Does homeowners insurance cover theft from a garage or outside the home?

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The property stolen outside your home, such as in a garage, is covered by your homeowners insurance policy — you can even be reimbursed for luggage stolen from a hotel room. For any theft claim, you will need to file a police report and pay your deductible. Keep in mind that for items stolen outside of your home, home insurance will limit how much it will pay for stolen belongings.

You can speed up the claims process by providing the insurance company receipts and pictures of the items stolen, which will speed up your claim payment.

How much does homeowners insurance cover for theft?

Most homeowners insurance policies will cover up to the full amount for any personal property stolen on the premises, such as furniture or kitchen appliances. There is a cap for more expensive objects, like money or electronics. These caps are called sublimits.

Similarly, these expensive objects have sublimits when stolen off-premises.

For all other items stolen outside of your home, your coverage will likely be limited to 10% of your coverage limit, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III). That means if you have $100,000 in homeowners insurance coverage, the maximum amount you could receive for theft outside of your home is $10,000.

When won’t homeowners insurance cover theft outside the home?

Homeowners insurance won’t cover theft outside of your home if your policy does not include off-premises coverage. While most policies include this, you’ll want to check your policy details or check with your insurer before you commit to a policy.

However, even when a policy includes off-premises coverage, it won’t cover theft from trailers or watercrafts and structures that are rented out or under construction.

Additional coverage to get to cover theft outside your home

If you want even more coverage for theft outside of your home than a standard homeowners insurance policy offers, you can add on a scheduled personal property endorsement to your coverage. A scheduled personal property endorsement has higher limits on how much a policy will pay out for theft. Using this endorsement, you may even be covered for a stolen item’s full value.

If a theft occurs outside of your home, you can rest assured that you’ll be able to recoup some of the lost money with homeowners insurance. Before signing up for a homeowners insurance policy, make sure it includes off-premises coverage so that you are financially protected.

Frequently asked questions

Is a garage covered under a homeowners insurance policy?

Yes. Theft in an off-premises structure, like a garage, is covered in a homeowners insurance policy. However, you will only receive 10% of your homeowners insurance coverage limit.

Does renters insurance cover theft from a garage?

Yes. Like homeowners insurance, renters insurance covers theft that occurs off-premises, like in a garage.

Nupur Gambhir

Managing Editor

Nupur Gambhir is a content editor and licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert. She has extensive experience bringing brands to life and has built award-nominated campaigns for travel and tech. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service.