Does Renter’s Insurance Cover Car Theft?

It can get confusing to determine whether renter’s insurance covers car theft. Afterall, renter’s insurance covers the personal belongings inside the rented property. And as a car is a personal belonging, shouldn’t the renter’s insurance cover car theft?

Unfortunately, the renter’s insurance includes vehicles or cars as an exception. So, if your car gets stolen, it won’t be covered by your renter’s insurance policy.

Why Does Renter’s Insurance Not Cover Car Theft?

The renter’s insurance is designed to financially protect stationary items inside your rented home, not mobile assets like cars. But it still draws to the primary question, “shouldn’t car theft be covered by renter’s insurance for being a personal belonging?”

Well, some conditions are intentionally created within the industry to prevent overlapping claims, which can complicate insurance claims process. Plus, cars are used outside, so if your car gets stolen elsewhere, the renter’s insurance shouldn’t apply because the incident/crime happened outside your rented property.

What Should I Add Instead of Renter’s Insurance to Cover Car Theft?

Renter’s insurance and auto insurance are both built differently. While the renter’s insurance is specifically for rented properties, or homes, auto insurance is on the other is exclusively made to provide financial protection for cars.

If you want to secure your car financially against theft, it is highly recommended that you consider getting comprehensive auto insurance. Comprehensive insurance is a specialized type of auto insurance that’s designed to protect your car by paying your car’s replacement cost based on its actual cash value (current market price after depreciation).

Comprehensive auto insurance provides financial protection for unprecedented incidents that are beyond your control such as theft, vandalism and accidental damages due to fire hazards, along with natural disasters like severe storms, earthquake, flood among others.

So, if you need to financially secure your car, the only insurance solution is to get commercial auto insurance instead of renter’s insurance. However, if you’re renting a house or apartment then it’s necessary to get both renter’s insurance and comprehensive auto insurance for adequate financial protection against accidental damage, and theft.

If you’re interested in purchasing either renter’s insurance or comprehensive auto insurance or both from a reliable insurance agency in Michigan, you should consider checking our insurance solutions. Apart from exploring our insurance policies online, you can also visit our regional offices in Flint, Saginaw and MT Pleasant, MI.

What Does Renter’s Insurance Cover?

Before determining whether you need renter’s insurance, it is essential to know what the renter’s insurance covers. The renter’s insurance is a full-fledged insurance policy that provides a wide range of coverages which includes the following discussed below.

Personal Belongings from Home or Car Parked in the Garage

Although the renter’s insurance does not directly cover your car, it covers any personal belonging stolen from your car which can include your laptop, mobile phone or any other item.

The same policy applies for your rented home too. If a thief breaks in and steals valuable possessions like electronics, jewelry and even furniture your renter’s insurance will cover these personal belongings up to your coverage limits.

So, to protect your personal belongings financially, it’s essential to have renter’s insurance, which covers theft at home and rented premises where your car is parked.

Loss of Use

If your rented home gets severely damaged due to a severe storm, flood, earthquake or any unprecedented event such as a fire outbreak to the point that’s uninhabitable and beyond use at that moment it’s declared loss of use.

When it’s declared a total loss, your insurer will pay you additional living costs to cover expenses up to your coverage limit such as:

• Hotel fees

• New apartment or house rent

• Moving costs

• Pet boarding bills

Liability Coverage

If anyone gets hurt or injured in your rental home or premises, then you’re liable to compensate their medical bills. Although the renter’s insurance does not cover your medical bills, it does cover the medical expenses of any other person who receives any sort of bodily injury or physical harm at your rented property.

Accidents can happen anywhere, and it can lead to serious bodily injuries, as you’re legally liable to cover the damages. Not to mention, the medical bills can mount up to hundreds, thousands or millions of dollars depending on the severity of the injuries.

Rented Property Additions and Alterations

If you make modifications to the rented property whether it’s a house or apartment and if it causes damage, then you’re entitled to compensate the landlord. The compensation that you need to pay to your landlord will be covered by your renter’s insurance.

As the rented property is originally owned by the landlord, any additional modification may not be appreciated. And that’s why it is your responsibility to pay the amount which will be required to fix and renovate the property.

Does Renter’s Insurance Follow the Policyholder or the House?

Renter’s insurance follows the policyholder not the house, which means that if you move to another rented home then your renter’s insurance will financially cover you there too.

The biggest advantage of this is you don’t have to go through any extra hassle of purchasing a separate renter’s insurance for every house you rent. This not only saves you time but can also help you manage your insurance costs more efficiently while staying financially protected.

Can I File a Renter’s Insurance Claim for a Stolen Car?

No, unfortunately renter’s insurance excludes coverage for car theft but if someone breaks into your car and steals your personal belongings then you can file a renter’s insurance claim for stolen items.

Here’s an exception for cars that can come to your advantage. Even if the items are stolen from your car outside of the rented premises, your renter’s insurance coverage will still apply.

As long as the stolen belongings are covered under your policy, you can still file a claim whether the car was parked at your rental, at work, or in another location.

Final Tip: Combine Renter’s Insurance with Comprehensive Auto Insurance

If you want adequate financial protection for your car, then it’s best to purchase both renter’s insurance and comprehensive auto insurance. In this way, if your car gets stolen then comprehensive auto insurance will cover you.

On the other hand, if thieves break into your car and steal your personal belongings then you can get covered by your renter’s insurance policy.

If you are considering purchasing either of these insurance coverages or both, you should contact us right away for expert tips, free consultation, and a free quote.

FAQ

Does renter’s insurance cover theft from car?

Yes, renter’s insurance covers theft of items from a car. If a thief breaks into your car and steals your personal belongings, the stolen items will be covered by your renter’s insurance within the rental premises or even anywhere outside.  

What insurance covers car theft?

Only the comprehensive insurance covers car theft, it also covers criminal activities such as damages due to vandalism.  

Does renter’s insurance cover parked car damage?

If you have personal property coverage with your rental insurance policy, then your rental insurance will cover parked car damage. Otherwise, it won’t cover any car damage whether it’s parked or in motion. Or you can purchase separate auto insurance coverage like comprehensive insurance which covers damages due to unprecedented events.    

What things does renter’s insurance not cover?

Your renter’s insurance won’t cover damage to the building itself, damage caused by you, damage caused by mold/pests, and damage caused by natural disasters such as severe storms, floods, earthquakes etc.