Your landlord's policy covers the building — not one thing inside your unit.
It's the most common renters mistake there is: assuming the landlord's insurance protects your belongings. It doesn't. If a fire, theft, or water-backup hits your place, your furniture, electronics, and clothes are on you — plus any liability if a guest is hurt. Renters insurance covers all of it, usually for a few dollars a month, and it gets cheaper when you bundle it with auto. From an independent agency that places Nationwide every day.
The short answer
Renters insurance protects the things a landlord's policy doesn't: your personal property (against fire, theft, vandalism, water backup and more — even items stolen from your car), your personal liability if you're responsible for someone's injury or damage, your loss of use (a hotel and meals if a covered loss makes your place unlivable), and medical payments for a guest hurt in your unit. Add Brand New Belongings® so a total loss pays to replace with new, not depreciated, and Valuables Plus® to schedule jewelry or electronics. It's one of the cheapest policies you'll own — cheaper still bundled with auto.
The landlord insures the walls. You insure everything in them.
Nationwide says it plainly: many renters assume the landlord's policy will cover their belongings — and it generally won't. That assumption is the one that leaves people paying to replace everything they own.
only what the landlord insures
Your landlord's policy covers the structure — the walls, the roof, the systems. It does not cover your furniture, electronics, or clothes, and it may not cover injuries to your guests inside your unit.
Add up what's actually yours.
Furniture, a bed, a couch, a TV, a laptop, a phone, kitchen gear, clothes — replacing it all at once after a fire or theft adds up fast, usually into five figures even for a modest apartment. None of it is on the landlord's policy.
And it isn't just stuff: if a guest is hurt in your unit, or you accidentally cause damage — a kitchen fire that spreads, an overflowing tub into the unit below — the liability is yours. Renters insurance covers the belongings and that liability, which is why it does far more than its low price suggests.
Four things, one small policy.
Personal Property
Furniture, electronics, clothing and more — against fire, theft, vandalism, smoke, and water backup. Covered at home and even when stolen from your car.
Personal Liability
If a guest is injured in your unit, or you damage someone else's property, this covers legal costs and settlements up to your limit. Many leases require it.
Loss of Use
If a covered loss makes your place unlivable, this pays additional living expenses — a hotel, meals, even pet boarding — while it's repaired.
Medical Payments
Covers minor medical bills if a guest is hurt in your unit, regardless of fault — a small limit that quietly heads off bigger disputes.
The add-ons worth the couple of dollars.
Brand New Belongings®
Pays to replace damaged or stolen items with new ones instead of their depreciated value — a real difference on electronics and furniture at a total loss.
Valuables Plus®
Schedules expensive items — jewelry, watches, cameras, fine art — above the standard sub-limits, so a stolen ring isn't capped at a few hundred dollars.
Water Backup
Adds protection for damage from backed-up sewers or drains — a gap in a lot of standard policies, and a common apartment loss.
Theft Extension
Extends protection for belongings stored in or on a vehicle, trailer, or watercraft — your gear when it's not at home.
Identity Theft
Reimburses covered expenses to restore your identity and connects you with cybersecurity experts if your information is compromised.
Earthquake
Arkansas sits near the New Madrid seismic zone; standard renters doesn't include quake damage, and this adds it for the tenants who want it.
Set the personal-property limit to what you actually own.
The most common renters mistake after skipping the policy entirely is under-insuring — picking a low round number instead of what it'd cost to replace everything. Walk your apartment room by room once; we'll help you land on a limit that actually rebuilds your life, not just satisfies the lease.
The honest list of what it doesn't do.
The building itself
The structure, roof, and systems are the landlord's to insure — not yours. You cover what's inside; they cover the walls around it.
Flood
No renters policy includes flood. If flood is a real exposure at your address, it's written separately — we'll tell you honestly whether you need it.
Your roommate's stuff
A policy covers the named insured, not an unrelated roommate. Each roommate needs their own — it's cheap, and one shared policy fails the person not on it.
A region full of renters — and leases that now require it.
Northwest Arkansas has one of the busiest rental markets in the state: University of Arkansas students in Fayetteville, and the Walmart-and-vendor workforce filling apartments across Bentonville, Rogers, and Springdale. More and more of those leases now require renters insurance — a minimum liability limit, and often that the landlord be named as an additional interest so they're notified if the policy lapses.
We set that up to match your lease exactly, and we make sure the coverage does more than tick a box: a personal-property limit that reflects what you actually own, liability sized to protect you, and Brand New Belongings so a total loss replaces with new. If you're renting from an owner who carries one of our landlord policies, the two fit together cleanly.
The pieces we'll talk through.
Usually the cheapest policy you'll own.
Renters is one of the least expensive policies in insurance, and Nationwide's average renters premium tends to run at the low end. Bundling it with your auto usually earns a multi-policy discount that offsets much of the cost. This isn't a quote or a guarantee. What moves the number:
Backed by an A (Excellent) carrier.
