Does my renters insurance pay for this, or does my landlord's insurance?

TDI says your landlord's insurance won't cover your personal items [1].

TDI says renters insurance typically includes three types of coverage [1]: • Personal property: your belongings, even items stolen out of your car or while you're traveling. • Additional living expenses: the extra cost of food, rental and other things if you have to move out for a short time because of damage from a covered loss. • Personal liability: protection if someone is injured in your home, including legal costs if you are liable and taken to court.

TDI says most renters policies cover losses due to fire, smoke, theft or vandalism, and certain kinds of water damage. They don't cover losses due to floods [1].

The policy pays up to a dollar limit. TDI says some policies limit payments for certain kinds of property; common limits are $100 for cash, $2,500 for items used for business, and $500 for jewelry and watches. A basic policy may pay today's value of an item rather than what you paid; TDI's example is a $1,300 laptop that now sells for $500, for which a basic policy would pay $500 [1].

If you're a dependent, TDI says your parents' homeowners policy may cover your things even if you don't live at home, usually limited to 10% of that policy's personal property coverage [1].