While it isn’t usually required by landlords, renter’s insurance for college students can be invaluable. Costing an average of just over $12 per month, it protects everything from books and clothing to electronics like stereos.

Renter’s insurance covers loss that arises as a result of theft, fire, and natural disasters, and most policies also protect against bodily injuries that arise as a result of an accident within the home. There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing the best renter’s insurance for college students, including how competitive the price is, limits, excess values, and exactly what is and what is not covered by the insurance.

Below are 10 of the best renter’s insurance for college students, so that you can find the one that best suits your personal circumstances and requirements.

A Glance at Our Winners in 2023

Rating	Image	Product	Details
Best Overall		Lemonade Insurance	Policies, including deductible level, can be customized Very low premium prices in most cases Lemonade donates 40% of unpaid claims to charity	CHECK PRICE
Best Value		Allstate Renter’s Insurance	Cheap policies Discounts available to reduce policy premiums Covers water damage	CHECK PRICE
		Nationwide Renter’s Insurance	Comprehensive policies with high limits Discounts for having smoke alarms and burglar alarms Decent quotes for those with bad credit history	CHECK PRICE
		Toggle Renter’s Insurance	Highly customizable policies The basic policy is cheap Includes earthquake and flood protection	CHECK PRICE
		GradGuard Renter’s Insurance	Designed specifically for students Covers water damage, including from sprinkler systems The $100 deductible is low	CHECK PRICE

The 10 Renters Insurance for College Students

1. Lemonade Insurance – Best Overall

Lemonade Insurance is a relatively new insurance company that conducts most of its application and claims process via an app and online. They offer a highly flexible and customizable policy that not only allows you to choose the level of deductible you get but also customizes elements of the coverage. Policies can cost as little as $5 per month, although the amount you are quoted will depend on location, age, and coverage level. Policies have a minimum of $10,000 a year coverage against loss and include $100,000 personal liability coverage for accidents and injuries sustained in the insured property. Add-ons, such as earthquake coverage, are available.

Claims can be paid in just a few minutes, after submitting an online application and including a video detailing what happened. Lemonade also donates 40% of the money it doesn’t pay out, each year, to charities chosen by policyholders.

Unfortunately, while the policies are very good value, the amount you can use to pay for a hotel or alternative accommodation following loss is capped at a maximum value, whereas most policies allow for a specified time. And Lemonade isn’t yet available in all states so it may not be available in your area.

2. Allstate Renter’s Insurance – Best Value

Where Lemonade isn’t available across the whole country, Allstate Renter’s Insurance is available in all states, and it offers highly competitive rates for policies that can be customized to meet your insurance requirements. Allstate covers theft, fire, intentional damage, and water damage. Not all companies include water damage as standard, so this is a beneficial addition.

One way in which Allstate ranks very highly is in the discounts it has available. Get your auto insurance and renter’s insurance from them and they claim that your renter’s insurance could cost as little as $4 per month, which represents a significant saving. Discounts are also available if you use autopay, pay upfront for a year’s premium, and have no recent renter’s insurance claims.

Despite offering affordable policies, Allstate does only have quite limited options to customize your policy.

3. Nationwide Renter’s Insurance

When applying for renter’s insurance, insurance companies do look at credit history. While they won’t reject an application from somebody with a bad credit history, the best prices are typically offered to those with the best credit. Most college students have minimal income and little to no history of repaying debt, which can lead to a bad credit rating.

Nationwide Renter’s Insurance offers very competitive rates for those with bad credit and could, therefore, provide you with some of the best prices for your renter’s insurance. The policy itself can be customized and offers $50,000 of personal property coverage from a comprehensive policy, which is generous, down to lower coverage of $15,000. Extra coverage can protect brand-new belongings and if you have smoke alarms and burglar alarms you can enjoy discounts against your policy.

The policies are comprehensive, but this does mean that they come in a little more expensive than other companies, especially if you don’t qualify for the few discounts they have available.

4. Toggle Renter’s Insurance

Toggle Renter’s Insurance is based primarily online and where it stands out from the crowd is in its somewhat vast range of add-on extras that can be used to really customize an insurance policy to match your needs. For example, if you have a pet, there is an add-on specifically for you. Similarly, if you are running a side hustle to help pay your way through college, you can get an add-on that will protect the equipment and your earnings.

The basic policy, which is the cheapest, does offer $100,000 liability insurance but only covers $1,000 for your personal belongings, so if you have laptops, cell phones, and expensive textbooks or equipment, you will need to extend that coverage to ensure that you’re fully protected. With Toggle, you set limits for different types of personal belongings, so it can be a little complicated, but it does allow for total customization.

The policy does include earthquake and flood protection, though, and this isn’t always the case with basic renter’s insurance policies. Toggle Renter’s Insurance could be a good choice for you, but it is only available in about half the country.

