Roughly 80% of renters skip insurance, a number big insurers like GEICO keep repeating because it still shocks people in the industry, according to Independent’s review.

The renters insurance coverage is cheap, often under $30 a month, yet most renters walk around with no protection for their belongings, no liability coverage and no safety net if their apartment becomes unlivable.

Experts say that gap becomes painfully obvious during the holidays, when theft spikes and personal-property losses hit harder.

Picture coming home from work to find your laptop gone, the TV ripped off the wall and every Black Friday gift missing. Without renters insurance, the financial hit lands squarely on you.

According to Franklin Manchester at SAS Principal Global Insurance, the coverage does far more than replace stolen gear. It also provides liability protection and the claims expertise you want when you’re in a bind and someone else caused the damage.

Renters insurance fills the hole left by landlord policies, which only protect the building. Your belongings sit outside that protection.

A kitchen fire a few days before Christmas could wipe out everything under the tree. Vandalism, theft, electrical fires, burst pipes – all the stuff that hits tenants hardest – typically falls within a renters policy, up to your limits.

Coverage usually extends beyond your apartment, too. If there’s a fire in your hotel room, your renters policy may help cover your destroyed gear, though the limit for off-premises losses is often lower.

Insurance policies also include liability coverage. If someone slips on a slick kitchen floor and breaks an arm, your insurer can handle legal fees and medical bills up to the policy’s limit.

And if a covered event forces you out of your place, loss-of-use benefits help pay for lodging that sits roughly in line with your normal rent.

The biggest choice renters face is between actual cash value (ACV) and replacement cost. ACV only pays what the item was worth at the time of loss. Lose a three-year-old laptop you bought for $2,500, and you might get $800.

Replacement-cost coverage pays what it costs to buy a new laptop at today’s prices, which is why insurers and consumer advocates often steer renters toward it.

Premiums range from about $13 to $27 a month at Progressive, depending on coverage amounts, deductible, and location. Deductibles usually run from $250 to $2,500.

Higher deductible, lower monthly premium. It’s a simple trade-off. Rates can jump after a claim – sometimes by as much as 30%. A $20 monthly premium might climb to $26, and you may lose any claims-free discounts.

We think most renters underestimate how fast one incident wipes out years of saved premiums.

For people who assume they don’t own enough to insure, or that their landlord’s policy somehow covers them, the math rarely checks out.

Holiday-season thefts, fire losses and liability surprises hit hardest when renters have no policy at all. In a world where a laptop, a phone and a couple of gifts can easily total a few thousand dollars, skipping coverage isn’t frugal – it’s playing the odds with no backup plan.