What is renters insurance?
Renters insurance covers damage to your personal belongings, the costs of living if your apartment becomes uninhabitable, and even offers liability coverage if someone gets hurt at your apartment.
What does renters insurance cover?
Simply put, if you own it, it's covered. From your laptop to your wedding rings, you can be reimbursed for replacement costs if your personal property is damaged. Most renters insurance policies cover losses from fire, smoke, lightning, windstorm, theft, and water damage.
According to our partners at Lemonade, it protects you from three different types of things:
- Things that happen to your stuff, such as if a burglar steals your laptop, an overflowing toilet from upstairs causes water damage to a painting, or a fire destroys the majority of your possessions.
- Things that other people hold you responsible for (and expect you to pay for), such as if a visitor slips and falls down the stairs outside your apartment or if your dog bites a neighbor
- Things that force you out of your place, such as smoke damage from a fire
Most insurance coverage also encompasses losses or additional living expenses that occur away from home—so if your cell phone is stolen from your hotel room, you'll be covered.
What doesn’t renters insurance cover?
It's important to remember that renters insurance doesn't cover the structural aspects of your apartment, like the windows or floors—that's the purview of your landlord's insurance (which, in turn, does not cover your possessions), so you'll want to be sure that your landlord carries the appropriate coverage on your apartment. Also, most renters insurance companies' policies don't cover damages caused by floods or earthquakes.
Although all residents related by marriage, blood, or adoption are automatically covered by a single insurance policy, your renters insurance will not cover your roommate's belongings unless you specifically list your roommate on your policy. Up to two unrelated people can be listed on a single policy.
How much renters insurance do I need?
When signing up for a renters insurance policy, you'll have to select your coverage amount and decide up to what dollar amount you'll want your insurance policy to cover. Walk around your apartment, take videos and photos of everything you care about, and then estimate how much they cost. Add up all your costs and round up to the nearest $10,000.
For example, if you have $26,000 worth of items, you should choose a personal property coverage amount of $30,000. There will be a deductible with each plan. The deductible is the portion of a covered personal property loss that is your responsibility.
Deductibles vary, but if you have a $500 deductible, you are responsible for $500 of the covered personal property loss. It's also important to know that some categories of personal property have coverage limits. In some cases, a maximum dollar limit is set to a certain amount that will be paid to a policyholder in case of damage or loss.
Is renters insurance required in NYC?
If you are a renter residing in New York, by law the building owner is required to maintain insurance on the dwelling you rent. However, the landlord's insurance does not protect you as a renter or cover the loss of any of your personal property.
While renters insurance is not technically required in NYC, some landlords do ask their tenants to obtain additional coverage as part of the lease agreement in order to protect themselves from damage caused by other tenants and situations that are not covered under their own policy.
How much is renters insurance in NYC?
Most renters insurance policies are incredibly affordable—in some cases, it costs as little as a morning coffee. Many companies offer a renters insurance quote of less than $10 a month, which is nothing compared to the cost of replacing uninsured clothes, furniture, appliances, and electronics if something should happen to them.
It’s always important to plan for the unexpected. Renters insurance will make sure all of your possessions are safe and sound in the big city.
If you need renters insurance in New York, our friends at Lemonade offer renters, condo, co-op, and homeowners insurance. They pay claims super fast and give back what's left to causes you care about.