5. GradGuard Renter’s Insurance

GradGuard is a relatively new insurance company that was established specifically to offer insurance to students. As well as tuition insurance, the company also offers renter’s insurance with some policy details that are geared directly at students. For a start, they don’t base your price on your credit score, which means that everybody gets the same quote. There is also a $100 standard deductible, which is lower than a lot of companies and allows for the fact that most college students would struggle to meet a $500 deductible in the event of an emergency.

Belongings are also covered while away from the home, which is ideal when traveling or when visiting the folks. Policies protect against theft, fire, vandalism, and natural disasters, as well as water damage from sprinkler systems. As GradGuard doesn’t offer other insurance like auto or life insurance, there aren’t any discounts of note, so there aren’t really any ways to reduce your monthly or annual policy premium.

6. Progressive Renter’s Insurance

Progressive Renter’s Insurance offers a comprehensive renter’s insurance policy that covers loss of personal property as well as liability insurance and medical payments. Policies can be arranged and claims processed either online, via an app, or over the phone, and policies cover damage caused by theft and vandalism, natural disasters, fire, and water damage, although not from flood damage.

Up to $150,000 of personal property can be covered, although you can insure as little as $15,000, and liability options range from $100,000 to $500,000. You can also set your own deductible with a choice of $250, $500, $1,000, or $2,500. If you have a Progressive auto insurance policy, you can get up to a 12% discount, and there are other discounts available including one if you get your quote 3 days or more before the policy is due to start.

However, policies can be expensive and even to get a quote you need to provide a lot of information that might not be readily available especially if you haven’t moved into your college digs yet. In most cases, even the lowest limits and deductibles will be more than needed for students.

7. State Farm Renter’s Insurance

State Farm Renter’s Insurance is another policy that tends to be favorable for those with bad or no credit history, so it may be ideal for college students. It offers competitive rates on its policies, with options including $15,000, $30,000, or $50,000 of personal property coverage. It covers against theft, fire, and natural disasters but does not include water damage. It does include public liability and additional living expenses to cover hotel or Airbnb costs if a property is uninhabitable after an incident.

Basic policies cover actual cash value, which means that you won’t necessarily be insured for the actual amount it would cost to replace items. You can, however, pay extra for replacement cost coverage. There aren’t too many ways to further customize a policy, however, and there aren’t many discounts available to reduce the cost of the insurance.

8. Travelers Renter’s Insurance

Travelers Renter’s Insurance is another renter’s insurance policy that allows renters to upgrade to replacement cost value coverage so that you can replace items on a like-for-like basis and won’t miss out on any financial coverage. You can also add extra coverage for any especially valuable items such as expensive jewelry or an expensive laptop, without the need to get a professional valuation for every item. Identity fraud prevention is also included in the policy. Discounts are available if you take out both an auto and renter’s insurance policy, and other policy discounts are available.

Prices are a little higher than from other insurers, however, but if you do need other insurance policies, the multi-policy discount means that Travelers Renter’s Insurance could be a good option.

9. Amica Renter’s Insurance

Amica renter’s insurance is reasonably priced, although the level of coverage you receive does depend on factors like your location and while some policies include property replacement coverage as standard, others do not, and this will need to be added. Liability insurance varies from $25,000 to $100,000 and personal property coverage ranges up to unlimited.

The policy covers loss as a result of theft, natural disasters, riots, and vandalism, as well as water damage from appliances, but not from flooding. Prices are reasonable and there are several discounts that could potentially be available to lower your premium, including a discount if you’ve been with Amica for 2 years or more, multi-policy discounts, and a discount if you don’t make any claims for 3 years or more.

However, insurance is not available nationwide, so Amica may not be an available option for you, and limits and other policy specifics are set according to location.

10. Country Financial

Country Financial offers auto, life, health, business, crop, and farm insurance, as well as renter’s insurance. Basic renter’s insurance protects against natural disasters including lightning and storm damage as well as theft and vandalism. There is also a premium coverage option, although this does cost a premium and you’re unlikely to need the antique coverage or protection against spilled paint that premium insurance provides.

Liability limits are available up to $1 million with medical coverage of up to $25,000 and coverage for your personal belongings can be set between $15,000 and $50,000. There are sub-limits for coverage for items including jewelry, however, so you may need to check these.

Multi-policy discounts are available, along with a discount for new customers, which is replaced by a loyalty discount once you’ve been with Country Financial for 3 years. If you’re studying for a bachelor’s, you might get to take advantage of that, as well as the good payer discount which is applied after three years of making payments on time. Otherwise, discounts are unlikely to be relevant to your account, and Country Financial is only available in a fairly limited number of states across the West and Midwest.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Pick the Best Renters Insurance for College Students

What to Look for in Renter’s Insurance

Renter’s insurance isn’t usually a requirement for college or even for your landlord, but it can be beneficial because it protects items ranging from your bike to your laptop and even textbooks. While every policy can look very similar, there are some key differences, and below are some of the most important factors to consider when shopping around for this kind of policy.

