Personal liability for tenants

• Bodily injury: Medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and legal defense if someone is injured due to your actions.
  This can include guests, neighbors, or even the landlord under certain circumstances.
• Property damage: Damage you cause to someone else’s property.
  Examples include fire spreading from your unit, water damage from an overflowing tub, or accidental damage to shared areas.
• Legal defense: Attorney fees, court costs, and settlements—often the most expensive part of a liability claim.
  Defense costs are typically paid in addition to the liability limit.

Liability coverage doesn’t protect your stuff—it protects your future income and assets.

• Injuries escalate quickly: A single fall or burn can result in tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills.
  Liability severity is driven by medical inflation and legal costs—not by how much you own.
• Fire and water spread: Damage rarely stays in one unit.
  One incident can impact neighboring units, common areas, and the building itself.
• Renters are easier to sue: Tenants are often named in lawsuits alongside landlords, even when fault is unclear.
  Being named triggers defense costs whether you ultimately “lose” or not.

You don’t need to be wealthy to be sued—you just need to be involved.

• Shared lawsuits: When a tenant causes damage or injury, landlords are often named by default.
  Tenant liability coverage can absorb claims that might otherwise land on the landlord’s policy.
• Fire and negligence claims: Candles, cooking, space heaters, and overloaded outlets are common loss triggers.
  Tenant liability is often the first line of defense for these scenarios.
• Loss history protection: Claims paid by a tenant’s policy may reduce frequency and severity on the landlord’s policy.
  This helps control premiums and insurability for the building.

Tenant liability insurance protects the building indirectly—even though the landlord doesn’t own the policy.

• Low default limits: $100,000 is common—and often insufficient.
  That amount can be exhausted by a single moderate injury claim.
• False sense of security: “Having insurance” isn’t the same as having enough insurance.
  Once limits are exhausted, the policy stops protecting you.
• Personal exposure: Excess judgments can attach to wages, bank accounts, and future earnings.
  Liability follows people, not apartments.

Cheap insurance works right up until the moment it doesn’t.

• Common recommendations: $300,000 to $500,000 for most renters.
  The cost difference from minimum limits is often just a few dollars per month.
• Higher-risk situations: Pets, frequent guests, cooking habits, or living in multi-unit buildings increase exposure.
• Umbrella eligibility: Higher renter liability limits may be required to qualify for a personal umbrella policy.
  Umbrellas extend protection beyond the renter’s policy when severity spikes.

Does renter’s liability cover damage to the landlord’s building?
It can, when the tenant is legally responsible for the damage. Coverage depends on cause and policy terms.

Does liability cover roommates?
Only if they are named insureds on the policy. Otherwise, each tenant typically needs their own coverage.

Can a landlord require liability insurance?
Yes. Many leases require tenants to carry renter’s insurance with specified liability limits.

Is liability coverage expensive?
No. It is usually one of the most cost-effective protections on the policy.