Does Renters Insurance Cover Lost Items?

By default, a standard renters insurance covers lost items under personal property coverage. This type of coverage helps you pay for repairs or replacement of damaged or destroyed items in a covered loss, like theft or fire.

If you have ultra-expensive items that the standard policy cannot fully cover, you could rely on a supplemental policy called scheduled personal property to extend the coverage. It’s best to talk to your insurer since it will have limits on personal property insurance.

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If you have personal property coverage, many of your lost or damaged items will be covered automatically. Or, if you lose very expensive items such as jewelry, you may choose a higher limit coverage.

Unwanted circumstances that caused a permanent loss of your possessions due to situations you could not control are when renters insurance works best. Disasters or thieves that take away expensive items in your home might maximize your coverage through scheduled personal property coverage. The benefit of this coverage is that the policy's value limits are usually higher than those of a standard renters insurance policy, and a deductible is not required.

Unless the lost possessions were specifically included as a rider to your policy, most renters insurance policies do not cover items lost “off-premises.”

Situations that are caused by your carelessness are events your renters insurance cannot cover. Additionally, if you are traveling and you suddenly lose something in your luggage, you may not take advantage of lost or theft insurance coverage for lost items unless it is specifically included in your travel insurance.

Whether it’s a natural disaster, a break-in or simply misplacing something, there’s always the potential for loss. However, it’s even better to take steps to prevent loss in the first place. Homeowners can install security systems to deter thieves. Individuals can be more mindful of their belongings at all times to reduce the risk of loss.

Renters insurance is very accessible. You can get insurance from the major companies like AAA, Progressive and GEICO and from smaller ones like Lemonade and Toggle. The average cost of renters insurance is $13 per month, depending on your items’ values.

Because rates rely on your valuable possessions and on the insurance companies, MoneyGeek compared renters insurance quotes to help you get a tailor-made idea of how much your renters insurance policy would cost for lost items.