Renters insurance

While some states do not require it by law, your landlord or the company that manages the property may mandate it before you can rent the apartment, condo or house.

It’s not a bad idea to have your own renters policy. The policy offered by your landlord may not address your insurance needs — like coverage for your personal property or liability protection for your activities outside of the home. A landlord may only require coverage to protect against tenant negligence, like a kitchen fire while cooking or water damage from an overflowing tub.

Renters insurance is apartment insurance. And it helps cover2 your stuff — like computers, TVs, electronics, bicycles, furniture, and clothing — both inside and away from your apartment, condominium, or rental home.

Need a temporary place to dwell? This coverage helps provide payment for additional living expenses when your home is uninhabitable because of a covered loss. This coverage applies for the shortest time required to repair or replace the premises, or for your household to settle elsewhere, up to 24 months and a maximum dollar limit.

As the cost of living rises, so does the cost to replace your personal property. Inflation coverage automatically increases the amount of your insurance coverage in order to keep pace with the inflation index.

Personal property covers your tangible things. It helps provide protection for covered losses resulting from accidents related to fire, smoke, covered water, wind, theft or vandalism — among other things.

To determine how much coverage you might need, create a home inventory. Follow this step-by-step checklist to inventory your personal property:

Consider adding photos to your inventory — it could help if you have a claim.

While you might specify an effective date for coverage to begin, processing the application may take time.

Check with your State Farm agent since policies differ. Depending on the circumstances, some renters insurance policies may cover liability for household pets if they bite someone. They may also cover up to $500 in excess of your security deposit if your pet damages rented property. However, most do not cover damage to your personal belongings caused by a pet. Learn more about pet insurance.

Renters coverage costs less than you might think. Based on a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) survey, renters insurance runs about $13 a month for approximately $34,000 in coverage limits.

One of the more important aspects of renters insurance is the replacement cost for personal property. Think about how much it would cost to replace your things if they were all destroyed.

While the policy helps provide coverage for the insured and their resident relatives, any non-related roommates would need to be listed on the policy to have coverage. If relatives or roommates are listed, you may want to increase the limits to help ensure appropriate coverage limits. Another option is for each roommate to purchase their own separate policy.

No, State Farm does not offer flood insurance. Most flood insurance is written through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Your State Farm agent can probably assist you with obtaining flood insurance.