How to Make a Tenant’s Insurance Claim

Acquiring coverage for your rental is an essential first step in lowering your risk as a tenant. But what happens if you need to make a claim? How does that process work?

In this article, we'll be sharing the three simple steps you need to take in order to file a renter’s insurance claim.

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The Renter’s Insurance Claims Process

Similarly to home insurance claims, you can typically make your tenant’s insurance claim by following the below three steps.

Related: Common tenant insurance claims

Step 1: Put together an incident report

When an accident or theft takes place, the first step you should take is writing up a report of what’s happened. While there’s no set time frame for completing this step, you should do this as soon as you can.

A few key pieces of information that your report should include are:

• Details of the incident: Share everything you can remember or know about what took place

• Affected home inventory: Note down any of your personal belongings that were damaged or stolen

• Photographs or videos: Take pictures or videos of the damaged property and the location where the incident occurred as soon as possible after the event

Step 2: Notify your insurance provider

Contact your insurance company and share details about the incident, including the report you have created.

At this point in the process, your insurance representative or claims advisor will likely contact you to confirm what happened. Depending on your claim, they may ask you to complete a Schedule of Loss. This document details your stolen or damaged personal property. You may also need to make note of when these belongings were purchased, how much you bought them for, and where from.

Step 3: Submit your claim

Prior to submission, you should confirm estimations for any repairs or replacements of your personal property with your claims advisor. Once you have finalized your claim with guidance from your advisor, you’re ready to submit it.

Understanding Your Deductible

Before receiving payment for your claim, it’s important to understand your deductible — the amount of money you’re responsible for paying out of pocket before your insurance kicks in. Policies with higher deductibles typically result in lower monthly premiums but require you to pay more if a claim is filed. On the other hand, policies with lower deductibles may have higher premiums but reduce the upfront cost you face when a loss occurs. Balancing your deductible amount with your budget and coverage needs is essential in choosing the right tenant insurance policy.

Receiving Payment for Your Renter’s Insurance Claim

While your tenant insurance will help cover many costs, it’s very important to understand your policy limits. This is because your limits will define the largest amount of money you can claim through your insurance.

In some cases, your policy limits may not cover all of your expenses or the entire value of what was stolen or damaged. This will impact what you receive from a claim.

However, for claims that are within your policy limits, there are a few considerations to be aware of in terms of receiving payment.

Reimbursement for repair work

For claims that require construction repairs, some insurance companies choose to work with preferred vendors. If you decide to use an insurer’s preferred contractor, it’s likely that your provider will pay the vendor directly. But if you decide to have the work completed by a different business, you will probably have to pay for the costs yourself and receive reimbursement from your insurer afterward.

Reimbursement for damaged items

For damaged or destroyed personal belongings, the amount you receive will depend on whether your policy provides actual cash value or replacement cost.

For insurance that covers actual cash value, you will receive reimbursement for the depreciated amount that your item is valued at today. However, if your policy covers the replacement cost, you will receive compensation equal to the value of that item if you were to buy it brand new today.

How to Submit a Claim with APOLLO

As one of Canada’s leading InsurTechs, APOLLO's mission is to make insurance effortless. We believe in an insurance process in which computers do the work, so that people can build relationships.

Our advisors are with you throughout your insurance journey, including making a claim.

Making a claim with APOLLO:

Step 1: Event Documentation

Create your report with as many details about the loss as you can. This should include who was injured (if applicable), what was damaged (if applicable), where, when (the time it occurred), and the cause.

Step 2: APOLLO Support

Log in to the policy portal and select the option to make a claim. You'll be guided to provide the necessary claim details to begin the process.

Step 3: Claims Submission

APOLLO will submit this information over to our insurance claims adjusters to open the notice, and we will remain actively involved to advocate for you and your claim.

APOLLO offers effortless tenant insurance designed to protect renters across Canada. Get your free quote in less than a minute and we’ll send your policy documents right to your inbox.

Get a quote in less than a minute

Get no-nonsense coverage that's the best value for your money. Purchase policies from your computer or phone, receive your documents instantly, and save when you buy online.

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