Moving Apartments? Are you covered?

Most people don't stay in the same apartment year after year, so there is always going to be issues with moving.  Do I rent a truck?  Do I pay a couple of guys with a pickup truck?  Do I volunteer my friends to help me move and pay them with pizza and beer? (Insert Seinfeld reference here.)

Are your belongings and your liability covered when you're either in-between apartments or occupying more than one?  The answer here, as it is with most insurance questions, depends on the circumstances.  We'll cover a couple of those after the jump.


Most renters' insurance policies will extend some personal property coverage to another location, but usually only to the tune of 10% of your current personal property limit.  So if you are protecting your personal property at Apartment A, and you move some of your belongings to Apartment B, there is some, albeit minimal, coverage.  What isn't covered automatically is your liability in Apartment B.

For that you will either have to notify your insurance agent to have the new apartment added to your existing policy, or get a new policy for the new location.  Different insurance carriers approach this in different ways. Some will allow two locations on the same policy in the short term, which is the best way to handle this.  People move and most insurance companies have some flexibility.

Other times you may have to get a new policy altogether because your old insurance carrier doesn't like the new building, new zip code, or new roommate.  There are a bunch of variables that carriers consider, that most of us don't think are important. (Agent Tip: You are probably right, but in the end the insurance company almost always wins, so play ball)  In this case, you want to start the new policy as soon as your new lease begins.  There could be a few days of overlapping coverage in this case, but the cost per day is typically about $1, so I wouldn't worry about it.  It will cost you more in beer and pizza.

To learn about renter's coverage call your agent to discuss rates and coverages.  Affordable renter's quotes are usually available online and we hope to add that option here at Personal Insurance Answers before too long.

As always, shoot me an email if you have more questions.