Renters insurance coverage
Your furniture is in place. Your utilities are hooked up, and your rental unit is starting to look like a home. But renters insurance should be an important part of that to-do list. It may be more important, accessible and competitively priced than you think when it comes to coverage for your stuff.
What does renters insurance cover?
In short, renters insurance helps cover what you own and for what you’re liable. Most landlords’ insurance covers only the building and damages due to negligence. A renters insurance policy can help you with:
Property coverages
Personal property
Helps cover your personal possessions not permanently attached to your home if they are damaged or stolen.
Loss of use
Helps cover additional living expenses if you need to vacate your home because a covered loss left it uninhabitable.
Additional coverages
May provide payment for arson reward, bed bugs (if applicable in your state), building additions and alterations, collapse, credit or bank card forgery, debris removal, fuel oil release, locks and remote devices, power interruption, property removed, refrigerated products, temporary repairs, trees, shrubs and landscaping, and volcanic action.
Liability coverages
Personal liability
Helps provide protection if someone makes a claim or brings suit against you for bodily injury or property damage caused by a covered occurrence. This includes:
- Damage to property rented to you caused by fire, smoke, explosion or abrupt and accidental damage from water
- If you’re found legally responsible for property damage or injury to another person or their property
- Up to $500, in excess of the security deposit, if your household pets cause damage to property rented to you
In addition to these settlement costs for damages which you’re legally liable, this coverage may help pay defense costs and court costs. State Farm will not provide a defense for criminal prosecution or proceedings. Be sure to select liability limits high enough to protect your assets.
Medical payments to others
Helps cover injuries to others that might occur on your property. Also known as guest-medical payments, it helps provide limited coverage if a third party is accidentally injured and needs medical treatment.
Additional coverages
Helps cover payment for damage to the property of others caused by you, your claim expenses, and first-aid expenses to others incurred by you.
Coverage in action
Let’s say you return from work and your couch is gone and a couple of lamps were damaged. Renters insurance may help pay the costs of the covered loss.
What does renters insurance not cover?1
Keep in mind that your policy will exclude certain perils and property, including but not limited to:
Property
Property damage to your building, roof, and siding (these are the responsibility of your landlord)
Causes of loss
Including but not limited to damage caused from flood, underground water, earthquakes, mudslides, settling, deterioration, contamination, nuclear hazard, birds, rodents, insects or domestic animals. If your community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), you can buy flood insurance coverage through agents enrolled in the NFIP-Direct program.
Frequently asked questions about renters insurance
It depends on the source of the water. If a pipe bursts, your renters insurance may help pay for damage caused by a covered loss. If a river or other bodies of water overflow, most renters policies — including those offered by State Farm — would not cover damage caused by flooding.
Most renters policies do not cover damage to the building where you are living. Renters insurance helps cover your belongings, not the actual structure.
In the event of a covered loss, the liability portion of your renters insurance may help provide coverage if you're held responsible for injuring another person or damaging their property. This coverage may apply whether the incident occurred within your residence or elsewhere. Moreover, some policies may provide a legal defense in addition to the amount of damages for which you are legally responsible.
The typical renters insurance policy includes $100,000 in liability coverage, but higher limits are available for purchase. If you frequently have guests in your home, you should consider increasing your liability coverage to an amount that at least equals the total value of your assets.
Yes, most renters insurance policies may cover personal property stored in self-storage units, but there are some things to keep in mind:
- Coverage applies off-premises: Your policy typically extends protection to belongings kept temporarily away from your rental home, including items in storage units.
- Covered perils: Protection usually covers risks like theft, fire, vandalism, and certain natural disasters, similar to what’s covered at your residence.
- Coverage limits: There may be a separate limit or sub-limit for property in storage, which could be lower than the limit for belongings inside your home.
- Policy variations: Some insurers have specific exclusions or requirements for storage unit coverage, so it’s important to check your policy details.
- Additional endorsements: If you have valuable items stored, you might need to purchase additional coverage or endorsements to ensure full protection.
This answer was drafted with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence.
No, termites and other pests are generally not covered by renters insurance. Damage caused by pests such as termites, rodents, bedbugs (if applicable in your state), or insects is considered a maintenance issue or neglect, which is excluded from standard renters insurance policies.
If you have pest-related damage, you would typically need to handle repairs and pest control yourself. It’s important to maintain your rental unit properly to prevent pest infestations.
For pest problems, you might want to contact your landlord or a pest control service. Renters insurance is designed to cover sudden and accidental damages, not ongoing maintenance or infestations
This answer was drafted with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence.
There are many factors that may influence your renters premium. These include, but are not limited to, location and rating territory, amount of coverage, deductibles, and discounts or charges. In addition, the collective loss experience in a given area is a major component in the price of insurance.
Renters insurance helps cover fire damage to your personal property caused by accidents, faulty appliances, electrical system issues, and more.
Special coverage limits apply to certain types of personal property, including:
- Boats and other watercraft equipment
- Money, bank notes, and coins (including collections)
- Computers and equipment for business use
- Securities, accounts, and deeds
- Stamps, trading cards, and comic books (including collections)
- Theft losses of jewelry, furs, firearms, silverware and goldware, rugs
- Personal conveyances, like bikes, e-bikes, scooters, ATVs, and similar low speed vehicles
Get a local agent who gets you
There’s a State Farm agent nearby ready to offer personalized service to fit your specific needs.
Additional insurance options
Simple Insights®
Looking for help protecting your residence? You’ve come to the right place. Articles from Simple Insights draw on over 100 years of State Farm knowledge.
Tips to help choose limits for your personal property and liability coverage.
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1 All property coverages are subject to the Losses Not Insured provision of the policy. Please refer to the policy for descriptions of losses insured and not insured.
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