What Does Renters Insurance Do For You? 
Renters policies are essentially the same type of policy as a regular homeowners adjusted to deal with property and liability exposures for a person who rents as opposed to some one who owns a property . So , the biggest property exposure for a renter is typically the '' contents '' that belong to you . A key issue to be aware of is that losses can be settled on both an actual cash value basis , or replacement cost basis . Replacement cost will be more expensive , but the actual cash value of things is depreciating every day you own it . For example look at the computer you are using . Compare it to ones in use 20 years ago . If you have one of the dinosaurs do n't expect to get much for its actual cash value since is essentially depreciated to zero . The other major group of coverages is called Section II of most renters policies and this offers you protection from claims or law suits alleging that you caused others some bodily injury or property damage to others . An easy example to understand is dog bites which are often the second leading cause of homeowner losses for a carrier . If your dog bites somebody it is not going to matter to an individual or the courts whether you own or rent your residence . Essentially you look to your renters policy for not only the coverage but also very importantly the defense costs associated with defending you from such allegations . 