April 29, 2025
Does my roommate’s renters insurance cover my stuff?
If you lease your apartment or home with a roomie, you should each buy your own renters insurance.
Big yikes: Your roommate’s policy won’t pay for your stuff if it’s lost in a robbery or fire. Their policy covers only their belongings.
Renters insurance costs less than $20 a month.
Reasons to buy a policy:
- It pays for your belongings – clothes, electronics, home décor, furniture – if they’re damaged or stolen from your rental home or car and while you’re traveling.
- If you need to move out of your rental home while it’s being repaired, it might pay for rent somewhere else and food.
- It also covers medical expenses and your legal fees if someone is hurt at your place.
If your parents have homeowners insurance, their policy will pay a certain amount to replace your belongings. But it’s likely that renters insurance would probably cover more than the limits of your parents’ homeowners policy. Check with their insurance company to get coverage amounts.
Watch our video featuring tips about college students and insurance.
Learn more
- Insurance tips – college edition
- Why you need renters insurance (video)
- Renters insurance: What does it cover and how much does it cost?
- Do I need insurance for my self-storage unit?
- Texas law encourages renters to buy flood coverage
April 23, 2025
Insurance tips for new graduates
If you’re graduating and moving into your own house or apartment, there’s a lot to consider. Here’s what you need to know about insurance.
Protect your stuff: Renters insurance pays for your clothes, furniture, electronics, and other belongings if they’re stolen or damaged by a fire or other cause. Most renters policies also pay for your belongings if they’re stolen from your car.
Shop for auto insurance: If you need your own auto insurance, compare rates and policies. Then ask several companies for quotes. Also ask if you qualify for any discounts.
Finding health insurance: If you have a job that offers health insurance, that’s great. Be sure to ask if your doctors are in its network to avoid a big bill. Also look at the plan’s website to find hospitals and urgent care centers near you for when you need a doctor after hours.
Learn more
- Renters insurance: What does it cover and how much does it cost?
- 10 steps to find the right auto insurance
- Need health insurance? How to find a new health plan now.
January 20, 2025
Power out, food spoiled? Your insurance might help.
If you lose power and the food in your refrigerator spoils, can your insurance help?
Possibly.
Some homeowners and renters policies will pay up to $500 for spoiled food if the power fails under certain circumstances. Call your agent or company to ask if your policy will pay. Sometimes there is not a deductible.
Take pictures or keep a list of the food that spoiled.
And clean any food spoilage to prevent damage to your refrigerator.
Have other insurance questions? Call the TDI Help Line, 800-252-3439, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
Learn more
- Does your insurance cover additional living expenses? (video)
- When do policies pay for additional living expenses?
- FAQ: Homeowners insurance and disaster claims
- Creak! Crackle! Pop! Does insurance cover fallen tree branches?
July 1, 2024
Biking and insurance pedal together
When you ride your bike, insurance rides with you. For instance, if your bike is stolen, your homeowners or renters policy might cover replacement, though your coverage might have a dollar limit.
Read your policy or contact your agent to be sure.
If you bike often, you may want to ask your agent about liability coverage. If you cause an accident that results in property damage or injures someone, liability insurance could help cover costs you’re responsible for. If you have home or renters insurance, it likely includes liability coverage.
May 10, 2024
Can I make an insurance claim for additional living expenses?
Texans with flood damage might be wondering if their homeowner policies pay for hotels, food, and other expenses if they need to leave during repairs.
When do policies pay for additional living expenses?
Homeowners and renters policies may cover additional living expenses if you can’t stay in your home because it was damaged by an event that’s covered in your policy.
For example, you need to move out during repairs because a tornado damaged your house, and your home policy covers tornadoes.
If you left your house because of a power outage or evacuation – and your home wasn’t damaged – your policy won’t cover additional living expenses.
Does my home policy cover floods?
Most home policies don’t cover floods.
Some people buy flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). But NFIP policies don’t pay for additional living expenses.
If your home policy includes flood coverage, it probably will pay for additional living expenses.
Call your agent or company to ask if you have a NFIP flood policy or have flood coverage in your home policy.
Learn more
- Does your insurance cover additional living expenses? (video)
- When do policies pay for additional living expenses?
- Recovery tips
April 4, 2024
Do you need flood insurance as a renter?
If you rent your home or apartment, you may have bought renters insurance to protect your belongings from theft, fire, or damage from a burst pipe.
But there’s more to consider. Renters policies typically don’t pay for losses due to floods. But a flood insurance policy could.
If a flood causes damage or loss, your flood policy covers personal belongings such as clothing, furniture, electronics, kitchenware, and curtains.
A flood policy doesn’t cover cash, precious metals, stock certificates, and other valuable papers. A policy also doesn’t cover cars, trucks, or personal property kept in a basement.
Shop before storm season. It typically takes 30 days for a flood policy to take effect.
