What Is Renters Insurance, and What Does It Cover?

For millions of renters, “renters insurance” is just another way of saying “peace of mind.” At its core, renters insurance offers you financial help if bad things happen to you or your stuff. In exchange, you pay monthly or yearly payments (known as your “premium”) to your insurance company.

We say that an insurance policy “covers” you from unfortunate incidents, like fires or bites from an out-of-control dog. Of course, your insurer can’t prevent those bad things from happening, but by providing compensation for covered events, it can make dealing with the aftermath far less expensive and stressful. 

What does renters insurance cover?

A typical renters insurance policy has three main coverage categories: personal property, temporary living expenses, and personal liability & medical bills.

Personal property

This type of coverage helps you recover the cost of lost or damaged valuables if various unpleasant or unexpected things happen. Think kitchen fires, lightning, windstorms, hail, smoke, vandalism, theft (at home or elsewhere), freezing, damage from aircraft or vehicles, and riots—to name a few.

Just keep in mind that if the stuff in your apartment belongs to your landlord, it isn’t covered under your policy. 

And your renters insurance policy doesn’t extend to stuff that any roommates own; they’d have to get their own individual policies.

Temporary living expenses

If you’re required to leave your home in the aftermath of a covered event, most renters insurance policies will cover these and other expenses, possibly including cash you need to spend on food and laundry. 

Personal liability & medical bills

Renters insurance coverage extends to instances in which someone gets hurt at your place in an accident—whether that means hospital bills or legal fees from a lawsuit. It also extends to certain damages that you may cause when you’re away from your home.

Limits & deductibles

When you file a claim on your Lemonade Renters policy, it’s important to keep coverage limits and your deductible in mind.

Your deductible is the set amount you’ve agreed to contribute to every claim before you’ll receive compensation for your loss. When you sign up with Lemonade, you’ll be able to pick a deductible between $250 and $2,500. (A lower deductible will equal a higher monthly premium, since you’ll owe less out-of-pocket in the event of a covered claim.)

Each category of coverage also has its own limits, and occasionally sublimits. For instance, you can choose $10,000 of personal property coverage. If your apartment is robbed and all your belongings are taken, your insurer would compensate you for the loss up to that $10,000 limit (after taking your deductible into account).

Let’s get a little Extra

So now you’ve got a pretty good idea of what renters insurance covers. But what if you want to amp up the coverage you have for certain specific items that are especially valuable? In insurance terms, that’s known as adding scheduled personal property coverage. 

At Lemonade,  we simply refer to it as Extra Coverage.

For an extra charge, you can apply to add Extra Coverage to jewelry as well as valuables like bikes, cameras, fine art, and musical instruments. Better yet, your claims are deductible-free and you’re even covered for accidental damage or mysterious loss of your property—just not regular wear-and-tear.

What isn’t covered by renters insurance?

Natural disasters like floods and earthquakes

Is your apartment in a place where flooding, sinkholes, or earthquakes strike on the regular? Basic renters insurance generally won’t cover damage from such natural disasters.

You can purchase a separate flood insurance policy through other insurers; meanwhile, Lemonade offers standalone earthquake coverage in certain states.  

Note that certain natural disasters (like volcanic eruption, wildfire, or tornados) will indeed be covered by a renters insurance policy. But damages and related expenses from certain occurrences—like widespread power outages—won’t be.

Car-related theft

You park your Volvo at the corner and leave your phone on the passenger seat. If someone pulls an old-fashioned smash-and-grab to get your iPhone X, renters insurance has your back for the device.

But renters insurance won’t cover damage to the car itself, like your broken window (for that, your car insurance coverage could come in handy). Renters insurance doesn’t cover motor vehicles in general—but it will cover certain classes of e-bikes. Motorized devices used for health purposes, like motorized wheelchairs or scooters, may also be covered.

Undocumented items

Insurance companies do require some amount of proof that an item you’re filing a claim for actually existed, and was in your possession.

Keep receipts, if you think of it, or try to take pics of your valuables on your phone.

Damage from pests

Sorry, renters insurance won’t kick in for damage related to mice, rats, or insects.

Most property damage to your physical home

Renters insurance doesn’t cover the physical building that holds your stuff. That’s what your landlord’s insurance is for.

However, in certain circumstances your renters insurance would indeed kick in. For instance, if your actions lead to damage to your rented apartment due to fire, smoke, an explosion, or certain water damage.

Some common misconceptions about renters insurance

Let’s take a spin through what a lot of people get wrong about renters insurance.

• Your landlord’s policy covers the physical structure of their building and any furnishings/appliances the landlord may own inside, like the fridge or stove… but it doesn’t cover you or any damages that occur to your MacBook, digital camera, or single-speed bike.
• Maybe you’re still on your parents’ health insurance plan, but when it comes to renters or homeowners insurance coverage, things don’t work that way. Your folks’ policy will not cover you and your stuff in your new apartment.
• Why get renters insurance if you’re basically never at home? The reason is that your policy has your back whether you’re at your apartment or at a bar, coffee shop, airport, party boat, skate park, mall, subway car, silent rave, therapist’s office… you get the idea. 

Can you update coverage once you’ve already purchased a policy?

Of course! Lemonade lets you update your own coverage, anytime, on the Lemonade app or website. No agents, no waiting on hold, no stress.

​​If you’re logging in through the web, head over to Lemonade.com and click on “My Account.”Scroll down to the“Got Valuables” section and click the “Add Now” button.

If you’re using the Lemonade mobile app, select your intended policy and scroll to the “Add-Ons” tab, where you’ll find “Extra Coverage” as the first option.

Getting your renters insurance quote

The price you’re offered for renters insurance—known as your quote—depends on a constellation of factors. Your premiums could be affected by where you live, the condition of the building, your personal finances, and the coverage amounts you set for yourself. 

The easiest way to find out what your own rate would be is to apply for a quote with Lemonade.