Best Renters Insurance
If you rent your home, you are likely to be concerned about rent increases and inflation. Don't overlook renters insurance, which is inexpensive financial support. It can save you from paying out of pocket if your property is destroyed or stolen. This includes situations like a fire or hurricane.
Among the popular renters insurance companies we analyzed, the average cost of renters insurance was just $165 per year versus $20,000 for property coverage.
Here are the best renters insurance companies based on price, coverage options and discounts.
What is renters insurance?
Renters insurance is a type of insurance specifically designed to meet the needs of renters.
Tenants cannot rely on homeowner's insurance, which covers the building, not your property. Without renters insurance, you'll have to pay to replace your entire property if a fire, hurricane, or other disaster strikes the building.
Renters insurance covers not only your personal belongings, but also liability coverage and insurance for additional living expenses. Additionally, guest medical payments coverage can pay for minor injuries to guests (up to $1,000) regardless of who is responsible for the injury. While renters often focus on their property insurance, these other types of coverage can be valuable.
How to find the best renters insurance for you
- Getting renters insurance can be broken down into a simple process:
- Understand what renters insurance covers (and doesn't).
- Determine how much renters insurance you need.
- Compare renters insurance rates.
- Submit an application to the company of your choice.
What does renters insurance cover?
Here are the main types of coverage in a standard renters insurance policy.
Personal Property Coverage
This type of coverage covers your personal belongings—furniture, jewelry, rugs, clothing, dishes, pots and pans, electronics, and other times. It covers damage from issues such as theft, fire, smoke, vandalism, falling objects, explosions and the weight of snow and ice.
You will set the personal property policy limit, which is the maximum amount your insurance company will pay if your personal property is damaged or stolen. For example, you can choose $30,000 worth of coverage.
You will usually have to choose between replacement cost coverage and actual cash value (ACV). Replacement cost coverage is more expensive but provides better coverage because it doesn't take depreciation into account. For example, if you bought a laptop for $2,000 three years ago and it was stolen, the replacement cost would pay to replace the laptop at current retail prices (minus the deductible). ACV will only pay the depreciated value of the laptop.
Some items have "special limits" or sub-limits for certain types of losses. For example, a policy may limit coverage for stolen jewelry to $1,000. That wouldn't be enough for a $5,000 ring, for example.
If you need more coverage for high-value items, you can "schedule" these items to get what they're worth if they're stolen.
liability insurance
Many people think of renters insurance only in terms of covering possessions such as furniture. But renters insurance also gives you important liability protection. Liability insurance kicks in when a lawsuit is filed for injuries or property damage to another person. This coverage also pays for your legal defense.
So if someone falls in your apartment—or your dog bites someone—and you're sued, you can use renters liability coverage.
The typical amount of liability coverage under a renters insurance policy is $100,000, but for the best renters insurance, you can increase this amount.
Medical payments to others
Medical payment coverage is usually included in the renters insurance policy and pays for minor medical bills regardless of who was at fault. For example, if a guest sneaks into your house and suffers a minor injury, they can pay that amount regardless of what's wrong. Coverage amounts are small and usually start at $1,000.
Additional living expenses
If you are unable to live in your apartment due to a problem covered by the policy, additional living expenses can pay for hotel bills, restaurant meals and other additional expenses, such as pet hosting fees. Remember to keep all your claim receipts.
This coverage is also called "loss of use."