These three terms are often grouped together, but they serve very different roles. Understanding the difference helps you make more confident decisions.
The short version
Damage Protection Plan → covers accidental tenant-caused damage
Landlord insurance → covers structural and long-term risks
Renters insurance → covers the tenant’s belongings
They work together. They don’t replace one another.
Landlord insurance
This is your foundation.
Often called dwelling insurance or a landlord policy, it helps protect your property from larger, less frequent risks—like fire, storm damage, flooding, or major liability claims. If something significant happens to the structure of your property, landlord insurance is what steps in.
What it typically doesn’t focus on is everyday tenant damage.
A spilled glass of wine on the carpet. A hole in the wall. A broken appliance. These situations are common in furnished rentals, but many landlord insurance policies either don’t cover them or include deductibles and processes that make smaller claims harder to pursue.
Landlord insurance is designed for major, structural events—not the day-to-day wear that can come with hosting tenants.
The Damage Protection Plan
This is where many landlords see the gap filled.
It’s designed to help with:
Accidental tenant damage
Furniture, walls, floors, and more
Pet damage and bed bug remediation
Situations that fall outside typical landlord policies
Claims are handled by licensed professionals at Sedgwick. And the process is built to be used - the guidance is always file, every claim reviewed on its own merits.
The Damage Protection Plan complements landlord insurance, it doesn’t replace it.
Renters insurance
This protects your tenant. Not your property.
Renters insurance protects your tenant's personal belongings - their laptop, their clothes, their furniture if they brought any. Requiring your tenant to have renters insurance is a reasonable practice. It protects them and it can reduce liability disputes.
How they work together
Most landlords use:
Landlord insurance for major risks
Damage Protection Plan for tenant-caused damage
Renters insurance as a tenant requirement
Each plays a role in a more complete approach.
Scenario | Damage Protection Plan | Landlord Insurance | Renters Insurance |
Tenant breaks furniture | ✓ | Sometimes | ✗ |
Tenant stains the carpet | ✓ | Rarely | ✗ |
Hole in drywall from tenant | ✓ | Rarely | ✗ |
Pet scratches floors | ✓ | Rarely | ✗ |
Bed bug remediation | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Fire or flood damage | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
Structural/roof damage | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
Tenant's personal belongings | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
Liability if tenant injured | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
The takeaway
If you own rental property, having landlord insurance is an important foundation. It helps cover larger structural and long-term risks.
The Damage Protection Plan complements that coverage by helping with the everyday accidental damage that can happen during a tenant’s stay. The two work best together, each covering a different part of the picture.
Requiring renters insurance from your tenant is also a thoughtful step—but it protects their belongings, not your property.
If you’ve been relying mainly on a security deposit for protection, the Damage Protection Plan offers a more consistent way to handle the unexpected—so you’re not left navigating it on your own.