Does Renters Insurance Cover Theft?

Your renters insurance policy can help alleviate some serious anxiety when it comes to theft. It insures your phone on the subway, your laptop at the coffee shop, and all your other valuables if you’re the unfortunate victim of an apartment burglary.

How, exactly, can a renters policy help soften the blow? Let’s take a look.

When does renters insurance cover theft?

Your renters insurance will cover most of your stuff for theft both inside and outside your home, including electronic items, furniture, clothing, and jewelry – as long as you’ve purchased enough coverage for your items.

If you choose to get $30,000 worth of personal property coverage (aka, coverage for your stuff), your insurance company can pay you up to $30,000 for your stolen stuff. But if you choose only $10,000 worth of personal property coverage, and more than that is stolen, your renters insurance company can only pay up to $10,000 (minus your deductible, of course). If you’d like some help figuring out how much your stuff is worth, check out this quick guide.

Let’s say you go out for a movie with a friend, and come home to find that a burglar broke into your place and stole your TV, computer, sound system, a bunch of expensive jewelry, and your friend’s backpack which had a laptop and headphones inside. Ouch.

Would you be covered? Yes, mostly.

First off, your and your friend’s stuff would be covered, provided they don’t have a policy of their own. Just make sure you can provide a full inventory of what was stolen, make and model, receipts, and pictures if possible. The more info you can get, the easier it will be to process your claim.

The only tricky thing in this scenario is the expensive jewelry.

Most companies provide around $1,500 of insurance coverage for theft of jewelry under your base insurance policy. If your jewelry was worth more than that, you’ll to add on extra coverage in order for it to be protected.

When is theft not covered under your renters policy?

Take note that there are a couple of instances when theft isn’t covered by renters insurance.

Theft isn’t covered if:

1. You’re the one who stole something (never a good look)
2. It happened somewhere you rent that’s under construction

Places that are under construction carry a much higher risk of something happening to your stuff, and are therefore excluded from your coverage.

There are a few more exemptions you should note.

If you check your luggage on an airline, and they’re stolen in their possession, your renters insurance policy won’t cover you – because your item was in the possession of a third party.

Plus, if your insurer decides you were responsible for the theft due to negligence, like leaving the keys in your front door or leaving your bicycle unlocked — they might decide not to approve your claim.

What if stuff was stolen outside of my home?

One of the best things about renters insurance is that you’re also covered for theft outside of your home. That means you’re protected if your laptop gets stolen from the local coffee shop, or if someone pickpockets your phone on the subway.

And what’s the radius of that coverage? Your personal belongings are even covered from theft while you’re abroad!

Does renters insurance cover car or bicycle theft?

Renters insurance does cover bike theft — Hallelujah! Whether your bike was stolen from your apartment or snatched outside the local gym, you’re covered. However, your policy has more nuance when it comes to e-bikes, and coverage depends what type of e-bike you own.

Btw, take note that renters insurance doesn’t cover car theft. Cars are insured separately by your auto insurance. However, renters insurance does cover you if your personal items, like a laptop, were stolen out of your car.

Does renters insurance cover stolen cash?

Yes, renters insurance covers stolen cash, but only up to $200.

Why? If unlimited cash was covered, it would be way too tempting to claim someone stole $10,000 worth of cash, in hopes of getting a quick payday.

On the other hand, if someone stole your backpack with your laptop, phone, and cash, you’d claim the cash along with the other items, and the deductible would be subtracted from the total value of your stolen stuff.

Before we go…

Let’s be honest, life ain’t a piece of cake. We encounter all sorts of obstacles along the way—and theft is, unfortunately, one of ‘em.

Getting renters insurance is just good sense and covers you for more incidents than just theft. No matter how much your belongings are worth, when s**t hits the fan, you’ll be glad you had renters insurance.