Policy Coverage

Renter’s insurance is designed to protect against financial loss arising from the loss or damage of personal belongings. It doesn’t cover vehicles like cars and vans, but it can cover bicycles. It also covers items from clothes to TVs and even textbooks and equipment needed for school. And most policies include some public liability so if somebody gets injured on your property and sues for damages, renter’s insurance should cover the loss you face.

Most policies have separate public liability coverage, of between $100,000 and $1 million. Personal belongings coverage can range from $10,000 to $50,000 and while some policies include all items up to this value, others have sub-limits and may only insure jewelry up to the value of $1,000, for example. You should check the coverage limits, as well as any sub-limits, before deciding which is the right policy for you.

Also, check what forms of damage or loss are covered. Policies should cover theft as standard and will include damage caused by fire and smoke. Most include vandalism and intentional damage and some forms of natural disaster. Water damage is one area that is not always covered and where a policy does cover this type of loss, it may only cover water damage caused by faulty appliances or burst pipes but not water damage caused by flooding.

There is a lot to consider for your coverage and, as well as ensuring you get the best price possible, choosing a policy that offers the coverage you need but ignores coverage you don’t need will help you get the best deal. For example, most college students don’t need antique coverage and are unlikely to need the highest coverage levels.

Customer Service & Reputation

If you need to make a claim or have any questions about a policy, you want to be sure that your questions will be answered in a timely and accurate manner. This is where customer service is important. Consider the methods that you can use to contact the company, and whether these align with your preferred contact methods.

Also, look for 24-hour helplines and read reviews to ensure companies do respond in a timely manner with actual answers to questions, rather than stock responses. You can check with family and friends to see if they have experience dealing with particular companies, and there are numerous review websites online where you can check other users’ experiences.

Claim Repayment

Claim repayment is the rate at which the insurer agrees to claims and the speed at which they make payments. Your insurance money is generally used to buy replacements for lost items, and if you lose something important like a laptop, you will need to be able to replace it quickly. Some insurers can agree to and make repayments in minutes while others take days or even weeks. Some also have a reputation for rejecting more claims than other insurers do.

Price of Policy

Ideally, when choosing insurance, we would all go with the policy that offers the best coverage and has the ideal policy details and additional extras. However, prices can vary substantially, and, when at college, every cent matters. Do make sure that you get quotes that are relevant to you, try to exclude features that you don’t need, and make sure you are comparing similar coverage levels and deductibles.

Take into account any multi-policy and other discounts that might be available, too, because these really can help lower the price you pay and make what appears an expensive policy be your cheapest option. If you need to pay monthly to keep payment levels affordable, ensure this is offered as an option and look to see if there is an auto-pay discount you can benefit from. Alternatively, if you want to pay for the policy up-front, enquire about a discount for doing so.

Plan Customization

Every student has different requirements when it comes to renter’s insurance. These requirements can be determined by location, the actual possessions owned, and the level of risk that the holder is willing to face.

Customizable plans make it possible to increase or decrease coverage and deductibles. Highly customizable plans might also allow for the addition of add-ons that cover extras like identity theft or protection against flood damage. These aren’t necessary for all policyholders but if, for example, you are studying in an area that is prone to flooding, flood coverage might be an essential component of your insurance policy.

FAQ

Should Students Get Renter’s Insurance?

Although there isn’t usually any legal or contractual requirement for students to get renter’s insurance, it is a good idea. It protects against the financial loss of damage or loss of items, including loss from fire, theft, vandalism, and more. If your textbooks were all destroyed, would you be able to afford to replace them? If your laptop is stolen, would you be able to carry on studying? Renter’s insurance covers these and other losses you might face.

Is It Worth Getting Tenants Insurance?

Tenants’ insurance, or renter’s insurance, generally costs between $5 and $20 per month, depending on a number of factors, and while this may seem like a lot on a student’s budget, it is less than having to replace a laptop, books, bike, stereo, games console, and other items if they were damaged or destroyed. Even a really basic, affordable policy, is generally considered better than no policy at all.

How Much Is Renter’s Insurance?

The price of renter’s insurance varies according to location and personal circumstances, as well as the level of coverage and policy details. But prices vary from $5 per month to $20 per month, with the average being around $13 per month or approximately $150 per annum.

Which Renter’s Insurance Provider Is Best for You?

There is no single renter’s insurance policy that is best for all students and the ideal policy for you depends on the value of your personal belongings, whether you have any individual high-value items and the specific risks that you are likely to face. We found Lemonade offers affordable insurance policies that cover a good variety of types of loss and have sensible limits, but other options do exist.

Conclusion

Renter’s insurance is extremely beneficial if you face any kind of loss to your personal belongings so even if you can only afford a very basic policy, it is still a good idea to get this kind of insurance while at college. It can help ensure that you are able to replace personal belongings like textbooks and laptops so that you can carry on studying, as well as personal belongings like clothing and appliances.

We found Lemonade to offer the best value for money in most cases, but coverage is limited to certain states whereas Allstate Insurance covers every state and also has cheap policies with decent discounts available for a lot of potential policyholders.

Featured Image Credit: Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels