When you rent an apartment or house, insuring the structure is the responsibility of the landlord, since it’s their property; however, this doesn’t cover your belongings in the unit: furniture, electronics, jewelry, etc. If the unit burns down, the landlord’s insurance company is responsible for repairing the building, and they won’t reimburse tenants for losing personal property.

Tenants insurance bridges this gap. Like home insurance, it covers additional living expenses in case you need to temporarily move following a claim, as well as liability coverage. This is similar to liability for home and auto insurance: if someone is injured on the rental property (or off, and it’s your fault), the insurance company covers the costs of a lawsuit.