A burst pipe, a break-in or a fire: as a renter, who pays? The tenant or landlord?
Key takeaways
- If your laptop, furniture or clothes are stolen, damaged or destroyed, your landlord's insurance won't protect you.
- Contents insurance can help, costing ~$25-50/month (depending on your cover).
- Add optional accidental cover for things like spilling liquid on a laptop, or knocking over a TV.
A burst pipe floods your apartment. A thief smashes a window and steals your laptop. Or worse, you're your own saboteur and drop your phone right into a sink full of water.
If you're renting, would your landlord's insurance cover the damage or replacement costs of your contents if something happens?
As a renter, who pays?
Landlords insurance typically covers the building itself, but the property owner's policy won't cover a tenant's personal possessions.
So if something happens, you'd have to fork out the money to replace or repair everything that was impacted.
This is where contents insurance can help: depending on the policy, it steps up when your stuff is damaged or stolen by events liked theft, fire, storms, water damage and vandalism.
What does contents insurance cover?
- Furniture (couches, beds, tables)
- Electronics (TVs, laptops, gaming consoles)
- Clothing and shoes
- Appliances you own
- Jewellery and watches (often subject to limits)
- Sporting equipment
- Books, toys and personal items
Compare other products
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How we picked theseFinder Score - Home insurance
We crunch eligible home insurance products in Australia to see how they stack up. We rank over 50 products on 16 different features, including price. We end up with a single score out of 10 that helps you compare home insurance a bit faster. We assess home and contents, building only and contents only products individually.
Want to protect your things?
Right now, eligible customers who take out contents insurance with Youi can get a $50 Visa gift card through Finder Rewards (until June 30, 2026).
With Youi contents insurance, you can add optional accidental damage cover to your contents policy that can help with things like:
- Knocking over and breaking a TV
- Spilling liquid on a laptop
- Accidentally damaging furniture
- Other one-off mishaps
It'll generally cost you between $25-50 per month, depending on the value of your items, for a contents insurance policy.
For renters who might assume someone else's insurance will pick up the tab, this Finder Rewards offer with Youi gives an added incentive to get a quote before disaster strikes.
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