What is personal property insurance?

How does personal property coverage work?

Personal property coverage may protect your belongings against fire, theft, and other covered perils outlined in your policy, up to the limit of your coverage and minus any deductible.

Depending on your policy, your items may be covered at replacement cost or actual cash value.

• Replacement cost: May cover the item's value as if new at the time of the claim.
• Actual cash value: May pay you the cost of the item minus depreciation.

How much personal property coverage can I select?

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

How do personal property deductibles work?

When you file a claim, your insurer subtracts the deductible from the approved claim amount. For instance, if your living room rug, worth $3,000, is destroyed in a fire and your personal property deductible is $500, your insurer may pay you up to $2,500.

What isn't covered?

Personal property coverage typically doesn't cover the following:

• Your home's physical structure: Personal property insurance doesn't cover floors, walls, built-in cabinets, appliances, or other structural features of your home. Dwelling coverage on your homeowners policy may pay for damage to your home's structure from a covered peril.
• Damage caused by a water back-up: Personal property coverage doesn't cover damage caused by water back-up from sewers, drains, or a sump pump overflow. However, water back-up coverage is an optional add-on to a homeowners policy that can help protect personal belongings and structural components up to your coverage limits and minus your deductible.
• Damage caused by an earthquake: In the event of seismic activity, personal property insurance doesn't cover damage caused by earthquakes, landslides, or sinkholes. Earthquake insurance may be available as a separate policy or an endorsement to your homeowners insurance.
• Damage caused by flood water: Your personal property typically won't be covered against damage from flood water. You may be able to purchase a separate flood insurance policy to cover your personal belongings.

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 sublimits?

Insurers typically set limits on certain categories of personal property, called "sublimits." Items with a sublimit are only covered up to a stated amount in your policy, regardless of your personal property coverage limit.

These are some examples of personal property that may have a sublimit. Note that the sublimits for these items may vary among insurance companies and policies.

• Jewelry and precious/semi-precious stones
• Cash and gold
• Silverware
• Furs
• Property used primarily for business
• Firearms
• Art/collectibles

How to cover items that are worth more than your policy's coverage limits

To insure an item that exceeds your policy's personal property coverage limit or sublimit, such as art, collectibles, or jewelry, you can schedule the item separately, commonly known as adding an "insurance rider" to your policy.

Scheduling an item will likely raise your premium, but it may help ensure an expensive item is covered for its full value. Depending on the value of the item, your insurance company may ask you to provide an appraisal or detailed description with a clear photo of the item you want to schedule.

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