Imagine coming home after a long day at work, only to find the back door jemmied open and your expensive laptop, big-screen TV and favourite watch nowhere to be seen. Or perhaps a severe storm has battered your suburb, causing the roof to leak and completely soaking your brand-new mattress and bedroom furniture.
If you’re renting, you might assume your landlord’s insurance will automatically step in to cover the cost of replacing your stolen valuables or waterlogged belongings. But is your stuff actually covered by their insurance? Or would you need your own renters insurance in order to be able to make a claim? And what exactly does insurance for renters cover?
To help clear up the confusion around renting, home insurance and which type of cover you’re responsible for organising as a tenant, we’ve put together this guide to answer a few common questions.
What insurance do you need when you’re renting a home?
You typically won’t need building insurance – that’s your landlord’s responsibility.1 But if you want your belongings inside the rental property to be covered, you’d need to consider taking out a contents insurance policy.1
“While your landlord will usually have taken out insurance to cover the building itself, that type of home insurance policy doesn’t typically extend to your personal belongings if they get damaged in, or stolen from, the place you’re renting,” says Mervyn Hartley, Youi’s Head of Product – Home and Small Business.
“That’s what contents-only insurance is for, whether you’re renting a house or an apartment on your own, with flatmates or as a family.
“You can also take out a policy to cover your belongings if you’ve moved them into a place you’re temporarily renting while your house is being renovated.”
What’s the difference between renters insurance and contents insurance?
In most cases, they’re exactly the same thing.2 “At Youi, our contents insurance will cover your belongings at a rental property,” says Hartley.
"Contents insurance also includes something called Tenant’s Liability, which covers loss or damage to your landlord’s fitted carpets, fixtures and fittings. This cover kicks in if you’re responsible for covering those items under the terms of your rental agreement and they get damaged in an insured event. An example of this might be if one of your appliances burns out and causes a fire that scorches the benchtops in your kitchen.”
What does home rental insurance cover?
It depends on your policy, but renters contents insurance typically covers just about any item you move into the property.3 It’s worth noting though that most insurers have limits for how much you can claim for certain high-value items such as jewellery.3
“At Youi, our contents insurance does cover your jewellery if you specify the replacement value of any piece or set that’s worth more than $15,000, and then select a total replacement value for all other jewellery items that you own,” says Hartley.
The range of situations that renters insurance might cover your belongings for typically include:3
- Fire
- Theft
- Storms and some other severe weather events
- Impact, for example from a falling tree
- Intentional or malicious damage.3
Accidental breakage of any glass or ceramic contents is often covered as standard too.2
“Another important inclusion of Youi’s renters insurance is legal liability,” says Hartley. “This covers your legal liability arising from an accident in relation to you or your contents that results in damage to someone else’s property or bodily injury.
“And, if your rental becomes unliveable following an insured event, we’ll also cover the cost of renting temporary accommodation for up to one month.”5
What doesn’t renters insurance cover?
Renters’ insurance doesn’t typically cover the cost of your rent if you’re unable to pay it for any reason.2
Youi’s contents insurance for renters doesn’t cover loss of any rental payments or your tenants security bond.4
Can you add additional cover to a renters’ insurance policy?
Yes, with Youi, there are a few optional types of cover you might like to consider adding to your contents insurance for renters. These include:
- Contents Accidental Loss or Damage – This option covers your contents for accidental damage at your rental property or away from it, which effectively builds portable contents insurance into your policy.4
- Business Items – You can travel with your work gear with this add-on, knowing it’s covered for up to $5,000 per claim, if you accidentally lose or damage it, anywhere in the world.4
- Contents in Commercial Storage – Under this option, your belongings are covered if they’re damaged by a range of events – including fire, storm and intentional damage – while they’re stored at a commercial storage facility.4,6
How much home insurance for renters do you need?
It will depend on how much the belongings you want to insure are worth.7 To work this out, a good place to start can be listing all your belongings and researching how much each item would cost to replace at today’s prices.7
As a guide, you might also like to check out the contents calculator recommended by the Insurance Council of Australia.
How much does renters home insurance cost?
Prices for renters insurance vary widely in Australia, depending on the insurer and a range of factors, including:
- How much cover you take out2
- Where the property is located2
- Your claims history2
- What your basic excess is2 – which is the amount you’d need to pay if you make an insurance claim.8
“At Youi, we also take into consideration certain security features that the rental property has, such as back to base alarms and some security cameras if they also have a built-in alarm system,” says Hartley.
For a more accurate idea of how much insurance might cost with Youi, you might like to consider starting a quote online or giving us a call on 13 9684.
What can you do to save money on your renters insurance?
