Does Renters Insurance Cover Roommates?

If you’re renting an apartment, house or condo, it’s a good idea to have a renter’s insurance policy. A renter’s policy may even be required in your lease agreement. While you may not think you have much to cover, renter’s insurance can could pay for:

• Replacing your personal belongings if they’re ruined, damaged or stolen due to a covered loss. It can be expensive to replace your clothing, electronics, furniture, kitchen gear and more.
• Extra living costs if you can’t live in your rental. If a fire destroys your living space, you might need to stay in a hotel, for example.
• Liability protection if someone gets hurt on your property. 

If you’re living with roommates, you may be wondering if your renters insurance policy will cover them as well. More likely than not, your renters policy will not cover your roommate. Either way, don’t count on your landlord’s insurance for coverage. Their policy typically protects the building, systems like plumbing and electric and larger appliances. It doesn’t include the coverage you need for your own personal property or your liability coverage, or for that matter, your roommate’s belongings.

How does renter’s insurance work with roommates? Here’s what to know.

Does Each Roommate Need Their Own Renters Insurance?

The short answer is yes. Your renters insurance policy wouldn’t cover your roommate’s belongings unless your roommate is  listed on the policy. Your coverage limits should also account for the value of their stuff if you and your roommate are both to be insured on the same policy. You can have more than one renters insurance policy in the same place, and everyone needs coverage for their personal belongings plus the other costs protected by renters insurance with roommates, including personal liability coverage. 

Depending on your insurance company, you may have a couple of ways to get the coverage you need. 

What Is the Cost of Individual Renters Insurance?

It makes sense for each person to buy their own renters insurance and the coverage is relatively inexpensive. 

According to USA Today, on average, you’ll pay about $14 per month for a renters insurance policy that covers $15,000 in personal property coverage and $100,000 in liability protection. And you may get discounts on a renters insurance policy if you bundle it with your auto insurance or other policies from the same insurance company. If you host gatherings, it’s worth considering risks when holding events at your house.

How Does Shared Renters Insurance Work?

There are certain cases where you might consider getting one renters insurance policy that covers everyone living under the same roof. Deciding whether shared renters insurance makes sense depends on your living situation, though this is subject to your insurance policy’s eligibility guidelines.

If you’re sharing a rental property with a life partner or someone else who’s close to you, expect to live together for a long time and have a lot of shared possessions, getting a rental insurance policy together probably makes sense. Plus, it may be less expensive to get coverage for more than one person under the same policy.

If you’re living with friends and you’re each responsible for your own possessions, you’ll probably want to get separate renters insurance policies. With your own policy, if you move, you can easily update your policy information and take your policy with you without having to remove your roommate from your policy.

Plus, the relatively small savings you get by sharing a policy might not be worth it. If your roommate files a claim that has nothing to do with you or your possessions, your insurance costs might go up for the next few years, wiping out what you saved by sharing the policy. 

Get the Coverage You Need

It can be hard to figure out how much renters insurance you need and whether you should get your own policy or share one with your roommates. A Farm Bureau insurance agent can ask you about your possessions, expenses and more and help you find the coverage that fits your lifestyle. Reach out today for a no-strings consultation.