Yes, renters insurance covers smoke damage.
As long as you didn’t deliberately cause the fire that resulted in smoke damage, renters insurance will cover your personal property, loss of use (e.g. payments for a hotel stay), and liability (e.g. your neighbor’s medical bills if they inhale smoke and have to go to the hospital).
Although smoke damage is usually a covered peril in renters insurance, most insurers will not cover it if the smoke was caused by one of the following incidents:
- Your lit cigarette
- Industrial operations
- Agricultural smudging
- Manufacturing of controlled substances