Ask your insurance agent if they sell flood insurance. If not, you can buy a policy from the National Flood Insurance Program. You can also call them at 877-336-2627.
Learn more
- Renters insurance: What does it cover and how much does it cost?
- Texas law encourages renters to buy flood coverage
- Flood insurance: Why you need a policy
February 29, 2024
Texas wildfires: Insurance can cover home, auto damages.
Your insurance can apply if a wildfire damages or destroys your home or car.
Some insurance tips:
- Homeowners insurance will pay to repair or replace your home or property if it is damaged or destroyed in a fire or storm, up to the policy limits. You’ll have to pay your deductible. Damage from an explosion or smoke also is typically covered.
- If you can't stay in your home because of damage covered by your policy, your homeowners or renters policy may pay for a hotel or rental. Check your policy for limits on the coverage.
- Your car is covered if you have comprehensive coverage. Some policies will pay for a rental car if yours is damaged.
- Call your agent or read your policy to check details.
Questions? Call the Texas Department of Insurance’s Help Line at 800-252-3439, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Learn more
- Steps to getting your home or car insurance claim paid
- Recovery tips
- Working with an insurance adjuster
- How to avoid contracting scams
July 6, 2023
Have an insurance complaint? Tips to understand the complaint process
Have a problem with your insurance company, agent, or adjuster?
You might want to file a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI).
Before you consider a complaint, talk to your insurance agent or company about the problem you’re having. Sometimes conversations clear the air, delivering satisfaction.
You can file a complaint with TDI about insurance companies, agents, and adjusters. We can help you get started.
After you file a complaint, our experts will reach out to the insurance company to get more information. Last year, we returned $56 million to consumers in refunds and claim payments.
Before you file a complaint, understand that there are some things we can’t do:
- We can’t make a company pay a claim unless the failure to pay violates a law or the terms of your policy.
- We can’t help with complaints against another person’s insurance company. For instance, we probably won’t be able to help you if you’re in an accident and the other driver’s insurance company won’t accept liability.
- We can’t decide who was at fault in an accident.
Questions? Call our Help Line at 800-252-3439 to understand your rights. For more on filing a complaint, watch this Texas Insurance podcast.
View podcast Q&A: How to get help with an insurance complaint
Learn more
- Can TDI help with my complaint? (video)
- What if my insurance isn't paying enough?
- Not sure who to call with your question or complaint? We can help.
- Get help with an insurance complaint (video)
January 17, 2023
Texas law encourages renters to buy flood coverage
A Texas law (House Bill 531) emphasizes that renters insurance doesn’t pay for flood damage.
Renters insurance, available for about $20 a month, pays to repair or replace the things you own if they’re damaged by fire, smoke, theft or vandalism, and certain kinds of water damage.
But most renters policies don’t pay for losses caused by floods.
Renters worried about flooding should consider buying a separate flood policy. Ask your agent if they sell flood insurance. If not, you can buy a policy from the National Flood Insurance Program. You can also call them at 877-336-2627.
Landlords are now required to:
- Tell potential renters if they know the dwelling is in a 100-year flood plain.
- Tell potential renters if they know the dwelling had flood damage at least once in the previous five years.
- Encourage renters to buy flood insurance.
Even if your home isn’t in a flood plain, you might want to consider a policy. Flooding can happen anywhere at any time. Poor drainage systems, broken water mains, neighborhood construction, and summer storms can result in flooding.
Learn more
- Flood insurance: Why you need a policy
- Renters insurance: What does it cover and how much does it cost?
- How do you know if you need flood insurance? (video)
- Why you need renters insurance (video)
June 2, 2021
Starting your financial future together
Getting married soon? You’re not the only happy couple! Wedding planners report being booked through the year as couples reschedule weddings postponed due to the pandemic. We can’t help you find a caterer, but we do have an insurance checklist to get you off to a good financial start.
Renters insurance: The average renters policy in Texas costs about $20 a month. That’s a great way to protect those nice wedding gifts. It will pay to replace items damaged by a burst pipe or other cause. It will also cover personal items stolen from your home or car.
Auto policies: Combining your auto policies may save you money. Most insurance companies offer a discount if you have more than one vehicle, and rates are usually lower if you’re married.
Health coverage: You have several options for health coverage. If both of you have coverage through work, compare the policies. One may have better benefits, a lower deductible, or a lower cost to add a dependent. And check to see if there’s a deadline to add a spouse.
Life insurance: As your situation changes and your family grows, you may need life insurance. Consider how much income would need to be replaced to help with childcare, your mortgage, and other debts.
Insurance tips and help
How to get help or file a complaint: We can answer insurance questions, help with problems, and explain how to file a complaint against an insurance company or agent.
Videos: Our video library has short tips and interviews with experts on dozens of topics.
Insurance tips: Use our tips to get the best deal on insurance, protect yourself from fraud, and learn what to do when you have a problem.