🏡🔑 Renters Insurance 101：租客保險 HO-4 完整指南（2025 強化版）
副標：租房遇到火災、漏水、失竊，房東的保險完全不會賠你的東西！HO-4（Renters Insurance）是租客最便宜、最需要、CP 值最高的保險。本篇整理 2025 最新規則，帶你一次看懂保障內容＋案例。
📦 1. 租客保險（HO-4）是什麼？為什麼一定要買？
HO-4 = Renters Insurance（租客保險），保障你租屋時的：
- 📌 個人物品（Personal Property）
- 📌 第三責任（Liability）
- 📌 額外生活費（Loss of Use）
⚠️ 重要：房東的 HO-6、DP-3 不會保你的東西。
只要你是租客，哪怕只租一個房間，租客保險都一定要買。
🔥 2. 租客保險會賠什麼？（最實用的保障）
① 個人物品 Personal Property
只要是你的東西，九成都在保障範圍：
- 筆電、手機、相機
- 衣服、鞋子、包包
- 家具、床架、化妝台
- 電視、PS5、小家電
- 廚具、工具、生活用品
實際案例：
- 樓上漏水 → 你的沙發、書櫃泡爛 → 租客保險賠
- 失竊 → 錢包、筆電被偷 → 保險賠
- 車子被砸 → 車內被偷的物品是租客保險賠（車保不賠）
② 第三責任 Liability（非常重要）
你不小心造成別人損失 → 保險會賠。
- 你煮飯引起小火 → 鄰居受損
- 你家寵物咬傷訪客
- 你讓朋友在你家滑倒受傷
- 你不小心弄壞房東的地板或櫃體
👉 有時候一個 Liability Claim 就可以救你免於 $20,000–$80,000 的賠償。
③ 額外生活費 Loss of Use
因火災、水災、嚴重損壞不能住時，保險會付：
- 飯店／Airbnb
- 臨時租屋差額
- 餐費補貼
- 交通費增加
🔥 值得：一個月只要 $10–$20。
🚫 3. 租客保險不賠的項目（2025 最新整理）
- 床蟲（Bed Bugs）
- 房屋建築損壞（這是房東的保險）
- 車子本身的損壞
- 你故意造成的損壞
- 寵物咬壞房東的地毯（部分公司不賠）
👉 最大迷思：
「房東的保險會保我的東西」 → 完全錯誤。
🏠 4. 房東為什麼要求租客一定要買 HO-4？
- 減少房東的 Liability 風險
- 租客物品損壞 → 不需要找房東求償
- 大樓管理公司（Apartment）統一要求
- 火災事故 → 租客自己的 Liability 承擔
📌 很多公寓都會要求租客提供「HO-4 保單證明」。
📌 5. 建議保額（2025 推薦組合）
| 項目 | 建議保額 |
|---|---|
| Personal Property | $20,000–$50,000 |
| Liability | $100,000–$300,000（越高越好） |
| Loss of Use | 20–30% of Personal Property |
| Deductible | $250 或 $500 |
🔍 6. 租客保險 vs 房東保險（最容易搞混）
| 房東保險 | 租客保險 | |
|---|---|---|
| 保房屋結構？ | ✔ | ✘ |
| 保租客物品？ | ✘ | ✔ |
| 保租客責任？ | ✘ | ✔ |
| 不能住時付飯店費？ | ✘ | ✔（Loss of Use） |
🔗 7. 延伸閱讀（Interlinks）
👉 什麼是 Escrow / Impound？為何保費會讓房貸變貴？
📝 8. 小結：HO-4 是租客最值得的保險
- 非常便宜（月 $10–$20）
- 保障你的物品、責任、飯店費
- 租屋族、學生、非法身份者都可購買
- 火災、漏水、被偷時 → 超實用
你租房，你就需要 HO-4。
可以。美國主流保險公司（例如 State Farm、Allstate、Lemonade）都允許沒有 SSN 的租客購買 HO-4，只需要基本身份資訊即可。這項保障與身份無關。
🏡🔑 Renters Insurance 101: A Complete Guide to HO-4 Coverage
Subtitle: When you rent in the U.S., your landlord’s insurance does not cover your belongings. HO-4, also known as renters insurance, is one of the most affordable and useful policies you can have. This guide explains, in plain English, what renters insurance covers, what it doesn’t, and why it matters.
📦 1. What is renters insurance (HO-4)?
HO-4 = Renters Insurance. It is designed to protect people who rent a home, apartment, or even just a room.
Renters insurance typically includes three key parts:
- 📌 Personal Property – your stuff
- 📌 Liability – when you accidentally cause damage or injury
- 📌 Loss of Use – extra living expenses if you can’t stay in your rental
Your landlord’s policy (HO-6, DP-3, or other landlord coverage) usually protects the building itself, but not your belongings. That is exactly why renters insurance exists.
