Having your belongings stolen or being liable for the medical bills of someone taking a spill on your property doesn’t have to be a financial disaster. With renters insurance, the right policy can cover you in these and other situations.
But with so many providers to choose from, how do you narrow your choices?
We’ve evaluated top renters insurance companies to provide you with a curated list of insurers that scored best on our comprehensive rubric. Consider the seven best renters insurance providers of 2026 to find a policy that aligns with your specific needs.
Read more: What is renters insurance? A complete guide.
7 best renters insurance companies
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USAA: Best overall
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American Family Insurance: Best for optional coverages
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Travelers: Best for claims experience
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Allstate: Best for transparency
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Chubb: Best for financial strength
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Erie Insurance: Best for standard coverage
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Nationwide: Best for catastrophe add-ons
1. USAA: Best overall
Star rating: 5 out of 5 ⭐
Why we like it: After a thorough examination of large renters insurance companies, USAA came out on top for its exceptional coverage offerings, including base policies that often provide additional protection beyond the standard coverage you might expect. For example, flood and earthquake coverage may be included, depending on the situation.
USAA is also a clear front-runner with its transparent quote process, which allows potential customers to access full online quotes and a sample policy document without speaking with an agent.
From a financial backing perspective, USAA receives top marks for its AM Best Financial Strength Rating of A++ (Superior). (AM Best is an independent, global credit rating agency that rates insurers on their financial strength — the higher the rating, the more financially secure the company.)
The primary downside of USAA is that not everyone can get it. You typically need a military connection to join and use its services.
2. American Family Insurance: Best for optional coverages
Star rating: 4.6 out of 5 ⭐
Why we like it: Of the providers on our list, American Family Insurance stands out for offering the most flexible coverage. Specifically, you have numerous add-on options, including water backup and sump overflow, equipment breakdown, and flood and earthquake coverage. You can also add on identity theft restoration if needed.
The downside of having so much freedom to add coverage is that standard policies typically don’t extend their protection beyond the base amount, including personal property, personal liability, loss of use, and medical payments.
Still, American Family Insurance has a fairly transparent quote process and one of the lowest complaint ratios among listed providers. It also has an AM Best Financial Strength Rating of an A (Excellent).
3. Travelers: Best for claims experience
Star rating: 4.6 out of 5 ⭐
Why we like it: Travelers offers essentially what you would want and expect from a standard renters insurance policy, including worldwide personal property coverage and clearly stated limits on what’s available for additional living expenses (ALE) if your home becomes uninhabitable due to a covered peril.
On top of that, Travelers has some of the best claims support services available, allowing you to file a claim online or over the phone. You can also track your claims online, and there are multiple payout options available, including direct bank deposit or PayPal, for successful claims.
Travelers falls short on its add-on coverage, but that’s likely only an issue in specific situations.
4. Allstate: Best for transparency
Star rating: 4.5 out of 5 ⭐
Why we like it: If you don’t want any surprises during the quote process, consider giving Allstate a try. We found it was beyond easy to quickly access an online quote and a sample policy document without talking to an agent. We were also able to find certain examples of coverage limits without much digging or difficulty.
In addition, Allstate offers multiple ways to file claims and a dedicated app to view your policies on the go.
One point of concern is that Allstate has a higher-than-average number of complaints, though the data includes homeowners insurance policyholders, so it’s not only for renters insurance.
5. Chubb: Best for financial strength
Star rating: 4.5 out of 5 ⭐
Why we like it: Chubb checks a lot of boxes for its company makeup, including low complaints, a business history dating back over 100 years, and an AM Best Financial Strength Rating of A++ (Superior).
We also found that Chubb covers all the bases with its standard policy options, including worldwide personal property coverage and no deductible for ALE protection.
However, we don’t love that you have to use an agent to get a quote, and the details about additional coverage were fairly sparse online when we tried to find out more.
6. Erie Insurance: Best for standard coverage
Star rating: 4.4 out of 5 ⭐
Why we like it: As far as standard renters insurance coverage goes, Erie Insurance offers some of the best among the listed providers. This includes liability and personal property coverage worldwide. You can also take advantage of additional included features, such as coverage for unauthorized credit card use, watercraft, trailers, and loss of contents in refrigerators or freezers in covered situations.
From our research, we also found that Erie offers strong claims support, including a dedicated mobile app and multiple electronic payment options.
Unfortunately, you do have to use an Erie agent to get a quote.
Learn more: Does renters insurance cover storage units?
