What is Personal Property Coverage?

Personal Property Coverage is included as part of your Homeowners Insurance policy.

Homeowners Insurance policies typically cover your personal items, including personal property you may be using outside of your home. Common items protected with this coverage:

• Furniture
• Clothing
• Electronics
• Kitchenware

Personal property coverage, also known as contents coverage on a homeowners insurance policy, covers the cost of your personal items if they are destroyed, damaged, or stolen due to a covered loss.

How does personal property coverage work?

Personal property coverage may protect your belongings against fire, theft, and other covered perils outlined in your policy. There are two types of loss settlements for your personal property: replacement cost and actual cash value. Replacement costs cover the item as new at the time of the claim. Actual cash value means the replacement cost of the item minus depreciation.

The amount of personal property coverage that you can select may vary based on the type of property insurance you have:

1. Homeowners insurance policy:

Your homeowners insurance policy will typically include some percentage – such as 50% — of your dwelling coverage for personal property coverage. For example, if your policy’s dwelling limit is $250,000, you’ll have $125,000 in personal property insurance coverage. Your policy may offer an option to increase or decrease the limit to fit your needs.

2. Renters insurance policy:

Many renters insurance policies provide personal property coverage options that typically range from $10,000 to $150,000.

3. Condo insurance policy:

On a condo insurance policy, personal property coverage options typically range between $0 and $150,000.

What is covered by personal property coverage?

Personal Contents insurance may cover your belongings if they’re destroyed or damaged by the perils covered under your policy.  Policies are either issued on a Named Perils or an All Risk basis,  the All Risk option simply states that all losses are covered unless the policy specifically excludes it.

What isn’t covered?

Your personal property typically won’t be covered if damaged by flood water. You’ll likely need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy to cover your personal belongings.  In some states, you may also need a separate earthquake insurance policy to protect your home and personal property from earthquake damage.

What are examples of personal property?

• Clothing
• Furniture
• Electronics
• Tools
• Decorations
• Jewelry
• Art and collectibles
• Bicycles
• Musical instruments

What are examples of personal property with sub-limits?

Personal property coverage always has lower limits of coverage on certain categories of personal property. These are called “sub-limits.” For example, you might have $200,000 in total personal property coverage but may only be eligible for a smaller set amount for a specific item or category of items.

Below are some examples of personal property that may have a sub-limit. Note that the sub-limits for these items may vary among insurance companies or even by state or products.

• Cash and gold
• Silverware
• Furs and precious/semi-precious stones
• Property used primarily for business
• Watercraft and trailers
• Firearms