🔥 2. What does renters insurance cover?
① Personal Property
This is coverage for your belongings — the things you own and bring into the home:
- Laptops, phones, tablets, cameras
- Clothing, shoes, bags
- Furniture such as beds, dressers, sofas
- TVs, gaming consoles, small appliances
- Kitchenware and everyday household items
Common claim situations:
- Fire in the building → your belongings are destroyed by fire, smoke, or water
- Water leak from upstairs → your furniture, books, or electronics are damaged
- Burglary or theft → your laptop, jewelry, or camera are stolen
- Your car is broken into → items stolen from inside the car are covered by renters insurance, not by auto insurance
② Liability coverage
Liability coverage helps when you accidentally cause damage or injury to others:
- You accidentally start a kitchen fire that damages other units
- Your guest slips and falls in your apartment and needs medical care
- Your child or roommate breaks a neighbor’s window
- Your pet bites a guest or damages someone else’s property
In serious cases, liability claims can be tens of thousands of dollars. This part of renters insurance is often the most valuable, even though many people ignore it.
③ Loss of Use (Additional Living Expenses)
If your rental becomes unlivable due to a covered loss (such as fire or major water damage), Loss of Use coverage can help pay for:
- Hotel or short-term rental (Airbnb, etc.)
- Increased rent for a temporary place
- Additional transportation costs
- Extra meal expenses beyond your normal spending
The cost of renters insurance is usually very affordable — often around $10–$20 per month for basic coverage.
🚫 3. What does renters insurance NOT cover?
While renters insurance is powerful, it has some limits. It usually does not cover:
- Bed bugs and other pest infestations
- Damage to the building structure itself (this is your landlord’s responsibility)
- Damage to your car (covered by auto insurance, not renters)
- Intentional damage you cause on purpose
- Certain types of pet damage, depending on the policy
Big misconception: “If something happens, my landlord’s insurance will pay for my stuff.” 👉 In most cases, this is false. Landlord policies protect the building, not your belongings.
🏠 4. Why do landlords require renters insurance?
More and more landlords and property management companies require tenants to carry renters insurance. Reasons include:
- It reduces the chance that tenants will try to sue the landlord for every loss
- Tenants’ personal property is protected by their own policy
- Liability coverage helps if a tenant accidentally causes a fire or major damage
- It creates clearer boundaries between landlord and tenant responsibilities
Many apartment complexes will ask for proof of HO-4 coverage before you move in or renew your lease.
📌 5. Suggested coverage levels
Exact numbers depend on your situation, but here are some common starting points:
| Coverage | Suggested Amount |
|---|---|
| Personal Property | $20,000–$50,000 |
| Liability | $100,000–$300,000 (higher is usually better) |
| Loss of Use | 20–30% of Personal Property limit |
| Deductible | $250 or $500 |
In general, it’s better to avoid very low coverage limits just to save a few dollars. One serious loss can easily exceed the difference in premium.
🔍 6. Renters insurance vs. landlord insurance
Many renters confuse these two types of coverage. Here is a simple comparison:
| Landlord Insurance | Renters Insurance (HO-4) | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers the building? | ✔ Yes | ✘ No |
| Covers the tenant’s belongings? | ✘ No | ✔ Yes |
| Covers the tenant’s liability? | ✘ No | ✔ Yes |
| Pays for hotel if unit is unlivable? | ✘ Usually no | ✔ Yes (Loss of Use) |
🔗 7. Related reading
👉 HO-3 vs HO-5: Beginner’s Guide to Home Insurance<
👉 What Is a Fire Zone and How It Can Affect Your Premium
👉 What to Do When Your Home Insurance Premium Goes Up
👉 What Is Escrow / Impound and Why Insurance Affects Your Mortgage Payment
👉 California Home Insurance Surcharge Explained (2025)
👉 Moving Insurance: What’s Covered When You Move?
📝 8. Key takeaways
- Renters insurance (HO-4) is designed to protect tenants, not landlords.
- It covers your belongings, your liability, and additional living expenses if you cannot stay in your rental.
- Your landlord’s policy will not pay for your personal property.
- The cost is usually low compared to the protection you receive.
- If you rent a place — even just a room — renters insurance is one of the smartest and most affordable protections you can have.
❓ Can undocumented immigrants buy renters insurance?
Yes. Absolutely. Major U.S. insurance companies do not require a Social Security Number to purchase an HO-4 renters policy. Immigration status is not part of the underwriting process.
Common acceptable situations:
No SSN (using ITIN or passport)
Students, work visa holders, visitors
Undocumented immigrants
Insurance companies usually ask for:
Your legal name (passport or other ID)
Your rental address
Email and phone number
Lease start date
⚠️ Important: Insurance protects “risk,” not immigration status. Claims will not be denied due to being undocumented.