7. Nationwide: Best for catastrophe add-ons
Star rating: 4.4 out of 5 ⭐
Why we like it: Nationwide stands out for its base coverage offerings, which are more than sufficient if you’re seeking standard coverage, and its add-on options. Specifically, you can add both earthquake and flood coverage to your renters insurance policy, with the earthquake add-on also providing protection against volcanic damage.
We like that you can file and manage claims from the Nationwide mobile app, and you can get an online quote before becoming a customer. However, if you could also access a sample policy document before making any major decisions, the whole process would be more transparent.
Other renters insurance companies to consider
Liberty Mutual
Star rating: 4.3 out of 5 ⭐
What we think: Liberty Mutual scored well with its claims experience and overall transparency, offering multiple filing options and the choice to do an online quote process rather than using an agent. It also provides decent standard policies and additional coverage options.
Farmers Insurance
Star rating: 4.3 out of 5 ⭐
What we think: Farmers Insurance received the same star rating as Liberty Mutual for having identical scores among our rubric criteria. This includes a fairly transparent quote process, a good claims experience, and decent coverage options.
State Farm
Star rating: 4.2 out of 5 ⭐
What we think: State Farm can be a good option if its coverage options align with your needs. It has a transparent quote process and above-average claims support, though it falls slightly short on its add-on coverage options.
Auto-Owners Insurance
Star rating: 4.1 out of 5 ⭐
What we think: Auto-Owners Insurance is a few steps down in quality from our more highly rated providers, taking a big hit to its score due to sub-par add-on coverage. It still has decent standard coverage and a good claims experience.
Progressive
Star rating: 3.7 out of 5 ⭐
What we think: Progressive is the worst-rated provider on our list because of its above-average rate of complaints, mediocre add-on options, and generally average scores among other areas of our rubric.
Learn more: How to bundle renters and auto insurance to save money
How to choose the best renters insurance
Consider these steps to select the best renters insurance policy for your needs.
1. Assess your needs
In general, standard renters insurance policies include these types of coverage:
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Personal property: Coverage for your belongings in the event of theft or damage.
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Liability: Covers accidental property damage you may cause or medical bills for a guest if they get injured on your property.
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Additional living expenses: Covers reasonable expenses, such as lodging and food bills, if your property is left uninhabitable for a covered reason.
You will typically want all of this coverage, but it comes down to how much of each you need. To determine your needs, add up the value of your personal property and consider the risk you want to take on.
Related: What does renters insurance cover?
2. Consider add-ons
Depending on your situation, you may want to add optional coverage to your policy, such as:
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Flood insurance: Covers damage from floodwater entering homes.
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Earthquake insurance: Covers damage from earthquakes.
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Pet insurance: Can help make pet healthcare more affordable.
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Equipment breakdown coverage: Provides protection for your devices against unexpected mechanical or electrical failures.
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Water backup coverage: Can help cover repairs from water damage caused by a backed-up drain or an overflowing sump.
Read more: Does renters insurance cover mold damage?
3. Compare insurance providers
Once you’ve assessed your needs, it’s time to choose a renters insurance provider for your policy. If you know you want certain coverage limits or a specific endorsement on your policy, you can quickly rule out any insurers that don’t meet your needs.
It’s often easy to compare coverage options online by using comparison websites or checking each insurer’s website. However, you can also use an agent to compare quotes among companies for you.
Related: How much is renters insurance?
Renters insurance FAQs
Which is the best renters insurance company?
From our research, these are some of the best insurance companies:
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USAA: Best overall
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American Family Insurance: Best for optional coverages
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Travelers: Best for claims experience
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Allstate: Best for transparency
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Chubb: Best for financial strength
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Erie Insurance: Best for standard coverage
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Nationwide: Best for catastrophe add-ons
What exactly does renters insurance cover?
In general, renters insurance covers theft or damage to personal property, personal liability, guest medical payments, and additional living expenses if your home becomes uninhabitable due to a covered peril.
Will my credit score affect renters insurance?
Your credit score may affect the availability and cost of renters insurance, but it’s not the only factor insurers consider. Your location and the amount of coverage you need can also affect the price of a renters insurance policy.
What are three things that renters insurance typically does not cover?
Standard renters insurance policies typically don’t cover earthquakes, floods, or the property’s physical structure.
Methodology
Our list of the best renters insurance providers was compiled using a comprehensive rubric that compares top renters insurers by U.S. market share. This rubric, which we created, used various factors, such as coverage scope, endorsements, and transparency, to assign providers scores based on how well they did in each category.
We did not consider every available renters insurance company. We only considered relevant companies based on our own criteria, which focus on large companies that sell direct-to-consumer policies under their own brand.