You purchased renters insurance to protect yourself from life's what-ifs. So, if you wake up with a rash of small bites, you may be wondering if your renters insurance covers bedbugs.
Unfortunately, there is some bad news. In most cases, renters insurance will not cover bedbugs. You'll be on the hook for the cost of extermination or other treatment of your choice if you can't prove your landlord is to blame.
To summarize, renters insurance bedbug coverage is virtually non-existent. Let us investigate why.
No.
But, if your renters policy is supposed to protect you from unexpected disasters, why doesn't it cover bedbugs?
Your renters insurance protects you from a variety of unexpected and unavoidable disasters. In two ways, bedbugs disqualify you from coverage. For starters, insurers do not regard them as a sudden threat. Second, they are widely regarded as avoidable. In fact, most insurers will argue that dealing with and preventing bedbugs is a maintenance issue.
Aside from that, most renters policies, both cheap and expensive, expressly exclude bedbug coverage. Bedbugs are typically listed as an exclusion in all-risk policies. (This is also true for most home insurance policies.)
Some companies provide renters insurance bedbug endorsements, which means you can add bedbug coverage to your policy. However, these endorsements are becoming increasingly difficult to come by. In addition, insurance policies specifically designed for bedbugs are typically reserved for landlords and business owners (e.g., hotel owners). You'll probably have a difficult time finding renters insurance that covers bedbugs.
Is bedbugs covered by renters insurance? No. But does that mean you'll have to pay out of pocket to deal with them? No, not always. In some cases, your landlord is responsible for the infestation.
Legal rights as a tenant
Landlords are required in most states to provide their tenants with a safe, habitable living space. If you can show that the bedbugs were caused by your landlord and not by you, you'll have a good case.
In two situations, it is easiest to rely on your legal rights as a tenant to have your landlord handle the infestation:
Bedbug laws
Landlords in some states are legally required to get rid of bedbugs on their property. In Arizona, California, and other states, for example, a landlord cannot rent a bedbug-infested unit knowingly. Landlords in Florida are explicitly required to exterminate bedbugs whenever they appear on their property.
Finally, bedbug laws differ from state to state. But that doesn't mean you have to sift through your state's statutes and codes to figure out if your landlord is liable. As of September 2019, the EPA has a handy, alphabetically organized spreadsheet summarizing all bedbug laws in each state.
You want to avoid this infestation because you know you don't have renters insurance bedbugs coverage. Keeping bedbugs at bay is as simple as inspecting items before bringing them into your home.
After travel
If you visit a place where you suspect there are bedbugs, wash any clothes you're wearing and take a shower right away. Then, leave your suitcases outside until you can wash everything in them (on hot) and thoroughly vacuum them. Take extra care when hitting any seams.
After buying second-hand
If you thrift for furniture or clothing, thoroughly inspect everything you bring home before bringing it inside.
Tips at home
You can also do a few things around the house to make it more difficult for bedbugs to thrive:
You have a few options for getting rid of those pesky pests:
Hire an exterminator
Bringing in a pro is your best bet for getting rid of bedbugs. The cost of treating your bedbug infestation will vary depending on the extent of your infestation and the treatment you choose, but you should expect to pay between $500 and $1,500.
Launder what you can — and seal up what you can’t
Launder all of your clothes on a hot cycle in both the washer and dryer. Do the same with your bedding and anything else that can be laundered, such as bedskirts, drapes, towels, rugs, and stuffed animals.
If something cannot be washed, double bag it in a trash bag and plan to store it for a while. Bedbugs can go months without eating.
Vacuum, then empty your vacuum carefully
Vacuum your mattresses and furniture's crevices. Vacuum all of your floors, paying special attention to the areas around your bed's legs.
Take the vacuum outside as soon as you finish vacuuming. Fill a trash bag halfway with the contents and seal it. Put that bag in the trash outside — don't bring it inside or you'll undo all of your hard work.