the carrier's look-back period.
- Protective devices
- Sprinklers, a monitored alarm, deadbolts or a secured building entry.
- Paid in full and autopay
- The term paid up front, or a bank draft each month.
- Gated or secured community
- Some carriers price buildings with controlled access lower.
Questions people ask
My landlord requires renters insurance. What are they actually asking for?
Usually two things: a liability limit that meets the lease, and a certificate naming the landlord as an interested party so they are told if the policy cancels. Being an interested party gives the landlord notice, not coverage; your policy still insures you, not them. Some leases ask for the landlord as an additional insured, which extends your liability coverage to claims against them arising from your unit, and most carriers can add it.
How much personal property coverage do I need?
Walk the apartment with your phone recording and add up what it would cost to buy everything again new, closet by closet. People forget clothes, shoes, kitchen equipment and the contents of the hall closet, and those add up faster than the television. Suppose a one-bedroom holds $12,000 of furniture, $6,000 of clothing and $5,000 of electronics; a limit set at the round number that covers those with room for a bike and some tools is the right starting point.
Does renters insurance cover my roommate?
Only if the roommate is a relative or is named on the policy. An unrelated roommate's belongings and liability are not covered by your policy, and a shared policy makes both of you responsible for the deductible and both of you carry a claim on your record. Separate policies are usually cleaner.
Am I covered if a pipe bursts in the unit above me?
Your own contents are covered under your policy for sudden water damage, and your carrier pays you first and then recovers from whoever was at fault. Waiting for the neighbor's or the landlord's insurer to pay instead usually means a long argument about negligence while you sleep on a wet mattress; the point of your own policy is not to have that argument.
Are my things covered while I move?
Named perils apply to belongings in transit, so theft from the moving truck or a fire is covered. Breakage by the movers is not; that falls to the moving company's own valuation coverage, which pays by weight unless you buy full value protection from them. Items in a storage unit between leases are covered at the off-premises limit.
Do I need it if I own almost nothing?
The liability part is the reason, more than the contents. Say a pan of oil catches fire, the sprinklers go off and three units are damaged; the landlord's carrier repairs the building and then looks to the tenant whose stove it was. The contents limit can be set low; the liability limit cannot, and it is the part of the policy that costs the least.