Renters Insurance Calculator
Estimate the right contents cover, liability cover, and annual premium for your apartment.
How to Size Renters Insurance
Renters insurance is one of the cheapest forms of insurance you can buy — around $14 a month on average in the US ($171 a year in 2022) — but it covers the two risks most renters most underestimate: replacing all their belongings after a fire or theft, and being personally liable when a guest is injured in their home.
What drives your premium
- Contents cover — the largest single driver. Walk your home and total replacement costs honestly.
- City and ZIP — crime, fire, and weather risk vary widely by location.
- Liability cover — going from $100k to $300k usually only costs $1–$3 per month.
- Deductible — higher deductible lowers premium dramatically; pick one you could comfortably pay out of pocket.
- Safety features — smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, and monitored security systems all earn discounts.
What renters insurance actually covers
A renters (tenants) insurance policy covers three things: personal property (your stuff, in your unit and often anywhere in the world), personal liability (if you accidentally injure someone or damage their property), and additional living expenses (hotel and meals if your unit becomes uninhabitable due to a covered loss). It does not cover the building itself — that is the landlord's problem. A typical urban policy costs roughly $12–$25/month for $30,000 of contents and $300,000 of liability, making it among the highest value-per-dollar of all insurance products.
How much contents cover you need
Walk through your home and total replacement cost (what it would cost to buy each item new, not its depreciated resale value). Most renters dramatically underestimate this. A modest one-bedroom apartment commonly contains $25,000–$40,000 of contents once you add electronics, clothing, kitchenware, furniture, bicycles, books, and accumulated small items. A two-bedroom with a home office can easily exceed $60,000. Use a room-by-room inventory app or spreadsheet — taking photos and keeping receipts for high-value items.
Actual cash value vs replacement cost
- Actual cash value (ACV) — pays depreciated value. A five-year-old laptop that cost $1,500 might be valued at $300 today. Cheaper premium, much smaller payout.
- Replacement cost (RC) — pays what it costs to buy a new equivalent today. The same laptop pays out the cost of a comparable new model. Slightly higher premium, much larger payout.
- Recommendation — always choose RC. The premium difference is small; the payout difference can be transformative.
What is excluded — and how to fix it
- Floods — never covered by standard renters policies. Required to be purchased separately (NFIP in the US, or specific endorsements). Renters in flood-prone areas need it.
- Earthquakes — typically excluded. Available as a rider; expensive in California, cheap elsewhere.
- Sub-limits on jewellery, cash, firearms, fine art, collectibles. Standard policies cap each category ($1,500–$2,500 is typical). For higher-value items, schedule them individually on a personal-articles floater.
- Damage from your pet to other people. Coverage varies — some insurers exclude bites entirely for certain breeds. Confirm before relying on the liability portion.
- Damage you cause to the rental unit itself. Liability covers third-party property; the rental unit's structure is the landlord's building policy. Significant tenant-caused damage may still be your responsibility under the lease.
Sources & assumptions
Checked on 11 October 2026 against the latest state data (2022, published by the NAIC).
- Insurance Information Institute: homeowners and renters insurance facts (NAIC data) — average renters premiums by state for 2022, from $123 a year in North Dakota to $262 in Mississippi; $171 for the US.
Our assumptions: a standard policy — $20,000 of contents in a mid-size city, a $500 deductible, $100,000 of liability, no safety discount and no claims — costs your state's average. Half of that premium is treated as fixed and half scales with your contents cover. The city, deductible, safety, claims and liability adjustments and the $96 minimum are our own estimates.