What Is an HO4 Insurance Policy?

Want to know how HO4 renters insurance works and whether or not you need it? Read on to learn all you need to know about insuring your rented home sweet home. 

At its most basic, renters insurance is a safety net that helps you pay to replace your belongings if they’re stolen or destroyed in a fire, natural disaster, or a similar event that could totally wreck your livelihood. It also helps pay for medical and legal expenses if a guest is injured in your home and you’re found legally responsible.

Just like with home insurance (or any kind of insurance, for that matter), you pay for renters insurance with a monthly or yearly premium. Then, if something happens to your belongings in an event covered by your HO4 policy, you can file a claim with your insurance company.

If they approve the claim, all you’ll have to pay is your deductible (a small sum you have to front before insurance kicks in), and your insurance takes care of the rest of the cost to replace your things, up to your policy limit.

Most HO4 insurance policies include three types of coverage:

Unlike homeowners insurance, HO4 renters insurance doesn’t include dwelling coverage, which helps pay to rebuild the actual structure of your home. Since you don’t own the structure of your home if you’re renting, you’re not responsible for insuring it. That would fall to your landlord.

It’s important to note that your renters insurance will only pay to replace your belongings or to cover additional living expenses if your home is damaged in a covered peril. Covered perils are certain events named in your insurance policy. Most HO4 policies cover these 16 perils:

Every insurance policy is unique. Read your renters insurance paperwork carefully to make sure you’re covered for all of the above perils. If a peril isn’t specifically listed in your policy, you are not covered for it. 

While we’re at it, let’s highlight some things HO4 insurance does not cover:

Renters insurance isn’t legally required by any states in the US, but your landlord may require you to have a certain amount of coverage. Check your lease agreement for any mention of renters or HO4 insurance. 

Even if your landlord doesn’t require renters insurance, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Renters insurance is relatively cheap, and it gives you peace of mind that you won’t be stuck replacing everything you own out of your own pocket in case of a disaster. 

Compared to home and auto insurance, HO4 insurance is super affordable. The average cost varies by state, but the national average is about $14 per month or $170 per year. For that, you get $20,000 of coverage on your personal property and $100,000 of liability coverage. 

You can always add more coverage if you think you need it. Just keep in mind that the higher your coverage limit, the higher your premium will be. 

Do you need a new renters insurance policy? Clovered has your back. As an independent agency, we can help you compare policies from different providers, so you can find the best coverage at the best price – and even better, we do it all online. Our easy-to-use quoting tool can give you no-pressure quotes on different policies with just a few clicks.