On November 7, 2025, AM Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent), stable outlook, for the members of the Nationwide Property and Casualty Group.
Where Nationwide fits renters
- Strong standard coverage plus useful options — Brand New Belongings, Valuables Plus, water backup, identity theft — and typically a low average premium.
- A yearly On Your Side® Review to keep the coverage matched to your life and catch the discounts you're owed.
- Placed through an agent — which is exactly what we do, so you're not guessing at limits alone.
- A policyholder-owned mutual, rated A (Excellent) by AM Best for the P&C group that writes this coverage.
What we'll tell you honestly
- It doesn't cover the building — that's the landlord's policy. We make sure the split is clean and your lease requirements are met.
- Roommates need their own. One shared policy fails the person whose name isn't on it at claim time.
- Flood is separate, and standard settlement may be depreciated unless you add Brand New Belongings — we'll flag both.
- We'll tell you when Nationwide isn't the fit. It's one of 40+ markets we place, and we don't adjust your claim — but we advocate for you.
The policies around renters.
Nationwide renters questions.
Doesn't my landlord's insurance cover my stuff?
No — this is the single most common renters mistake. Your landlord's policy covers the building, not your belongings, and it generally won't cover injuries to your guests or your liability.
If a fire, theft, or water backup wipes out your furniture, electronics, and clothes, that loss is on you unless you carry renters insurance. The landlord insures the walls; you insure everything inside them.
What does Nationwide renters insurance cover?
Four core things: your personal property (against fire, theft, vandalism, water backup — even items stolen from your car); personal liability if you're responsible for someone's injury or damage; loss of use, which pays for a hotel and meals if a covered loss makes your place unlivable; and medical payments for a guest hurt in your unit.
You can add coverages like Brand New Belongings and Valuables Plus on top.
Is renters insurance replacement cost or actual cash value?
By default many policies pay actual cash value — the depreciated value of your stuff. Nationwide's Brand New Belongings option pays to replace damaged or stolen items with new ones instead of their depreciated value, which matters a lot on electronics and furniture.
If you'd rather not eat depreciation on a total loss, ask us to add it — it's usually inexpensive.
Does renters insurance cover my roommate?
Generally no — a renters policy covers the named insured (and usually household family members), not an unrelated roommate. Each roommate should carry their own policy for their own belongings and liability.
It's cheap enough that splitting one policy to save money usually backfires when only one person's name is on it at claim time.
My landlord requires renters insurance. What do I actually need?
Most lease requirements ask for a minimum personal liability limit (often $100,000) and sometimes that the landlord be named as an additional interest so they're notified if the policy lapses.
We set that up correctly and make sure your personal property limit actually reflects what you own — not just the lease minimum. Bring us the lease language and we'll match it exactly.
How do I get a Nationwide renters quote in Northwest Arkansas?
Start at our personal lines quote form or call (479) 286-1066. Renters is one of the cheapest policies you'll own, and bundling it with your auto usually earns a multi-policy discount that offsets much of the cost.
Tell us roughly what your belongings are worth and what liability limit you need, and we'll handle it.
If our coverage guides are helpful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas renters find our local explanations.
Cover your stuff for the price of a couple pizzas a month.
Tell us roughly what your belongings are worth, the liability limit your lease requires, and whether you've got auto we can bundle it with. We'll set the personal-property limit to actually rebuild your life, add Brand New Belongings so nothing settles depreciated, match your lease's additional-interest requirement, and put it up against our other markets. If another carrier fits better, we'll say so.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas. We are not Nationwide, and this page is not endorsed, sponsored, reviewed, or approved by Nationwide. "Nationwide," the Nationwide N and Eagle, "Nationwide is on your side," "On Your Side," "Brand New Belongings," and "Valuables Plus" are service marks or trademarks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates, used here nominatively to identify products we are appointed to place. Nationwide's Arkansas renters policies are issued by Nationwide-affiliated underwriting companies.
This page describes coverage in general terms for informational purposes only. It is not a policy, not an offer of insurance, and not a guarantee of coverage, availability, eligibility, or price. Coverages, optional features (including Brand New Belongings and Valuables Plus), settlement basis (replacement cost vs. actual cash value), limits, eligibility, and availability vary by state, by policy, and over time, are set by the carrier, and are subject to underwriting review and to the terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions of the policy actually issued. A renters policy does not cover the building or other structures (the landlord's responsibility) and does not include flood. If anything on this page conflicts with the issued policy, the policy controls.
Financial strength ratings are opinions of an insurer's ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations, are subject to change, are not recommendations to purchase, hold or terminate any policy, and do not address an insurer's claims-handling practices; current ratings are at ambest.com. The A (Excellent) rating referenced applies to the members of the Nationwide Property and Casualty Group; a separate Nationwide life/annuity company carries its own rating. Statements about Arkansas seismic exposure and lease requirements are general information; confirm your specific lease terms and exposures. If anything here conflicts with the issued policy, the policy controls.
Last reviewed July 2026.