Texas Personal Property Insurance

Belongings, not the walls

The Insurance Information Institute says your furniture, clothes, sports equipment, and other personal items are covered if they are stolen or destroyed by fire, a hurricane, or another insured disaster. The landlord’s policy, or the dwelling part of your own policy, is the building. This coverage is the contents. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners tells renters the same thing: the owner’s insurance does not replace what you own.

On a house you own, the contents limit is generally 50 to 70 percent of the insurance on the structure. That is a usual percentage, not a measurement of your rooms. A house full of tools, instruments, or home-office equipment can outgrow it. The way to know is a home inventory: a list of what you own and what it would cost to replace. The Institute calls that the best check on whether the limit is enough.

A renters policy is contents and liability without the building. Our renters guide is that product. This page is the contents coverage itself, including the version inside a homeowners policy.

Away from the house

Personal belongings coverage can apply off the premises, which the Institute describes as coverage anywhere in the world. Some companies limit that away-from-home amount to 10 percent of the insurance you have on possessions. A laptop stolen from a car or a hotel can be a covered theft and still hit that smaller cap. Ask which version you bought. Do not assume the full contents limit follows the suitcase.

The same guide says you also have up to $500 of coverage for unauthorized use of your credit cards. That is a specific small limit, not a promise that every card loss is paid in full. Report the card to the issuer as well. Insurance is not the first call for a stolen card number.

Jewelry, art, and other tight limits

Expensive items such as jewelry, furs, art, collectibles, and silverware are covered, but there are usually dollar limits if they are stolen. The Institute’s advice is to buy a special personal property endorsement, often called a floater, and insure the item for an appraised value. The NAIC says to check the basic limits on antiques, art, jewelry, and electronics, and to buy more coverage if those items exceed the policy. A ring can use up a theft sublimit while the rest of the contents limit is untouched.

We are not printing a universal jewelry dollar cap, because forms differ and the Institute describes the limit as usual rather than as one number. Ask for the theft sublimit in dollars. If the number is smaller than the item, schedule the item. An appraisal that sits in a drawer does not raise the limit until the endorsement is on the declarations.

Trees, plants, and shrubs are a different small limit. The Institute says they are generally covered for about $500 per item, and not for disease or poor maintenance. That is landscaping, not the couch. It is easy to confuse with contents because both feel like “stuff on the property.” They are not the same bucket.

Replacement cost or a depreciated check

Actual cash value pays to replace the item minus depreciation for age and use, up to the limit. Replacement cost pays the cost of a similar item without that deduction, up to the limit. On renters policies, the Institute says replacement cost usually costs about 10 percent more than actual cash value. On a home, the choice is the same idea. A guaranteed or extended replacement-cost option, where a company offers it, is aimed at the house more than at a single lamp. Read which settlement applies to contents.

Even on a replacement-cost policy, the Institute’s claim-payment guide says the first check is often the depreciated cash value. You receive the rest when you actually replace the item. Keep receipts. If you decide not to replace it, the payment stays at actual cash value. A contents claim is easier with an inventory made before the loss. Photos in a cloud folder beat a list you try to rebuild from memory.

What contents coverage does not do

A standard policy does not pay for flood, earthquake, or routine wear and tear. Ready.gov says a homeowners policy does not cover flooding, and that a National Flood Insurance Program policy typically takes up to 30 days to start, so buy it before a storm. Contents flood coverage is a separate purchase. It is not created by raising the homeowners contents limit. Our flood guide covers that policy. This page does not restate federal contents maximums.

Wind on the coast may not be in the home policy at all. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association’s eligibility page lists personal property among the residential items a wind policy can cover, along with the dwelling. If your inland home policy includes wind, contents damaged by that wind can be this coverage. If the coast policy excludes wind, the belongings damaged by the hurricane may depend on the wind policy’s contents limit. Ask. Our windstorm guide is the coastal wind product.

A car is not household contents. Motor vehicles are generally left to an auto policy. A riding mower, a boat, and a trailer are questions for the form, not assumptions. Business stock stored in the house can be capped or excluded. Say so if you sell from home.

The inventory is the limit you meant to buy

A contents limit chosen as a percentage of the house is a shortcut. The Institute’s claim guidance says that after a loss you will be asked what you had, and that working from memory is a weak file. Walk the rooms before anything happens. Note brands, ages, and what a replacement costs now. Store the list somewhere other than only on a computer that sits in the house. A phone photo of a jewelry box is not an appraisal, but it is better than a description you invent after a burglary.

Update the list when you buy furniture, electronics, or a collection. The NAIC says amounts on the declarations should be reviewed when new purchases are added. A policy that was enough the year you moved in is not automatically enough after a kitchen renovation’s worth of appliances and a home office. If the new total is over the contents limit, raise the limit. If a few items are over their theft sublimits, schedule those items instead of inflating the whole policy for one ring.

Deductibles and the price of replacement cost

The Institute’s renters guidance says a higher deductible, the amount you pay before the company pays, lowers the premium. The same tradeoff sits on a home policy’s contents claims. Pick a deductible you could pay on a bad week. A wind or hail deductible that is a percentage of the dwelling limit can be much larger than the dollar deductible on a theft. A stolen television and a hail-damaged sofa are not the same math. Ask which deductible applies to which cause.

Choosing replacement cost on contents usually costs more. On a renters form the Institute puts that difference at about 10 percent. On your home quote, get the dollar difference in writing rather than assuming the same ratio. Then remember the claim path: the first check is often depreciated value, and the balance comes when you replace the item and show the receipt. If you cannot front the replacement, the endorsement still helps, but it does not hand you the full price on day one.

After a theft or a fire

File when the loss is larger than the deductible. The NAIC says every declarations page states what you pay before the company pays, sometimes as a dollar amount and sometimes as a percentage. A contents deductible and a wind deductible can be different numbers. Match the cause of loss to the deductible before you decide the claim is worth it.

Give the company a list, not a round guess. The Institute’s disaster guidance says to identify what you want the adjuster to see and to keep names and phone numbers. For a theft, a police report is what many forms ask for. Send it. Do not throw away damaged goods until the company has seen them or told you that you can. Temporary repairs that protect what is left, such as a board on a broken window, belong in the receipt stack.

Texas Insurance Resources can compare contents limits and floaters with licensed agents. We do not inventory the house for you and we do not pay the claim. Start with the homeowners guide if the dwelling limit that drives this percentage is still unset.

Sources

Percentages, sublimits, and settlement notes come from Insurance Information Institute articles and its homeowners handbook. Declarations and renters points come from the NAIC. Flood timing comes from Ready.gov. Coastal contents wording comes from TWIA’s eligibility page.

• Insurance Information Institute, what standard homeowners insurance covers
• Insurance Information Institute, homeowners insurance handbook (2023)
• Insurance Information Institute, types of homeowners policies
• Insurance Information Institute, renters insurance
• Insurance Information Institute, the claims payment process
• Insurance Information Institute, settling claims after a disaster
• NAIC, understanding your homeowners or renter’s policy
• NAIC, protect your belongings with renters insurance
• Ready.gov, Floods
• Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, coverage and eligibility