What is the best home insurance for renters in Sweden? Can you have insurance if you are living as a subtenant? What are your insurance possibilities when you are renting as a sublet? Can you have home insurance for only a short term contract and most importantly, is it worth it? Let’s look into it all.
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Having home insurance is not unusual in Sweden. On the contrary, home insurance is the most common insurance in Sweden. When owning a flat it comes as second nature to Swedes. But what do you do when you are renting as a sublet? Are you entitled to have home insurance for only a short term renting contract and most importantly, is it worth it?
Renting as a sublet without home insurance can bring you additional expenses. Whether it’s a stove that stops working unexpectedly or a broken sofa in your rented room, home insurance has your back whenever something unforeseen happens.
Can you have home insurance if you are living as a subtenant in Sweden?
The short answer is yes. The longer answer is: Yes, and here are a few key points:
As a subtenant, you can buy your own renter’s insurance policy to cover your personal belongings. Look for policies designed for subletters (andrahand).
Home contents insurance (egendomsförsäkring): If your landlord has home insurance for the property, you can ask to be added as an insured person on their policy. This would cover your belongings if something happens to the home while you are living in it.
Liability insurance (ansvarsförsäkring): It’s recommended to have liability insurance as a subtenant in case you are responsible for any damages to the property or injury to others. This is sometimes included in renter’s insurance policies.
Can I have home insurance just for a short term contract?
Once again the short answer is yes. However it varies between insurance companies. Some offer good deals for short term contracts and other companies do not offer them at all. So shop around and don’t give up if you don’t find something straight away.
An insurance companies for renters
The insurance company Hedvig* is one of those that realized that the living situation for many Swedes and Newbies isn’t entirely compatible with traditional home insurance, so they figured they could do something about it and put together a home insurance especially for you who is renting as a sublet.
Their home insurance covers among others:
- Theft and damage
- water leaks and fires
- liability protection
- legal protection
Additional to this, they offer you the insurance of your white-goods such as your fridge, freezer, or washing machine and will even compensate you for your spoiled food!
The best part for those of us living in short term contracts though is that there is no curing period which is simply put quite fantastically practical if you are living in Sweden on a more temporary basis or just haven’t been able to find that elusive long term contract (or buy a place) just yet.
Compare, compare, compare
Hedvig has won first spot in 2023 for best home insurance BUT that doesn’t automatically mean that it is the best insurance for YOU. So make sure you compare before signing up.
There are at least two more companies that have home insurance specifically for renters. Check out for instance:
- ICA Försäkringar* and
- Gofido*.
Make sure you have the best contract
A hot tip if you already have an insurance contract, is to sign up to Påmind*. This is a free service that keeps track of a lot of different types of contracts and negotiates better prices. Types of contracts they handle are mobile subscriptions, electricity contracts, mortgages, car insurance, broadband, home insurance, private loans. According to Påmind, their users save an average of 2000 sek per year. So definitely worth a try.
