Setting Up Renters Insurance When You Move

Have renters insurance in place at your new address from the earlier of two dates: the day your lease starts or the first day you move belongings in. Keep your old address covered until you return those keys, too. During the move itself, a renters policy covers your belongings against the causes of loss it lists, such as fire and theft, but not breakage from dropping or rough handling. An interstate mover's free coverage pays 60 cents per pound per item, so keep the mover's full value protection with a declared shipment value that covers replacement, or add a floater for specific valuables, when your belongings are worth more than those payouts and you could not replace them out of pocket.

When to start or move your policy

1. Read the lease's insurance clause. Note any required liability limit, the deadline for proof, and whether the landlord must be listed on the policy. Washington's insurance commissioner tells renters to check the rental agreement for any insurance requirements. In Texas, no law requires renters insurance, but a landlord can. See when your landlord requires renters insurance.
2. Know your state's proof rules. Virginia, for example, lets a landlord require renters insurance as a condition of the tenancy when the rental agreement says so, and the landlord must tell you in writing that you can buy your own policy instead of one the landlord arranges. If you buy your own, you must give the landlord written proof and keep the coverage for the whole lease. If it lapses, the landlord can buy coverage and charge you for it as rent until you show proof that yours is back in force.
3. Pick the effective date. Use the earlier of the lease start date or the day you start moving belongings in.
4. Move the policy or shop for a new one. Two to three weeks before the move, ask your insurer for a quote at the new address, and compare it with quotes from other insurers. The average renters policy in Texas costs about $20 a month, and Washington's commissioner puts the average there at about $120 to $216 a year; how much renters insurance costs breaks down the state averages.
5. Get proof before move-in. Ask the insurer for the declarations page, the summary that lists your address, limits, and deductible, and send it to the landlord by the lease deadline.

Coverage at both addresses during the move

A standard renters policy, the HO-4 form written by Insurance Services Office (ISO), insures you at the address shown on your declarations page, called the "residence premises." Three rules in that form matter while you hold two units:

• The new unit gets full coverage for 30 days. Belongings in a newly acquired principal residence are covered up to your full personal property limit for 30 days from the day you begin moving them there.
• After that, a second residence gets a reduced limit. Belongings usually kept at a residence other than the insured address are covered up to 10% of your personal property limit or $1,000, whichever is greater. With $30,000 of coverage, that is $3,000.
• Theft at the second unit is not covered. The form excludes theft of belongings at any other residence you rent, unless you are temporarily living there. Until the declarations page shows the new address, a break-in at the new unit may not be covered, and once it does, the same rule applies to anything left at the old one.

To close those gaps, have the address change take effect the day you start moving belongings in, and ask your insurer in writing how it covers the unit that is not on the policy until you have fully moved out. Your insurer may use its own form with different terms, so check your policy for each of these rules.

If you put belongings in a self-storage unit between leases, a renters policy usually covers them only up to 10% to 20% of its personal property limit, according to the Texas Department of Insurance.

What your renters policy pays for in transit

The HO-4 form covers your personal property anywhere in the world, so the coverage applies while your belongings are on a truck. It pays only for the perils, or causes of loss, it names, including fire, lightning, windstorm, explosion, smoke, vandalism, and theft. The Texas Department of Insurance notes that renters insurance covers belongings stolen out of your car. Breakage is not a named peril, so a dresser dropped on the stairs or a television knocked over while loading is not covered, whether you or a mover caused it. Every covered claim is also reduced by your deductible.

Some items have low theft limits on the standard form: $1,500 for jewelry and watches and $2,500 each for firearms and silverware. For more on the named perils, see what renters insurance covers.

What a mover's protection pays

On an interstate move, the mover is liable at full value protection unless you sign a waiver choosing released value. The value you declare for the whole shipment caps your recovery. The federal minimum valuation is $6 per pound of shipment weight; the mover may set a higher minimum, and declaring a higher value can increase the charge.

For moves within Texas, a mover and customer can agree to limit liability to 60 cents per pound per item. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) warns that a mover's liability limit is not the same as insurance, and that transit insurance is available from some movers or from a separate insurer. For how to choose between movers and a truck rental, see hiring movers vs. moving yourself.

When separate moving coverage is worth buying

• You hire movers and own items you could not replace out of pocket. Keep full value protection rather than signing the released-value waiver, and declare enough value to cover replacing the whole shipment. List every item worth more than $100 per pound, such as jewelry or antiques, on the shipping papers. An interstate mover can otherwise limit what it pays for those items.
• You buy transit insurance from a third-party company. If you buy it through an interstate mover, the mover must give you a policy copy or other appropriate evidence of the insurance at purchase. If it provides neither, it is fully liable for claims for loss or damage attributed to it. FMCSA, the federal agency that regulates interstate movers, notes that disputes with third-party insurers are not subject to its regulations.
• You move yourself with high-value items. Ask your insurer about a scheduled property endorsement or a personal articles floater. Maine's Bureau of Insurance describes these add-ons as raising the limit on specific items such as cameras, musical instruments, or art, with broader coverage than the base policy. Confirm in writing whether yours covers damage in transit before you rely on it.
• You store belongings. Insurance sold by a storage facility usually covers wind but not flood, so read its terms against your renters policy's storage limit before buying both.

After a loss, the standard renters form requires you to give the insurer an inventory of the damaged property, with the bills and receipts that support each amount. Photograph your belongings and list their value before the move, as creating a home inventory for insurance describes, and keep the list with your moving documents. For the full move sequence, see the move-out timeline.