RENTERS INSURANCE HELPS A RESIDENTIAL TENANT WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY BURNS HIS APARTMENT BUT NOT WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY FLOODS HIS APARTMENT. FULL COVERAGE SHOULD BE MANDATED BY STATUTE.

Most Minnesota residential renters insurance policies protect the tenant when he damages his apartment by accidentally starting a fire but not when he damages his apartment by another type of carelessness, such as the fairly common mistake of letting pipes freeze and burst. As discussed in this essay, legislation mandating that renters insurance policies insure (indemnify) tenants who accidentally damage their rented homes by any non-intentional means, not just by fire, needs to be enacted.

The essay incorporates a survey of renters insurance policies filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The actual policies are copied and are available via this collection of links: (in Word and in PDF). They are summarized on this spreadsheet.