9 Real Life Situations Covered by Renters Insurance

When’s the last time you talked about renters insurance at a party? If you’re like most, the answer is probably never.

Renters insurance, also known as HO4 insurance, isn’t the sexiest of topics. But the thing is, renters insurance can have your back in a bunch of situations that are all-too-common, including theft, injury, and calamities like kitchen fires.

Before we dive into this, let’s do a quick refresher. Renters insurance is there to reimburse you if something bad happens to you or your stuff (a phone, laptop, watch, bike, etc.), after you’ve paid your deductible, of course. 

What does ‘something bad’ mean? Things like theft, fire, vandalism, some types of water damage (such as from burst pipes), a windstorm, and so on. (These are what’s known as ‘named perils’ in insurance speak.) Renters insurance can cover temporary living expenses if your place becomes unlivable due to one of those bad things listed above, and also certain medical/legal fees for others if you’re liable for them—like if a friend breaks their leg at your apartment during a party.

Let’s look at some real scenarios in which you’d be pretty glad you had renters insurance.

1. Your phone’s stolen at a music festival

In this day and age, it’s pretty rare to leave the house without a phone. We bring our phones everywhere: to work, a friend’s house, and a cross-country trip.

So naturally, some of the most common Q’s we’re asked at Lemonade are: Does renters insurance cover cell phones? and, Does renters insurance cover theft outside the home? 

Our answer? It sure does!

And luckily, renters insurance doesn’t only cover your stuff at home – it has your back when you’re on-the-go. So if your phone is stolen at a music festival, or on your commute home from work, renters insurance can reimburse you.

2. Your laptop’s swiped while traveling

Renters insurance doesn’t only cover loss inside the country – it has your back when you’re abroad, too.

For example:

Let’s say you’re gearing up for a trip to Europe, and decide to bring your laptop with you. You pack your stuff, jet off to your destination, and unpack your things in your hotel room before you begin to explore. You come back to your room, only to realize your laptop’s missing.

If you have renters insurance, you can relax knowing your laptop’s covered, and enjoy the rest of your vacay.

Bonus: With Lemonade, making a claim takes just a few seconds, so you can get on with your trip abroad. You might even get reimbursed in three seconds.

[Get a Lemonade policy in 90 seconds for the price of a latte]

3. Your bike’s stolen (even though you locked it)

One last note about theft (we promise!): one of the most common claims we see is stolen bikes.

Even if you take the time to lock up your bike, sometimes you still get unlucky. And lucky for you, renters insurance covers stolen bikes!

P.S. – if your bike is on the pricey end of the spectrum, you may need to get ‘Extra Coverage’ for it, which will also cover you in the event of accidental damage or mysterious disappearance, with no deductible (score!).

Adding Extra Coverage is easy – after you get a Lemonade policy, you’ll just have to follow a few quick steps, and you’re done!

4. Your neighbors leave their faucet on, and it floods your apartment

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, your neighbors can sometimes make mistakes. And if those mistakes damage your stuff, your policy may have you covered.

For example:

Let’s say your neighbors leave their kitchen sink running, or forget to turn off their bathroom faucet, and the water comes dripping down into your apartment. You come home from a long day at work, only to find your stuff soaking wet. Joy. No fear – renters insurance can pay you back for the damage caused to your things.

5. Your friend slips and falls at your house party

Picture this: You decide to host a house party for your BFF’s birthday, and your klutz-y friend suddenly slips in your kitchen and twists his ankle. Ouch. He heads over to the hospital, receives his medical bills, and decides to sue you. Double ouch.

Luckily, renters insurance can cover the costs to get you out of this jam. Your renters insurance liability coverage will kick in, and pay for both his medical and your legal fees. Crisis, averted!

6. Your plumbing leaks, damaging your stuff

Leaky plumbing is one of those things you never think will happen, until it does. And when it does it can lead to a whole lot of flooding in your apartment or home. So if you ever have that sinking feeling realizing this happens, and your stuff is damaged, renters insurance has your back.

When this happens, you might be wondering, ‘does renters insurance cover carpet damage?,’ or, ‘does renters insurance cover water damage to a laptop?’ Luckily, it does!

So you can rest easy, knowing your stuff is covered.

7. Your apartment catches on fire, wreaking havoc on your things

Picture this: it’s Sunday night, which means a quiet night in. You light some candles, start cooking, and suddenly, the oil in the pan catches fire, help! Your roomie rushes over to help, only to tip over your burning candle. Double whammy.

Luckily, renters insurance has your back in either (or both!) of these situations. You’d likely be covered for property damage, food loss, and even additional, temporary living expenses if you have to vacate your apartment for a while.

If your stuff goes up in smoke, you can call your insurance company (or, in Lemonade’s case, open the Lemonade app) and file a claim right away.

8. Your neighbor’s apartment catches on fire, forcing you to relocate

And back to those neighbors. If it’s them who had this Sunday-night-gone-wrong, and the fire spreads to your apartment, your renters insurance will have your back.

And to imagine the worst-case-scenario, let’s say this fire spreads through your own apartment, damaging your entire place. But here’s the good news (yes, there is good news!): Renters insurance can cover not only the damages to your stuff, but also your temporary living costs – this type of coverage is known as ‘loss of use.’ It may even cover the extra $$ you have to spend on food and laundry. Renters insurance, to the rescue.

As you read through these 8 things, you may have been thinking, ‘these kinds of things can happen to other people, but I don’t think they’ll ever happen to me.’ (Yes, we’re psychic!)

And while any of these things could happen when you least expect it, there’s also a chance that they never will. And we hope that’s the case!

But that doesn’t mean your policy is useless. Regardless of whether you end up filing a claim, renters insurance can help you with one more super common scenario:

9. You’re worried that something might happen

This may sound cheesy, but it doesn’t make it any less true. If you’re worried someone will snatch your phone at a music festival, or swipe your laptop when you’re traveling, your policy will make these worst-case scenarios much less stressful (and consequential). 

In fact, when we asked a few policyholders from our Lemonade Community what Lemonade does for them, none of them mentioned a claim:

“Lemonade lets me focus on the important things in life without having to worry.” – Danielle G., NYC

“Lemonade lets me travel and live anywhere without stressing about losing my main source of income, my things.” – Skye S., Austin

“Lemonade lets me focus on creating content for a living without worrying about rental emergencies.” – Justin H., San Francisco

So if it turns out that you never file a claim with your renters insurance company (ideal situation!), it doesn’t mean you didn’t get any use out of it. Renters insurance is there to make you feel safe and calm at the thought of something happening. It’s there to let you focus on your experiences, not your things. 

And if you ask us, the value of that is priceless.

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Thanks for reading! To take Lemonade renters insurance for a spin, check our prices in 90 seconds.