Hawaii renters insurance
Your landlord’s policy covers the building and the landlord. Your belongings, your liability, and the cost of somewhere to live if the unit becomes uninhabitable are yours.
- Monday – Friday: 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM Pacific Time9:00 AM – 10:00 PM Eastern Time
- Saturday: 6:00 AM – 5:00 PM Pacific Time9:00 AM – 8:00 PM Eastern Time
Three reasons Hawaii renters end up buying a policy
- 1
Somewhere to stay is the coverage that matters most here
If fire, smoke or water makes the unit uninhabitable, loss of use pays for a hotel and meals while the repair happens. Hawaii has the tightest and most expensive rental market in the country, and a repair that waits on parts arriving by sea is not a two-week repair. That line on the policy is worth far more than its cost.
- 2
Replacing your belongings means paying island prices
Everything you would replace after a loss costs more here and some of it has to be ordered in. A personal property limit set from a mainland default will not refurnish a Honolulu apartment. Set the limit against what it would actually cost to buy it all again, here, this year.
- 3
Water travels downward, and the claim comes back to you
An overflowed bath or a split washing machine hose in a high-rise reaches several units within minutes. The claim against you for their damage is a liability claim, and in an older Honolulu building with original plumbing this is the most common way a renters policy pays for itself.
Replacement cost, not depreciated value
Actual cash value pays what a six-year-old sofa is worth now. Replacement cost pays for a comparable new one — which here means a comparable new one at island prices. The premium difference is usually small and the claim difference is not. Ask which basis the quote uses and confirm it on the declaration page.
What sits outside the policy
Flood is excluded, and in Hawaii that reaches coastal inundation, gulch and stream flooding, and tsunami. Hurricane on a renters policy is its own question and should be asked directly rather than assumed. Surfboards, bikes, cameras and rings carry internal sub-limits lower than people expect, and scheduling the individual item is the fix.
Roommates need their own policies
A renters policy generally covers the named insured and relatives living with them. A roommate is neither. In a market where sharing is the norm, this matters more than usual: separate policies cost little more between them and keep one kitchen fire from becoming an argument about whose belongings were whose.
A room-by-room inventory, in five minutes
- Living room: television, sound equipment, console, furniture
- Bedroom: bed, clothing, jewelry, anything irreplaceable
- Kitchen: anything you bought rather than inherited with the unit
- Work setup: laptop, monitor, desk, camera, tools of your trade
- Lanai, storage or garage: surfboards, bike, dive and fishing gear
- Then photograph every room and email the photos to yourself
Frequently asked questions
Does my landlord’s insurance cover my belongings?
No. It covers the building and the landlord’s liability. Your possessions and your own liability are not part of it.
Are my surfboards covered?
Theft and covered damage generally apply, including away from the unit, but sports equipment often carries a sub-limit. If a board or a quiver is worth more than that limit, schedule it.
Does a renters policy cover hurricane?
It depends on the policy and it should be asked directly rather than assumed, since hurricane is handled separately from other wind in Hawaii. What is clear is that the building is the landlord’s responsibility either way.
Is flood covered?
No. Flood is excluded, which in Hawaii includes coastal inundation and tsunami. Flood coverage for a tenant is a separate purchase.
Request your Hawaii quote
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