When was the last time you thought about the value of everything you own? If a fire, theft, or water damage destroyed your personal belongings, would your renters or condo insurance cover the full cost to replace them?

Too often, renters and condo owners underestimate how much coverage they need. Without the right personal property limit, you could end up paying thousands out of pocket after a loss.

Why Your Personal Property Limit Matters

Your personal property limit is the maximum your insurance will pay to replace your belongings after a covered loss. If your limit is too low, your payout may not be enough to fully replace everything you lost. Consider this:

📌 Furniture, electronics, and clothing add up fast – A basic renters or condo policy might only include $20,000 to $30,000 in personal property coverage. But when you total up your furniture, TV, laptop, kitchenware, and wardrobe, you might realize you need $50,000 or more in coverage.

📌 Specialty items may require extra coverage – Expensive jewelry, collectibles, artwork, and high-end electronics may have sub-limits, meaning they aren’t fully covered unless you add scheduled coverage to your policy.

📌 The cost to replace items is rising – Thanks to inflation, the price of furniture, electronics, and clothing is much higher than it was just a few years ago. A limit that seemed adequate in 2020 might not be enough today.

How to Calculate the Right Personal Property Limit

1️⃣ Take Inventory of Your Belongings - Go room by room and list your big-ticket items: furniture, electronics, clothing, kitchen appliances, and anything valuable.

2️⃣ Estimate Replacement Costs - What would it cost to buy new versions of these items today? Many people assume their current limit is enough, only to discover they’re underinsured when they file a claim.

3️⃣ Consider a Replacement Cost Policy - A replacement cost policy ensures your insurance pays for new replacements rather than the depreciated value of your lost or damaged items. Without it, you may only receive a fraction of what your belongings are worth today.

4️⃣ Review Special Limits - Standard renters and condo policies cap coverage for valuables like jewelry, fine art, and electronics. If you own high-value items, talk to your insurance agent about adding scheduled personal property coverage.

What Happens If You’re Underinsured?

🚨 A fire destroys your apartment, and your $25,000 policy limit isn’t enough to replace everything—you could be left covering the difference out of pocket.

🚨 A thief steals $10,000 worth of jewelry, but your policy has a $1,500 jewelry sub-limit—you won’t get enough to replace your stolen items.

🚨 A pipe bursts and ruins your electronics and furniture, but you only have actual cash value (ACV) coverage—you get a depreciated payout, not enough to buy new items.

Make Sure You’re Covered

At Rathbun Insurance, we help renters and condo owners get the right coverage so they’re not left paying out of pocket after a disaster.

📞 Call us today for a quick policy review and make sure your personal property limit is enough to protect what matters most!