Does Renters Insurance Cover Household Appliances?

Renters insurance provides robust coverage for all of your belongings, including common household machines and gadgets. Make sure you've experienced a covered event and collected ample documentation before filing a claim with your insurer.

When does renters insurance cover appliances?

Your appliances are covered in much the same way as all of your other belongings. The following are the most common perils that can destroy your property:

If your toaster or refrigerator is destroyed by any of the perils listed above, you will be able to file a renters insurance claim to have the replacement cost of the item paid out to you.

The damaged appliance needs to be located on the premises insured by your policy, unless it is in a storage unit. You cannot, for example, bring your toaster to your office and have it be covered by your renters policy if it breaks. However, you will be covered — albeit to a lesser amount — if you store your appliances in a storage unit, and they are destroyed there.

Short circuits

Electrical appliances get a special coverage section in renters insurance for short circuits. Should there be an "increase or decrease of artificially generated electrical current," and your appliance is damaged as result, you would be paid for it by your renters insurance policy. Be aware, however, that there may be a restriction on how much coverage you have. For example, State Farm only offers coverage up to $3,000 in this case.

Spoiled food

While spoiled food is not an appliance, should the contents of your fridge go bad because of a mechanical issue or power failure, you can request reimbursement for what was lost. Groceries can be expensive, so this may be a useful part of your policy to use if there is a blackout.

Water leaks

Household appliances like washing machines can also be sources of destruction in your home if they leak. Luckily, your renters insurance covers damages from floods caused by leaky appliances. Interestingly, though, the appliance itself wouldn't be covered in this case.

If your washing machine breaks or malfunctions and leaks into your home, anything that the water destroys will be covered, but not the washing machine itself. If the same washing machine is destroyed in a fire, then it would be covered.

Filing a renters insurance claim for a damaged appliance

Filing a claim for a damaged or destroyed appliance is the same process as any other renters insurance claim. If the cause of the damage was a fire, water or wind, you should take photos of the damage and take steps to prevent any more damage from taking place. If multiple objects were destroyed, you do not need to file a claim for each individual item; just be aware of which items will be covered and if there are any restrictions on the coverage. For example, some policies may restrict coverage amounts on certain electronic devices.

If your appliances are stolen or damaged by vandalism, you should follow the same advice for filing a claim, but also be diligent about securing a copy of the police report. Whenever it comes to submitting a claim for theft or vandalism, you need to give your renters insurance company a copy of the police report to lend legitimacy to your claim.