Many people choose to move into an apartment or a house together in order to save money. Roommates help split the cost of rent, electricity, cable, Internet, and other costs associated with renting a place to live. But, most renters do not realize that there is one bill that they cannot split. You cannot share your renters insurance coverage with another person or a roommate. Insurance companies most often consider a roommate as someone you live with who you are not married to or who is not a close relative. You should consider having separate renters insurance policies even if your roommate is your girlfriend or boyfriend that you plan to marry. Having separate renters insurance policies will ensure that both of your possessions are covered should there be theft, damage, or complete loss.

Renters insurance covers only the possessions of the person covered by the renters insurance policy. The items that you own and the possessions of your roommate are looked at as two separate things by your renters insurance company. If you have a roommate, you both will need your own separate renters insurance policies in order to cover each of your respective possessions.

There are a couple of reasons that renters insurance does not extend to your roommate. Only the owner of the property knows what it is truly worth and whether or not it should be insured. Maybe something that is valuable to you is worthless to your roommate. Also, everyone is responsible for their own possessions. You cannot expect your roommate to be financially responsible for property that is stolen out of your own bedroom, for example. Likewise, you and your renters insurance policy should not be held financially liable for other people’s possessions. Also, if you had an insurance policy together, you would find yourself having to constantly update the policy when you or your roommate purchased a new possession that was large enough to require letting the insurance company know, like a new flat screen television, for example.

You should have a conversation early with your roommate ensuring that he or she has their own renters insurance to cover their possessions. This may be a touchy conversation if they had planned on piggybacking off your policy or did not realize that they even needed to have one of their own. It would be illegal and unethical to add items from another person to any claim that was filed if there was a loss. It is best to have the conversation as early as possible or as soon as you move in together in order to avoid any misunderstandings.