Everything you need to know about personal property protection

Personal property, like your major appliances, furniture, and exercise equipment, is highly susceptible to damages. Think about it: your patio furniture has constant exposure to all the outdoor elements, your major appliances are your daily home chore heroes, and your indoor furniture has probably seen better days.

But these items in your home come with a hefty price tag. Brand new refrigerators can cost well over $800 (or more!). That’s not fun for your budget — especially if you’re not prepared for it. But you can avoid the cost of replacement or repairs with a personal property protection plan, all for just a couple of dollars a month.

If you’ve never heard of personal property protection, we’re here to break down what exactly can be covered, the types of damage covered, and some reasons why this coverage option might be a good idea for you. Read on to get all the info!

What does personal property protection cover?

Personal property protection covers your most-loved and well-used items all around your home, including:

• Major appliances like your oven, fridge, dishwasher, washer, and dryer.

• Furniture like your sofas, TV stands, patio furniture, dressers, and more.

• Exercise equipment like your treadmill, Peloton, and more.

• All the not-so-fun (but very important) parts of your home like your air conditioning and heating with ductwork, doorbell, smoke detector, ceiling fan, water heater, garbage disposal, and instant hot and cold water dispenser.

For all the tech that’s in your home, you can also cover all your electronics, including your smartphone, television, computer, smartwatch, tablet, video game system, camera, drone, and more with an electronics protection plan.

Personal property protection is not required when you purchase any of these items. Rather, it’s supplemental coverage. This means even if you have a warranty on your new flat screen, some things might not be covered (more on that here), but that’s where a protection plan would kick in. The same applies to your homeowners or renters insurance policies — there are some coverage areas in which these plans fall short. To make sure you have the maximum coverage for your most used (and most expensive) items, it’s worth looking into personal property protection.

What types of damage does personal property protection cover?

Personal property protection can help cover the gaps in your homeowners or renters insurance policies or warranty if an accident were to strike. (They always do at the most inconvenient of times...)

Specifically, personal property protection can cover these types of damages (and more, depending on the plan you choose):

• Accidental damage (rips)
• Mechanical failure
• Manufacturer defect
• Water damage (spills and submersion)
• Power surge by lightning

So if you’ve been rockin’ the work from home (or couch) life but lose grip on your freshly brewed coffee one morning, personal property protection is there to step in. You’ll simply file a claim for the damages from your spill, and your (previously) white couch will be assessed for repairs or replacement. All in around 1-2 business days. You’ll be back to the grind in no time!

What is not covered by personal property protection?

While you can cover just about anything in your home, personal property protection plans do not cover items like clothes, jewelry, shoes, and accessories like handbags. Luckily, your homeowners or renters insurance policies might be able to cover the estimated cost of these items in the event of theft, vandalism, or fire, for example. (Check your plan to be sure, though.)

In terms of coverage, personal property protection plans typically do not extend to instances of intentional or willful damage or misuse, products that have been modified, and products that have been lost or stolen. Exclusions vary by policy, so take the time to shop around and find a personal property protection policy that best fits you and the items you’re covering.

The differences between personal property protection and a warranty

A warranty is a type of guarantee that a manufacturer or warranty company makes regarding the condition of its product that you purchased. Your warranty coverage is essentially a “promise” the manufacturer makes to repair or replace the items (if necessary) for a specific period of time that covers flaws and defects (or anything that occurs from the manufacturer’s design). A well-known example is a car warranty. A car warranty usually covers repairs on a vehicle for a specific period of time or up to a certain mileage point. Warranties generally come with your purchase or offered at the time of purchase for an additional fee. But again, warranties are only for a limited time and have coverage limitations.

Personal property protection covers your items for as long as you’d like, not a specific period of time. This type of plan would kick in for instances of accidental damage and normal wear. (You know, life stuff.) Spills, scratches, breaks, drops, and many other “oops” moments. If you’d like personal property protection, you’d add this post-purchase to further protect your belongings.

How to determine what personal property coverage you need

If you think personal property coverage might be a good fit, take a look at your budget and savings. Ask yourself — if your couch, fridge, dishwasher, or other high-price item were to break today, do you have the cash to repair or replace it?

If the answer is no (63% of Americans don’t have enough savings to cover a $500 emergency, so you’re not alone!), then a personal property protection plan could be a good option. Check out some of these price estimates that are much, much more budget-friendly:

• Major appliances at $6.99 per month

• Furniture at $3.99 per month

• Televisions at $6.99 per month

• Computers at $5.99 per month

• Smartphones at $6.99 per month

• Video game systems at $4.99 per month

• Exercise equipment at $9.99 per month

• Patio furniture at $4.99 per month

• Drones at $8.99 per month

• Nice cameras and specialty lenses at $6.99 each

Not too bad, right? Plus, you can even bundle your items for more savings — in some cases, up to 30%!* Here are some of our most popular bundles:

• Laundry: Cover your washer and dryer for $12.98 per month

• Major appliances: Cover 5 appliances for $27.95 per month

• Whole home: Cover 21 items for $79.99 per month

But you can always create your own to fit your needs and budget, too. Who doesn’t love a little personalization?

How personal property protection claims work

This personal property protection plan (available in partnership with Cover Your Assets (CYA) on Kasasa Care) makes it so easy to sign up for coverage and, in the event of an accident, file a claim.

1. File a claim easily through the CYA app, online via your CYA account, or by calling a CYA agent at 800-202-7707.

2. CYA will review your claim — most are approved in 1-2 business days!

3. If you need a repair, CYA only lets authorized technicians service customers’ assets. CYA coverage provides you access to tens of thousands of repair centers in their network that can fix your asset swiftly and professionally.

4. There are times when not even CYA can fix your asset. Based on your asset and claim filed, CYA will either offer cash for its value or replace it with a unit of like kind and quality.

Yep, it’s that simple — almost like the accident never happened!

For those with a tight budget or that want to extend the life of your expensive items, take a look at personal property protection plans. If you’d like to learn more (we see you, researcher-types!), check out these FAQs.

It’s a great add-on to any existing warranty or insurance policy you might have — because you never know what could happen.

*Savings vary by the product(s) you’re covering and the amount of coverage you require.