Renters FAQs

How much personal property coverage do I need for renters insurance?

All FAQs

Quick answer: Walk through your apartment and estimate the replacement cost of everything you own.

A good starting point is to add up what it would cost to replace everything you own, then buy that much personal property coverage, which for most Georgia renters lands somewhere between $20,000 and $50,000. Personal property coverage is the part of a renters insurance policy that pays to replace your belongings, like furniture, clothing, electronics, and kitchen items, after a covered loss such as fire or theft.

The figure is based on an inventory rather than a guess. Walk through each room and estimate the cost to buy your things new today, not what you originally paid. People almost always own more than they think once they add up a couch, a bed, a TV, a laptop, a wardrobe, a kitchen full of small appliances, and everything in the closets.

A few policy features change how much coverage applies:

  • Replacement cost coverage and actual cash value pay differently. Replacement cost pays to buy a new item, while actual cash value subtracts depreciation for age and wear.
  • Watch the sublimits. Jewelry, firearms, and electronics often have low internal caps, so high-value items may need to be scheduled separately.
  • Match your deductible, the amount you pay before coverage starts, to what you can comfortably afford after a loss.

For example, a Savannah renter assumes $15,000 is plenty, then does a real inventory and finds her belongings total closer to $32,000 once she counts her furniture, two laptops, a TV, and a full wardrobe. After a kitchen fire damages much of the apartment, the higher limit she chose pays to fully replace her things, while the lower guess would have left her about $17,000 short.

It costs very little to raise your contents limit, so it rarely makes sense to underinsure. A good habit is to take photos or a quick video of each room and keep the file somewhere safe, like your email or cloud storage. That record makes a claim far easier to prove, because the insurer will ask you to list and value what you lost. If you want help, see the difference in our explainer on actual cash value versus replacement cost. We can size your coverage to your actual belongings with a free coverage review at our coverage review page.