What is covered?

First of all, let me start with a brief definition of renters insurance.  Renters insurance is coverage for your personal belongings, because while your landlord may be sympathetic to your losses, his policy does not cover your belongings, it only covers the structure.

Personal Property:

This is the primary purpose of renters insurance to protect your personal belongings.  Some of the things that your personal property is covered for is loss due to theft, fire, smoke, lightning, vandalism, explosion, windstorm, and water damage (excluding floods).

Loss of use:

Coverage to pay for the additional living expenses that you incur if you are no longer able to live in your dwelling due to a fire or other covered peril.

Personal Liability:

Liability coverage for yourself if someone were to hurt themselves in your apartment and sue you.

Replacement Cost:

This is an optional coverage in which the insurance company agrees to replace your personal belongings at there actual cost to replace with no deduction due to depreciation.  So if you had a 22", 10 year old TV, and it was destroyed in a fire or other covered loss, it would be replaced at what that TV sold for new rather than Actual Cash Value.

Actual Cash Value:

This coverage pays to replace your personal items at their depreciated value.  So in the example above, you would get the depreciated value of that 10 year old TV.