Does Renters Insurance Cover Theft?

Coming home to find you've been robbed is any renter's nightmare. You're left wondering whether renters insurance will cover theft or you're out of luck. The good news is that renters insurance often covers stolen items. But some limits apply.

Here’s what you need to know about renters insurance and theft.

Renters insurance typically covers theft, whether the items were stolen from your home, vehicle or elsewhere. Your landlord is generally not responsible for items stolen from your house or apartment. Their insurance covers the physical structure you live in, not your stuff. That’s why having renters insurance is so important.

If you file a claim for theft, you can be reimbursed up to the personal property coverage limit on your policy. Say you chose $30,000 as your limit when you bought your policy. That’s the maximum your insurance company will reimburse you.

Keep in mind that your deductible will apply to your payout. Your deductible is the amount of a claim you pay out of pocket. It’s usually $500 to $1,000 per claim.

To process your claim, your insurance company may require you to submit a police report.

» MORE: Personal property insurance for homeowners and renters

Renters insurance will typically reimburse you for covered losses due to theft, whenever and wherever they occur. This could include:

• Theft from your apartment or rented house, including your garage, doorstep or balcony.

• Theft away from home, whether you’re at the grocery store or on vacation.

• Theft from a storage unit, including items stolen from your locker or in transit during a move.

» MORE: What does renters insurance cover?

There are a few scenarios where your renters insurance policy won’t cover stolen items:

• Items you accidentally lose. You can’t file a claim for items you misplace or damage by accident. The claim must be for a covered reason, like vandalism or theft. 

• Stolen or damaged vehicles. Renters insurance doesn’t cover stolen cars, boats, motorcycles or ATVs. It also won't cover damage done to your vehicle after a break-in or attempted theft. Things like smashed windows, scratches and busted steering wheels require auto insurance coverage. 

• Physical damage to your home. Renters insurance won’t cover damage to the structure of your home during a break-in. So if a thief dents your door or breaks a window, your landlord will need to file their own insurance claim for repairs.

• Your roommate’s items. Generally, a renters insurance policy covers you and any relatives living in your house, such as your spouse and kids. A roommate’s stuff usually isn’t covered unless you’ve added them to your policy. Learn more about sharing renters insurance with roommates.

When you file a claim for a stolen item, the insurer will pay you either the actual cash value or the replacement cost of the item.

Actual cash value is an item’s depreciated value. It's what the item was worth at the time it was stolen, factoring in age and use. Say someone steals a laptop you bought five years ago for $1,000. It may now be worth just $200 based on depreciation. With actual cash value coverage, you'd get only $200 from your insurer, minus your deductible. (If your deductible is $200 or more, you wouldn’t get a payout at all.)

Replacement cost coverage reimburses you the full amount it would cost to replace the item with a brand-new one. So in the laptop example, you'd get enough money to buy a similar new computer, minus your deductible.

» MORE: Actual cash value vs. replacement cost

Renters insurance policies may pay only up to a certain amount for the theft of high-value items. So even if you have $25,000 in personal property coverage, there may be sub-limits for certain types of items. For example, you may have limits of $1,500 for jewelry, $2,500 for electronics and $250 for stolen cash.

If your valuables are worth more than the sub-limits in your policy, you won't be fully reimbursed for them if they’re stolen. That's why it's important to take inventory of your high-value items and look into buying extra coverage.

Your insurance agent may recommend “scheduling” your valuables. Scheduling is where you buy more coverage for specific high-value items listed in your policy. That way you can be reimbursed up to the scheduled value in case of theft, rather than hitting the category caps. Learn more about scheduled personal property coverage.

Another alternative for valuables is blanket coverage. With this option, you can increase the sub-limit for a certain type of personal property. This may be a good option if you have a lot of jewelry but no individual piece is especially valuable.

» MORE: Jewelry insurance: Everything you need to know

Yes, your renters insurance policy can cover a stolen bike — even if it’s taken outside of your home. So if your bike is stolen from your garage, the back of your car, a bike rack or anywhere else, you can file a claim to be reimbursed.

The coverage amount will depend on your policy limits and any category-specific caps. For example, there may be a sub-limit for bikes.

If you have an expensive bike, consider scheduling it on your policy to get the full reimbursement value if it’s stolen. Save your receipt to prove the bike's value, and take photos in case of a claim.

Renters insurance typically protects your belongings even when you’re away from home. If items are stolen from your hotel room or during a move, you can file a claim just as if they were taken from your rental.

Renters insurance doesn’t cover stolen cars. You need auto insurance to cover vehicle theft or any damage done to your car during a break-in, like a smashed window. In particular, you need comprehensive insurance, an optional type of coverage.

However, renters insurance will cover things stolen from cars, such as laptops, purses and shopping bags, up to your policy limits. So while it doesn't extend to the car itself, renters insurance reimburses you for personal items taken from your vehicle. Your deductible will apply.

Learn more about how car insurance covers theft.

Although renters insurance covers theft, it may not always make sense to file a claim. Say your $500 phone is stolen, but your policy has a $500 deductible. In this case, you wouldn't recoup any insurance money since you’re responsible for the first $500 of the claim.

Here’s another example: Someone steals your $5,000 engagement ring. If your policy sub-limit for jewelry is $1,500 and your deductible is $1,000, you’d get only $500 back after filing a claim. You’d have to weigh whether this is worth the potential rise in premiums that could result from filing a claim.

Whether you submit a theft claim or not is a personal decision. But if the value of stolen items is low compared to your deductible, it may make more sense to replace the items yourself.

To help prevent theft: