Renters insurance, the policy nobody regrets
It is usually the least expensive thing we sell and the one that pays out most quietly: a burst pipe upstairs, a break-in, a fire two units down that leaves you living in a hotel for three weeks.
What this touches
- Your belongings, anywhere in the world, not only inside the apartment
- Liability, which is what your lease is actually asking for
- Loss of use, which pays for the hotel and the meals while the unit is unliveable
- Medical payments to guests
What the lease requires
Florida does not require renters insurance. Landlords do, increasingly, and the requirement is almost always a liability limit rather than a contents limit. That is worth knowing, because the liability part is cheap and the contents part is the part you actually benefit from.
What moves the premium
- The contents limit you choose, which most people set too low by habit.
- Deductible.
- Whether the building has sprinklers, alarms or a gated entry.
- Whether you also insure a car with us, since bundling is real money on this line.
Replacement cost, not actual cash value
An actual cash value policy pays what your five year old television was worth last week, which is very little. Replacement cost pays what a new one costs. The difference is usually a few dollars a month, so ask for replacement cost and check the declarations page says so.
If you are in one of these
Questions people actually ask
Does it cover flood?
No. Rising water needs a flood policy, and yes, renters can buy contents-only flood coverage.
My roommate has a policy. Am I covered?
No, unless you are named on it. Two policies or one policy with both names, and the second is not always possible.
Work it out before anybody sells you anything
Four calculators that run in your browser, a page for every situation Florida puts people in, and the claims data for your own county. All of it free, and none of it behind a form. The form is for the other half of the job: when you have read enough and want a person on the phone.
Leave a name and a number and a licensed Florida agent gets in touch. No obligation, and no call from six companies you have never heard of.
A licensed Florida agent may call, text or email you about your request.