
4.6/5
Affordability
4.8/5
User Satisfaction
5/5
Financial Stability
Finding the best renters insurance is an affordable way to protect your belongings from damage or theft. To help you do that, MoneyGeek analyzed several factors — including customer service scores, financial stability metrics, discounts and premiums — across all 50 states and hundreds of cities to determine which renters insurance companies are best for consumers.
These overall rankings provide a good starting point for finding high-quality renters insurance. Additionally, MoneyGeek researched the best companies for specific types of renters, whether you’re looking for a cheap quote or the best customer service.
Ensure you're getting the best rate for your renters insurance. Compare quotes from the top insurance companies.
The best renters insurance policies are from affordable providers offering high levels of customer service. Based on MoneyGeek’s analysis, State Farm tops the list of best renters insurance companies, followed closely by Allstate.
Keep in mind MoneyGeek’s methodology focuses on widely available insurers, so you may be able to find better rates from local or regional insurance companies. Also, USAA — which is only available to current and former military members and their families — has strong scores in all categories.
It’s always important to shop around and compare personalized renters insurance quotes from at least three insurance companies.
State Farm earned high marks from J.D. Power for customer service, financial strength and affordability, making it the best choice in the bunch. State Farm is particularly well-suited to those who work from home, as it is easy to increase coverage limits for business-related personal property.
Read MoneyGeek's State Farm renters Insurance ReviewAllstate is a very close second to State Farm when looking at rankings from J.D. Power and AM Best for customer service and financial strength. In fact, when looking solely at pricing, it takes first place for the best cheap renters insurance. Allstate also provides policyholders with online tools to keep track of their personal property and make an informed decision when buying a policy.
Read MoneyGeek's Allstate renters Insurance ReviewIf you’re looking for a stable company that can deliver, Travelers receives perfect scores from AM Best. However, it ranks last in this group for customer service, and it’s not the most affordable insurer either.
Read MoneyGeek's Travelers renters Insurance ReviewFarmers takes the top spot for customer satisfaction but drops slightly regarding affordability. Those looking for unique features won’t find a Farmers policy very appealing, as it only offers the core renters insurance coverages most insurers provide. Of the group featured here, Farmers ranks last for financial strength from AM Best.
Read MoneyGeek's Farmers renters Insurance ReviewMetLife is firmly in the middle of the pack, with good, but not great, scores for customer service, financial strength and affordability. MetLife doesn’t offer online renters insurance quotes, so be prepared to call an agent if you want to compare prices.
While Nationwide earns good scores for customer service and financial strength, it ranks last for affordability, meaning you could pay higher rates. However, if you’re eligible for some of the company’s many discounts, you could get an affordable premium with Nationwide.
Read MoneyGeek's Nationwide renters Insurance ReviewLocation is one of the key factors the best renters insurance companies use to determine your rates. Therefore, it’s important to determine which companies are the best and cheapest in your particular state or city. MoneyGeek created a scoring system for the best company in each state based on cost, customer service and financial stability.
Based on this system, State Farm ranks as the best renters insurance company in most of the country (22 states). Allstate is the runner-up as the best option in 11 states. But eight other insurance companies rank as the best renters insurance option in at least one state. This analysis excludes USAA, but if you're eligible for a policy, it ranks as the best company for renters insurance in 27 states.
Find your state below and follow the link to learn more about the best and cheapest renters insurance companies where you live.
State | Company |
---|---|
USAA | |
Allstate | |
USAA | |
USAA | |
State Farm | |
Allstate | |
Lemonade | |
State Farm | |
Travelers | |
USAA | |
State Farm | |
Nationwide | |
Lemonade | |
USAA | |
State Farm | |
State Farm | |
USAA | |
State Farm | |
USAA | |
Lemonade | |
State Farm | |
USAA | |
State Farm | |
USAA | |
USAA | |
Allstate | |
USAA | |
USAA | |
USAA | |
Lemonade | |
State Farm | |
Lemonade | |
State Farm | |
MetLife | |
USAA | |
USAA | |
State Farm | |
USAA | |
Amica Mutual | |
State Farm | |
Allstate | |
State Farm | |
USAA | |
Allstate | |
Vermont Mutual Insurance | |
Allstate | |
Allstate | |
Washington D.C. | USAA |
Allstate | |
Allstate | |
USAA |
When shopping for renters insurance, finding the best company for you may depend on the exact coverage you need or your eligibility for discounts. While the top two best renters insurance companies listed here are excellent choices for any renter, MoneyGeek also ranked companies based on the type of renter they suit best. All costs are for a basic policy with $20,000 coverage for personal property, $100,000 in liability coverage and a $500 deductible.
