Renters insurance is a form of property insurance that covers losses to personal property and protects the insured from liability claims.
This includes injuries occurring in your rental that aren’t due to a structural problem. Injuries due to structural problems are your landlord’s responsibility. Renters’ insurance protects anything from a studio apartment to an entire house or mobile home.
Even if you’re just starting out or living in a place for a year, getting a renters insurance policy—probably the least expensive and easiest-to-obtain insurance you’ll ever own—could be a smart investment. You may not think you’ve got anything of great value, but you probably do—more than you could comfortably afford to replace in the event of a bad burglary or fire.
You may be surprised to learn that it’s possible to save up to $850 per year by bundling your insurance with your car. And even if you don’t own a car, you can save even more on renters insurance by avoiding the high cost of rental insurance.
In order to determine how much State Farm renters insurance costs, we analyzed prices from insurance companies in all 50 states. We took into consideration how much personal property and liability coverage we’d need for our renter’s insurance policy and a $500 deductible. The results were pretty similar, although the costs of other insurance policies are a little higher. Fortunately, State Farm also has some special deals for homeowners and renters that are sure to save you money.
Although State Farm renters insurance is the cheapest option in most states, it’s important to shop around every six months, or whenever you experience a significant life change. Fortunately, it’s easy to obtain a State Farm renters insurance quote online or over the phone. All you need to do is enter your ZIP code to get an accurate quote. If you’re unsure whether State Farm renters insurance is right for you, read customer reviews to find out which companies are the best.
How to Get arm Renters Insurance
Assess your insurance needs
When you apply for renters insurance, it’s a good idea to photograph or digitally video everything you own. For expensive items, make sure to write down any serial numbers that could help verify your claim.
You can even take it a step further and enter the items into a spreadsheet along with an estimate of each item’s value. Although these steps take some extra effort, you should do them for two reasons.
- You probably think that the total value of the items you own is less than it actually is, which puts you at risk of underinsuring yourself. When you make yourself sit down and assess the actual value of each item you own individually, you will get a more accurate picture of what your belongings are worth. Perhaps you have around 50 Blu-ray DVDs. That may not seem like much to you, but at $20 a piece, you have a collection worth $1,000 that you won’t want to have to pay to replace in case of fire.
- While your insurance company probably won’t want the inventory or the photographs when you take out the policy, your documentation will be indispensable if you ever need to file a claim because you will be better able to prove the value of your possessions. Make sure to keep copies of your inventory outside of your apartment, such as in a bank safe deposit box, with a trusted friend or relative, or emailed to yourself as an attachment, so that all your supporting documents won’t get destroyed along with your belongings.