The question of whether renters insurance covers personal injury often arises when someone is injured on a rental property. Yes, as a tenant, your renters insurance can provide coverage for certain personal injury claims guests or other tenants may file against you, but it does not cover your own injuries.
We break everything down below.
Key Takeaways
- Renters insurance covers non-physical personal injury claims that other tenants or guests make against you, such as slander, defamation, and invasion of privacy.
- Most renters insurance also provides bodily injury coverage, which shields you from physical harm suffered by others in your rental home due to your negligence.
- It does not cover bodily injuries that you or your family members incur in the apartment.
What is Renters Insurance?
Renters insurance is a type of coverage that protects tenants from losses involving personal property and liability they may face due to their own negligence. While it does not cover the tenant’s own injuries, it provides coverage when a visitor is harmed in that rental space.
For example, say your guest slips and falls because your floor is wet. Or a co-tenant is bitten by your dog. If you’re at fault, your renters insurance covers the injured party’s medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
This is known as personal liability coverage, usually capped at $100,000, and it is a part of most renters insurance policies.
But when it comes to personal injury within renters insurance, it is something entirely different from physical injuries.
What is Personal Injury Coverage in Renters Insurance?
Personal injury coverage in your renters insurance refers to protection against non-physical harm that your negligence causes to someone while on your rental property. Such harms include:
- Defamation
- Invasion of privacy
- Restriction of movement
- Wrongful eviction
Unlike bodily injury coverage that settles medical bills, personal injury protection covers you for things you indiscriminately share, say, or write that harm others.
For example, sharing pictures online from a house party you held in your apartment. A guest captured in the picture sues you because the photo harms their public reputation.
Unlike bodily injury coverage which is usually capped at $100,000, personal injury coverage in renters insurance varies across policies. Be sure to check your policy to see how much coverage you have and if there’s a need to increase it.
Examples of Personal Injury Protection Under Renters Insurance
Here are some scenarios where your renters insurance personal injury protection may kick in:
1. Making defaming statements about a fellow tenant
Suppose you misplace a personal belonging. You publicly accuse your fellow tenant or guest without evidence. Turns out you were wrong. They have a right to sue you for defamation. In such an event, you can turn to your personal injury liability protection in your renters insurance to cover the damages.
2. Non-consensual Social media posts
It’s common for people to make videos in their residential premises or write about real events and post them casually on social media. If someone within the premises finds themselves in the content in a way that damages their reputation, they may take legal action for invasion of privacy. Your renters insurance may cover your legal fees and settlement.
3. Subletting issues
If you’re subletting your apartment and later attempt to forcefully evict, confine, or throw out the individual’s belongings, they can sue you for personal injury. If the law determines that they have not broken the lease terms, you may be liable for damages. Your renters insurance protection applies here, too.
4. Posting pictures of kids
Suppose you hosted a kid’s birthday party in your apartment. There are people’s children around. You made videos and posted on Instagram. Parents who never consented to publicizing the content may sue for invasion of privacy. Your renters insurance personal injury protection may cover your legal fees and any resulting settlement.
Given how digital the world has become, with everyone making personal content on social media, it’s easy to harm people with the things we post, say, or publish. But you’re not automatically liable for every legal action taken against you.
If you’re ever in doubt, it helps to speak with a personal injury lawyer near you. They can provide guidance on what you’re truly liable for, what your policy covers, how to protect yourself, and the next steps to take.
What Renters Insurance Doesn’t Cover
While renters insurance provides coverage for personal injury to others, it doesn’t cover:
- injuries (physical or otherwise) to the tenant, family members, and roommates
- Injuries that do not directly result from the tenant’s negligence
For example, your visitor falls through a defective guardrail. This can be handled by the landlord’s policy, not the tenant’s. That’s because structural maintenance is the landlord’s duty.
In personal injury, fault is a key factor when establishing liability. Sometimes, though, fault can be shared between tenant and landlord.
A Word of Caution
Renters insurance coverage varies from insurer to insurer. What applies on one policy may not apply on another. In fact, coverage isn’t guaranteed. It’s important to review your policy to know exactly what’s included.
If you’re pretty active on social media, frequently host guests, or worried that your lifestyle will likely open you up to liability lawsuits, consider increasing your liability limits. Whatever the case, and should you ever run into a personal injury case as a renter, it’s worth speaking with Shaheen & Gordon, P.A. to understand your options.
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