Best for Most People: State Farm
Runner-up (and cheapest): Allstate
Best for Customer Satisfaction: Farmers
Best for Quick Coverage: Lemonade
Best for Shopping on the Phone: American Family
Best for Discounts: Nationwide
Best for Military Families: USAA
The best renters insurance company provides great service at a good price. But it should also be a company most renters can buy from. State Farm's combination of affordability, customer experience and availability across the country makes it our top pick.
State Farm received top marks from MoneyGeek for its balance of affordability, customer service and financial stability.
Allstate offers the cheapest renters insurance in the country on average. But it doesn't sacrifice service quality to get you a low rate.
Allstate is known for its handy online features, such as the “What’s Your Stuff Worth?” function to value your belongings and the Digital Locker app that lets you create a photo log of your possessions. Allstate was the cheapest widely available insurer in MoneyGeek’s analysis.
Farmers offers relatively affordable renters insurance and it has some of the highest customer service ratings in the industry.
Farmers ranks as MoneyGeek’s top widely available company for customer service experience. It’s also quick and easy to get an online quote, making buying renters insurance with Farmers a smooth process.
Lemonade is rapidly expanding its availability across the country. No other insurer makes it easier to quickly secure a renters insurance policy.
Available online only in 27 states and the District of Columbia, Lemonade is known for paying claims quickly. It’s also easy to get a quote. Unfortunately, Lemonade has a poor service reputation compared to some of the other companies in our study.
American Family, also called AmFam, is a regional insurance company that's not available anywhere. But if you're looking to shop on the phone and talk to a customer service representative, they offer the best experience.
American Family offers competitive rates and decent customer service for renters insurance, but you’ll have to get quotes the old-fashioned way. You can't get a quote on their website, so you'll have to talk to an American Family representative to get basic information about premiums and conditions.
An initial renters insurance quote with Nationwide may be expensive, but you should see how cheap of a quote you can get when you apply all its discounts.
Nationwide makes a selling point of its discounts, which include up to 20% off if you bundle car insurance with renters insurance, up to 15% off if your home has qualifying smoke, fire and burglar alarms and up to 20% off if your policy has no claims for a period of time. However, Nationwide is one of the most expensive companies before discounts, so if you don’t qualify for savings, you’ll be paying extra.
If it weren't restricted to military service members and their families, USAA would rate as the best renters insurance in the country.
Renters insurance from USAA is much more comprehensive than what most other insurance companies offer, and it’s the cheapest insurer, excluding Lemonade. But is only available to active military members, veterans and their families.
When shopping for renters insurance, knowing the best renters insurance companies is a great first step. However, it’s also important to understand what renters insurance covers, what it doesn't doesn’t cover, what a policy’s deductible is and the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value.
What Renters Insurance Doesn’t Cover: Most renters insurance policies do not cover damage due to floods or earthquakes. They also won’t cover your roommate’s belongings or property damage due to pests or rodents.
Deductibles: This is the amount you pay when you file a claim. When comparing policies, check to see if the deductible is the same for each policy.
Replacement Cost Value vs. Actual Cash Value: With replacement cost, your insurance coverage will pay the full amount to replace your personal property with a new item of similar style and quality. With actual cash value, your coverage only pays the depreciated value of your used personal property.
If you still have questions about the best renters insurance, the following answers to some frequently asked questions should help you better understand renters insurance.
MoneyGeek spoke with industry leaders to provide expert insight on shopping for the best renters insurance. They shared these tips to help you find the right policy for your needs.
MoneyGeek, in partnership with data from Quadrant Corp, JD Power and AM Best, analyzed a dozen of the most reputable renters insurance companies to determine which companies were best. The ranking score calculation used 20% weighting for financial stability, 30% for customer service and 50% for affordability for each company.
About Karon Warren