What your stuff is worth, what a policy costs, and why $20/month is the deal of insurance
Renters insurance is the most underpriced product in the industry: $15–30 a month buys replacement of everything you own, six figures of liability protection, and hotel costs if your unit becomes unlivable — yet a majority of renters skip it, mostly because they underestimate what they own by half. This estimator inventories your belongings room-by-room and prices the policy honestly, including the liability coverage that's secretly the product's main event.
| Coverage | What it does | The detail that matters |
|---|---|---|
| Personal property | Replaces your stuff — fire, theft, water damage (not floods), vandalism — even away from home (stolen laptop at a café counts) | Replacement cost vs actual-cash-value: RCV buys a new TV; ACV pays what your 6-year-old one was 'worth.' The premium difference is ~15%; always take RCV |
| Liability ($100–300k) | Your legal exposure: guest injuries, dog bites, the kitchen fire that damages four other units, accidental damage you cause anywhere | The subrogation scenario — a landlord's insurer suing YOU for a building fire — is the one that bankrupts uninsured renters |
| Loss of use | Hotel + living costs above normal while your unit is uninhabitable | Typically 20–40% of property coverage; the coverage people are gladdest to have |
The mental image is "a TV and a couch"; the reality is 300 items: every kitchen drawer ($2,000+ of utensils and appliances), a wardrobe replaced at retail ($3–6k), bedding, tools, décor, the gaming setup. Industry claims data puts the average renter's belongings at $25,000–35,000 replacement cost. The five-minute defense: video-walk every room and closet, narrate the big items, upload to cloud storage — it doubles as claim documentation that turns disputes into checklists.
Bundle with auto (10–15% off both), raise the deductible to $1,000, and quote 3 carriers — the same profile spreads 40%+. Many landlords now require $100k liability proof anyway; the marginal cost of adding full property coverage to a compliance-only policy is a few dollars. At the estimator's typical output — ~$400k of total protection for ~$250/yr — the coverage-per-dollar ratio is the best in insurance.
It covers the BUILDING only — your belongings, your liability and your hotel bills are explicitly excluded. Worse, their insurer can sue you (subrogation) for damage you cause. The myth is the #1 reason renters go bare.
National average ~$15–20/month for $30k property + $100k liability; Gulf states run higher, low-risk states as little as $10. Bundling with auto often makes the net cost nearly zero.
Yes — personal property coverage travels with you worldwide (10% of limits off-premises is typical). Your deductible applies, so small thefts may not clear it.
RCV, always — ACV deducts depreciation and pays garage-sale values. The premium difference is a few dollars; the claim difference on a burglary is thousands.
No — policies cover the named insured (and family). Unrelated roommates each need their own; some insurers allow adding a roommate for a fee, which usually costs more than a separate policy.
Bed bugs: no (maintenance exclusion). Floods: no — separate NFIP/private policy. Dog bites: usually yes under liability, though some breeds are excluded by some carriers — ask before you need it.
Yes — your inventory never leaves the browser.
Video the apartment, buy replacement-cost coverage at the estimator's number, and spend the $18/month without further thought — it's the one insurance decision with no interesting counterargument.