Does renters insurance cover car theft? The short answer is yes—and no.
Renters insurance doesn’t pay to replace your vehicle if it’s been stolen, but it can cover the cost of replacing personal items in your car when it was taken. Renters insurance can also cover the replacement cost of items stolen from outside your home, such as a bicycle.
For example, if your car was broken into and your cell phone, laptop, or tablet was taken, depending on your policy, your renters insurance could cover the cost to replace them.
In other words, renters insurance can cover things that were stolen from inside your car or items stolen along with your car. But renters insurance won’t cover the car itself.
Here’s how to get the right renters insurance and auto insurance to make sure you’re fully covered.
Get the right Renters policy
Renters insurance helps lessen the financial impact of repairing or replacing personal property that has been stolen or damaged.
Let’s look at what you need to know when considering renters insurance.
What does renters insurance cover?
Renters insurance typically covers fire and water damage to personal property. Your insurance can also include:
- Covering the cost of hotel accommodations if you have to leave your apartment during repairs
- Reimbursing medical expenses if someone is injured on your property
- Damages to other people’s property. For example, covering the cost of repairs if your tub overflows, damaging the apartment ceiling below.
- Replacement cost of items in your car when it was stolen.
What doesn’t renters insurance cover?
Typical damages not covered by renters insurance include:
- Cost of replacement or repair when caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods, i.e., if your car and damaged during an earthquake.
- Replacement cost of a stolen car or motorcycle.
The amount of insurance coverage you will need depends on several factors, such as lifestyle, where you live, etc.
For example, if you’re a professional photographer carrying camera equipment in your car, you’ll likely need a high coverage amount to handle the replacement cost of any stolen equipment.
Because policies can be adjusted to reflect your individual needs, talk with an insurance agent and discuss your coverage options.
Because renters insurance doesn’t cover car theft, you’ll need auto insurance to protect yourself against the cost of replacing a stolen vehicle.
Get the right auto insurance
If you drive a car anywhere in the United States, you must prove you can pay for any auto-related accidents or damages.
But what type of auto insurance do you really need?
Tip: If you’re worried about your car getting stolen, or vandalism, get comprehensive insurance. It’s not required by law, but does protect you from non-collision damage. Plus, it’s very inexpensive.
The four common types of auto insurance are liability, collision, comprehensive, and accident.
- Liability covers property damage and bodily injury; many states require liability coverage.
- Collision insurance covers repairing your car because of an accident; this includes hitting stationary objects like a pole or damages from driving through a pothole. Collision doesn’t cover car theft.
- Comprehensive covers damage that doesn’t result from an accident, such as hailstorms, vandalism, cracked windshields, stolen catalytic converters, etc. Comprehensive insurance is often the cheapest coverage with the lowest monthly premiums.
- Accident covers rehabilitation expenses and compensates for lost wages if you or anyone in your vehicle is injured due to an accident.
Auto insurance doesn’t cover the contents of your vehicle—that’s where renters or homeowners insurance can help.
Get the right deductibles
Deciding on how much coverage you need is important because it will impact your deductible.
A deductible is how much you are required to pay before your insurance provider reimburses you—up to your policy limit.
Insurance deductibles can vary widely, and you can typically choose the amount you’d like to pay. For example:
- Generally speaking, the lower your deductible, the higher your monthly insurance premiums, and vice versa.
- Your deductible should make sense. Having a $1,000 deductible for coverage on a $500 iPad doesn’t make financial sense—you could buy two new iPads for the deductible amount. By contrast, a $500 deductible to cover $50,000 in damages is a good financial move.
- Some policies offer a $0 deductible under certain conditions, i.e., if an accident was the other driver’s fault.
Talk with an insurance broker to learn more about deductible options for your renters and auto insurance.
Review current policies now
It’s always a good idea to review current insurance policies before you have to make a claim.
Once your car has been stolen, it’s too late to add coverage—always remember, you can’t add insurance coverage for something that has already happened.
It’s also a good idea to review when your policy renews and ensure you have the funds to cover that renewal. Missing payments can prompt providers to cancel coverage.
A gap in insurance coverage can not only leave you on the hook for the full cost of any damages or theft of property, but it could make coverage more difficult to obtain in the future.
Insurance FAQ
Can you retroactively get renters or auto insurance if your car’s already been stolen?
No. Renters and auto insurance are protected against future events. Once a car has been stolen or involved in an accident, it’s too late to get coverage for that event.
Does renters insurance cover car break-ins?
Your auto insurance covers if your actual car is stolen or other non-collision damage like a stolen catalytic converter, if you have comprehensive coverage (not everyone does). But your renter’s policy will cover the replacement cost if someone steals something out of your car, like a camera, laptop, or phone..
How does auto insurance work?
Auto insurance is protection against the cost of future damages or liabilities associated with your vehicle. Depending on your coverage, auto insurance can pay (up to your policy limit) for damages, theft, expenses associated with personal injuries, medical bills, or lost wages if you or your passenger are injured in an accident.
Does renters insurance cover theft outside of the home?
Renters insurance can cover loss or damage to personal property from places outside your physical home, such as your workplace, your vehicle while staying at a hotel, etc.
Get a better insurance quote
It’s smart to request the right insurance coverage before something happens.
Get a better insurance quote.
