Cheapest Renters Insurance Companies of 2021

Renters insurance may seem like an unnecessary expense, especially if you’re on a budget. When you’re renting a home, it can be easy to think of property insurance as purely an issue for your landlord, but landlord insurance (or your landlord’s homeowners insurance) only covers damage to the house or apartment itself. Renters insurance, on the other hand, covers your personal belongings separate from the structure you live in.

Having renters insurance can be a great benefit even if you don’t have many particularly high-value items. Damage from accidents or severe weather can really add up. Even if you don’t live in an area with a high risk of storms or floods, incidents like break-ins or house fires are always an unfortunate possibility.

In this guide, we’ll give you a breakdown of the most inexpensive renters insurance companies that made our ratings of the Best Renters Insurance Companies. Remember that prices and coverage for specific items or situations are subject to change and can vary depending on location, so always check with the insurance company directly to get an accurate quote and a full understanding of your options.

The five Cheapest Renters Insurance Companies of 2021 are:

Travelers: Travelers has an affordable monthly renters insurance sample monthly cost of $11.08, but its overall score of 3.7 out of 5 puts it at the bottom of our renters insurance rating. Travelers offers a user-friendly website and application for renters insurance, though the company’s standard renters policy excludes natural disasters that most competitors cover.

Erie Insurance: Erie has a sample monthly cost of $11.33 and comes in third in our overall rating with a score of 4 out of a possible 5 stars. The company has excellent financial strength, and bundling renters insurance with auto insurance earns a considerable discount. However, it only sells policies in a handful of states, and its online resources are limited.

State Farm: State Farm has a sample monthly cost of $13.75 and scores 4 out of 5 to take the fourth spot in our overall rating. More people have car insurance and homeowners insurance with State Farm than with any other company in the U.S. Plus, customers can take advantage of a large agent network and highly rated customer service.

Lemonade: Lemonade is the fourth cheapest renters insurance company in our rating of 2021 with a sample monthly cost of $15.42. Lemonade has a score of 4.3 out of 5 in our overall rating and is our top-rated renters insurance company. Lemonade makes it easy to sign up and get a renters insurance quote, and it's versatile, with a wide range of customization options. However, coverage is only available in about half the country.

Nationwide: Nationwide’s sample monthly cost is $16.08, and it scores 3.9 out of 5 to earn the seventh spot in our overall rating. Nationwide offers plenty of discounts and includes stolen credit card coverage as part of a standard policy, though the company’s renters insurance customers report lower satisfaction than customers with other types of policies.

Our 2021 Cheapest Renters Insurance ratings are based on data and research conducted between January 29, 2020, and February 7, 2020.

How Much is Renters Insurance?

Among the companies we rated, the sample monthly costs for renters insurance ranged from $11.08 to $27.74, with Travelers as the cheapest and American Family being the most expensive options. However, these prices are only examples. Many factors go into monthly insurance costs, and your renters insurance quotes will likely not match these exactly. When searching for a renters insurance policy for your household, here are some elements to keep in mind.

The amount of coverage in your policy is one of the main influences on the price of an insurance policy. Renters insurance policies typically include coverage for personal property, liability, and loss of use expenses. A standard policy will give you a limit on the amount the company will pay for a given coverage – $10,000 in personal property coverage, for example. You can then choose to add extra coverage if you have areas of concern, which will affect the overall price of your policy. Some insurers have individual packages for specific types of personal property that you may want extra coverage for, like jewelry, fine art, or musical instruments, which may not be covered under standard personal property coverage. You can also add coverage for specific damaging events, such as earthquakes or floods. You should be able to add and remove these additional coverage options in the process of getting a quote.

Another aspect to consider is the deductible. This is the amount you must pay out of pocket when you file a claim before your insurance company will cover your loss. For example, if you file a claim for $10,000 in property damage due to a fire, and your deductible is $1,000, the insurance company will pay $9,000 after you pay that deductible. Generally speaking, deductibles go down as premiums (the amount you pay monthly) go up. You can usually choose your deductible when you sign up for a renters insurance policy, so think about how you want to strike a balance between deductible and premium payments.

Finally, your location is a factor in your renters insurance costs, as illustrated by a 2018 survey from the Insurance Information Institute that showed data for average renters insurance costs through 2017. In some states, an average renters insurance policy simply costs more than in other states, due to state regulations and other factors. The study shows that in 2017, renters in Mississippi faced the highest average renters insurance premiums at $258 annually, and renters in North Dakota enjoyed the lowest average renters insurance premiums, at an annual average of $123.

How Much Renters Insurance Do I Need?

How much renters insurance you need will depend on a variety of elements. In general, there are three main areas that renters insurance policies cover: personal belongings, personal liability, and additional living expenses. Policies usually start with a certain level of financial coverage, such as $10,000 for personal belongings, and you often have the option to adjust this coverage level to suit your situation. The amount of coverage you need depends on the value of your personal belongings. While you may be able to estimate the value of your things or simply accept the coverage that’s automatically included in a policy, experts generally recommend that you create an inventory to help with this step.

The Insurance Information Institute recommends taking these steps to create an inventory of your personal property:

Next, you’ll want to ensure that your policy limit is high enough to cover the total value of all of your belongings. You’ll also have to decide if you want an actual cash value policy or a replacement value policy, according to Geico. An actual cash value policy is a little cheaper, but it considers the value of your possessions as they sit, and you’ll be compensated on that value if you file a claim. An example of how this might not be enough renters insurance is in the case of computer equipment and mobile devices, which depreciate quickly and will likely cost you much more to replace than you’re actually being compensated for. That’s why most renters should consider a replacement value policy, which will compensate you to replace your old items with their new equivalents. According to the Insurance Information Institute, a replacement cost policy will add only about 10 percent to your premiums. You’ll also need to pay slightly more for additional coverage, known as “riders” or “floaters,” to cover those particularly valuable items called out in your inventory.

For more information, see What Does Renters Insurance Cover and How Does Renters Insurance Work?

Best Renters Insurance Companies

Cost is an important factor to consider when choosing a renters insurance policy, however, it isn’t necessarily wise to base your decision solely on price. In our rating of the Best Renters Insurance Companies of 2021, the cheapest options did not rate the highest. You should also consider specific coverage options, customer service quality, and accessibility. For example, if you live with a roommate, you may want a policy that allows you to add them to your renters insurance policy – many policies consider your spouse or other family members to be included in your insurance policy, but adding a roommate is not always an option. You’ll also want to consider how you interact with your insurance provider. Perhaps you want a company with insurance agents who can speak with you and walk you through the process of filing a claim, or maybe you’d prefer a company that makes all of its information available online so you can file claims yourself. Insurance policies can be quite similar from company to company, with overall customer experience being the element that differentiates one from another. Whatever your situation is, you’ll want to consider your priorities to determine the best option for your household. Start by reading our ratings of the Best Renters Insurance Companies of 2021.

#1 Lemonade
#2 USAA
#3 Erie Insurance
#4 State Farm
#5 Allstate
#6 American Family
#7 Nationwide Mutual Insurance
#8 Farmers
#9 Liberty Mutual
#10 Travelers

More Renters Insurance Guides

Renters Insurance Companies

How We Found the Cheapest Renters Insurance Companies

To determine the cheapest renters insurance providers, 360 Reviews built a standard plan that includes property/contents and liability coverage with a $500 deductible. We collected quotes from 4 different locations for this standard plan – Chicago; Cleveland; Glendale, Wisconsin; and Indianapolis – to get a better picture of price variations across different areas. We compared the median of the four price quotes we collected for each company and ranked them from least to most expensive.

All information was accurate as of Feb. 10, 2020.