Contents insurance for renters: do you need it?

What does my landlord’s policy cover?

The structure, and usually the fixtures and any furniture they provided with a furnished let. If a pipe bursts, their policy deals with the ceiling and the carpet they own. The clothes in the wardrobe underneath it are yours to insure. You do not need buildings insurance for a home you rent: that is the owner’s responsibility, not yours.

Can a landlord make me buy insurance?

No. GOV.UK is explicit that your landlord is not allowed to make you pay for a loan, pay for insurance or start a contract for a service as part of your tenancy. That covers contents insurance, deposit replacement products, inventory services and professional guarantor services. Being offered one is fine; being required to buy one is not.

If a letting agent says a policy is a condition of the tenancy, that is a prohibited payment. Keep the message and see what can and cannot be charged before a tenancy.

What does a contents policy usually cover?

Your belongings in the home against theft, fire and smoke, escape of water, storm damage and vandalism. What is not automatic is often what renters assume is: dropping a laptop, losing a phone out of the house, or damaging something belonging to the landlord.

Usually included

Theft or attempted theft, fire and smoke, escape of water from pipes or appliances, storm damage, vandalism.

Usually an extra

Accidental damage, such as a television knocked over or paint on a carpet.

Usually an extra

Personal possessions away from home, which is the one that covers a phone, laptop or bike outside the front door.

Sometimes an extra

Tenants’ liability: damage you cause to the landlord’s fixtures, fittings or furniture. Worth checking against what your agreement makes you responsible for.

How much cover do I need?

Enough to replace what you own at today’s prices, not what you paid or what it would fetch second-hand. Go room by room and add it up. Most people guess low, because the total is made of ordinary things rather than expensive ones: the clothes, the kitchen, the bedding and the books come to more than the television.

• Computers, phones, tablets and televisions.
• Clothes, shoes and jewellery.
• Furniture and appliances you own rather than the landlord.
• Kitchen equipment, pans, crockery and small appliances.
• Bicycles and sports equipment.
• Books, instruments, games and hobby equipment.
• Anything in a shed, garage, loft or communal store.

Then check the single-item limit. A policy with plenty of total cover can still cap any one item at a figure below your laptop, and an expensive item usually has to be named.

What about a house share?

It is harder, and worth reading the small print before you pay. Insurers commonly want a lock on your own bedroom door, may not pay for a theft with no sign of forced entry, and may exclude anything kept in shared areas. Tell them accurately how many people live there and whether you are related: getting that wrong is the kind of thing that voids a claim.

A joint policy for the whole household is usually cheaper, but everyone shares the claims history. One housemate’s claim can follow the rest of you to your next renewal.

What should I compare?

Not the monthly price on its own. Two policies at the same price can differ entirely on the limits, the excess and whether the things you actually own are covered where you actually use them.

• The total contents limit, and the limit on any single item.
• The excess: what you pay towards a claim before anything is paid out.
• Whether accidental damage is included or costs extra.
• Whether possessions are covered away from home.
• Specific limits for bicycles and jewellery, which are often lower than expected.
• The rules for shared houses and for communal areas.
• What happens if the home is empty for a few weeks, which matters if you go away.
• Whether replacement is new-for-old or reduced for wear.

What should I do before I move in?

Photograph anything valuable and keep receipts or serial numbers where you have them. Fill in the inventory properly, so it is clear which things are yours and which came with the property. Both matter at the end of the tenancy as well as after a burglary.

The new tenancy checklist covers the inventory and the photographs, at both ends of a tenancy.

Does the property itself affect the premium?

Yes. Insurers price on the postcode, and recorded crime and flood risk are part of that. They are also two of the things worth knowing about a home before you commit to it, whether or not you end up insuring anything.

• Recorded crime around a property, and how it compares with the rest of England.
• Flood risk for an address, including surface water, which the planning zones leave out.