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What renters insurance actually covers
The landlord’s policy covers the building. It does not replace your furniture, your laptop, or your liability if a guest is hurt.
An HO-4 renters policy is personal property and liability insurance for someone who does not own the building. The landlord’s policy pays to repair the structure the landlord owns. If a fire damages the apartment, the landlord’s insurer may rebuild the unit. Your clothes, bed, and computer are yours. Without an HO-4, those are your loss.
The three parts that matter
Personal property is the limit for belongings. A policy can pay replacement cost or actual cash value. Replacement cost is the price of a similar new item. Actual cash value subtracts age and wear, so a five-year-old couch pays less than a new one. Loss of use pays extra housing if a covered loss makes the unit unlivable. Liability pays if you are responsible for injuring someone or damaging their property, and it usually includes a legal defense up to the policy terms. A small medical-payments amount can cover a guest’s minor injury without a lawsuit.
Sub-limits and exclusions
Jewelry, cash, and business tools often have low special limits. A roommate’s belongings are not automatically yours to insure. Flood and earthquake are not standard perils. If you keep an expensive bike or camera, ask whether a scheduled endorsement exists before you assume the headline limit covers it.
Lease language sometimes requires renters insurance and names the landlord as an interested party. That requirement is a contract term. The policy still has its own exclusions.