You may be able to lower the cost of your renters’ contents insurance by:
- Increasing your excess. Generally speaking, the higher your excess, the lower your premium8 – just remember, a higher excess means you’d need to pay more towards a claim if you have to make one.1
- Paying your premium annually. Your insurance may cost less if you pay your premium as an annual lump sum instead of in monthly instalments.9
- Removing optional covers you don’t need. Sticking with an insurance policy’s standard inclusions if you don’t need optional cover for things such as accidental damage might lower the cost of your renters’ insurance.2,9
FAQs about renters’ insurance
Now that you know the basics of how insurance for renters works, you might have some specific follow-up questions. Here are the answers to some common queries renters may have.
Do you have to have home insurance when renting?
No – when you’re renting, home insurance isn’t compulsory.
However, while taking out renters contents insurance is an additional expense, it might be worth considering how long it would take to save up the funds to replace your belongings if they were damaged or stolen without being covered by insurance.10
The value of the contents in your rental home – including TVs, computers, furniture and appliances, clothes, cookware and linen – can add up to a lot more than you might realise.10
Am I covered for contents outside the home?
Yes – Youi contents insurance covers items that are kept outside your rental property, for example in a carport or on the balcony, for loss or damage up to $20,000 after excess.4
“Plus, if you want to cover personal portable items such as your phone, bike or a camera for damage or loss when you take them away from home, you might like to consider adding our optional Contents Accidental Loss or Damage cover to your policy,” says Hartley.
Am I covered if a flood or storm damages my rental?
Yes – if you have renters contents insurance with Youi, your belongings are covered for loss or damage caused by a flood or a storm, including hail, lightning and wind.6
If my rental catches fire, what am I covered for?
If your belongings at the place you’re renting are covered by Youi contents insurance, they’re covered if a fire breaks out, whether it’s a bushfire or an accidental fire.4,6
What happens if I accidentally damage a rental property?
Tenants are responsible for certain types of damage to a rental property, including damage that arises from negligent or irresponsible behaviour, and will usually need to cover the cost of repairing damage they’ve caused or allowed to happen.11
Repair costs could even be deducted from your bond when you move out if you haven’t had the damage fixed beforehand.12
Who pays for damage caused by a burst water pipe – tenant or landlord?
Responsibility for repairing water-related damage to a home you’re renting typically falls on the landlord – provided the tenant is not at fault, which is usually the case when it comes to structural issues such as burst pipes.13,14
“However,” says Hartley, “if your belongings are damaged by escaping water due to a sudden burst pipe at the place you’re renting, you’d typically need to have a contents insurance policy to be able to make an insurance claim.”
Regardless, it might be a good idea to brush up on what to do in a burst pipe emergency so you’re equipped to do what you can to limit the damage in the moment.
How much legal liability does renters’ insurance include?
At Youi, if you’re renting and you have a contents insurance policy with us, your legal liability up to $20 million is covered.4
“So, if an accident involving you or your contents injures someone or damages their property anywhere in Australia and you are legally responsible, you’re covered up to that amount if they take legal action against you to recover costs,” explains Hartley.
We hope this guide has made you feel more informed about how renters insurance works, including what contents insurance covers when you’re renting – and why your belongings won’t be covered if you rely on your landlord’s insurance instead.
And, if you’re about to move into a rental or you want to explore contents cover for a property you’re already renting, why not consider starting a quote online or giving us a call on 13 9684.
1 Source: Moneysmart – Choosing home insurance
2 Source: Canstar – What is renters insurance?, April 2025
3 Source: CHOICE – How to choose the best contents insurance for your needs, May 2025
4 Exclusions, limits and additional fees may apply. For full details, see the Home Insurance PDS.
5 Where you are the tenant at the premises, we will pay for the additional rent costs you incur for temporary accommodation for up to 1 month if you cannot live at the premises after an insured event. The most we will pay for each claim is 1% of the contents sum insured. Limits and exclusions apply. For full details, see the PDS, TMD and your policy schedule.
6 Loss or damage caused by a fire, flood or storm within the first 72 hours of your policy commencing is only covered in limited circumstances. For full details, see the PDS, TMD and your policy schedule.
7 Source: Moneysmart – Contents insurance
8 Source: Moneysmart – Insurance
9 Source: CHOICE – The top five ways to save money on your renters contents insurance, March 2024
10 Source: CHOICE – Renters, here’s why you shouldn’t drop your contents insurance, July 2024
11 Source: NSW Government – Fair wear and tear versus damage in rental properties, n.d.
12 Source: Consumer Affairs Victoria – Moving out of a rental property, March 2026
13 Source: Tenants’ Union of NSW – Repairs and maintenance, August 2025
14 Source: NSW Government – Getting repairs done on a rental property, n.d.
