When people shop for home insurance, they are actually seeking not just one type of coverage but possibly several different varieties. Homeowners insurance, renters insurance, and condo insurance are all typically included within the category of home insurance. Whether you own the property that you live on or whether you are renting it short term, you need to have insurance coverage to guard against disasters and losses.

A homeowners policy is for people who own their own home. This may be either a house or a condominium: Essentially, if you are making payments on the home with ownership as the end goal you will need homeowners insurance. This type of policy will cover both the outside of the home and all the contents of your home. It will cover the majority of natural disasters (certain disasters like earthquakes may be excluded but you may add extra coverage for that specific purpose) and will allow you to replace or rebuild damaged property. If your home is broken into by a thief and items are stolen your insurance will help replace stolen items and pay for any damage in terms of vandalism that the thief did.

With a renter's policy, the coverage includes the inner contents of the home, apartment, or room that you are renting. This is coverage for the break-ins, the natural disasters, fires, and other circumstances that are beyond your control. Even though your landlord will have a homeowners policy on the place you are living, it does not cover your own personal items as a renter, which is why renters insurance is essential.