Contents Insurance

Contents insurance, or personal property insurance, is coverage for “your stuff” (bikes, laptops, TVs, etc.) – it’s also known as Coverage C on renters and homeowners insurance policies.

What does home contents insurance cover?

Your home contents insurance policy will cover the stuff you own (read: anything owned by landlords, roomers, or boarders isn’t covered), when you’re at home or out and about. Also known as personal property coverage, this type of insurance policy is extended to bad things that may happen (named perils) to the stuff your friends and family may have left at your place.

Part of any standard renters or homeowners insurance policy, your personal property coverage (also known as Coverage C) helps you recover the cost of your lost or damaged stuff for a bunch of different scenarios.

How much home contents insurance do I need?

Part of any renters, condo, or homeowners insurance will include a section dedicated to your ‘contents,’ or stuff. Referred to as Coverage C, this is the amount of coverage you have if something happens to your stuff.

Do note: there are limits within this coverage, and some of your items require extra coverage, such as expensive jewelry or bikes. You’ll want to get extra coverage (“schedule” in insurance speak) for these valuables.

So how much will this protection cost? First, you’ll have to assess how much coverage you need. Your stuff adds up, so do yourself a favor and take a look around your place and go over these three simple steps to save time (and money!) later:

Walk around your apartment, and take pictures (or a video) of your personal property

Make a list of valuable items, and estimate how much they cost

For bulk items like shoes, or kitchen supplies, give ’em a nice round number

Add all of this up and round to the nearest $10K to determine how much coverage you’ll need

For example, if you have $27K worth of items, you should choose a personal property coverage amount of $30K.

How much does home contents insurance cost?

Your policy premium depends on the type of policy (renters, condo, homeowners), the amount of coverage you need, and any valuables you’ve added to your policy. Basic renters insurance policies start with $10,000 of personal stuff. Increasing that to $30,000 is usually the smarter (and not too pricey) thing to do. If you need more than that and you increase now, you’ll pay less later.