Your landlord is asking you to get renters insurance, but what is renters insurance? Put simply, it’s a way to protect renters from undue expenses following a disaster. Most people would expect that the possessions in their home are covered, but renters insurance offers additional protection. It offers coverage for possessions outside of the home (think: someone spilling a drink on a laptop in a café), additional living expenses when a home becomes uninhabitable (think: a hotel and restaurant bills following a fire) and even liability coverage for damage caused to other people (think: medical bills for a friend who was injured after tripping on your rug).

We’ve put together this renters insurance guide to answer common questions and help you work through how to choose renters insurance that’s right for you. If you have a question that isn’t answered below, reach out to the VIU by HUB Advisory Team. They’d be happy to address any concerns you have.

What does renters insurance cover?

Renters insurance covers three basic types of protection: personal possessions, liability and additional living expenses. These include:

• Personal possessions – When people think of renters insurance, they usually think of this protection. This is the protection that covers your possessions that are destroyed during a covered peril (such as a fire).
• Liability – standard renters insurance policies cover damage caused by you, your family or your pets to other people. If your dog eats your neighbor’s first edition of The Canterbury Tales, you’re covered. If your dog eats your first edition, you’re not. This also includes medical bills for people injured in your home.
• Additional living expenses – if your home is unlivable and you need a place to stay, your policy will likely reimburse you for the difference between your regular living expenses and the additional cost. Say your rent is $1,000 and your hotel stay is $1,500, your policy would pay you $500.

Do I need renters insurance?

You do. Most landlords and apartment buildings require it. Beyond that, it’s good to be prepared in case something goes wrong and these policies are usually reasonably priced. Here are a couple of special cases you may not have considered:

• If your college student is living in a dorm, save your money. Your student is usually covered by a parent’s homeowners insurance policy or renters policy, though the dorm address would need to be added to the parent’s policy for coverage to apply. However, if your child moved off-campus, they will need their own policy.
• Only married couples are guaranteed the ability to have a policy that covers both people. Unmarried couples and roommates may need separate renters insurance policies. This varies by state so best to ask an expert like a VIU by HUB Advisor how to choose renters insurance for your home.