Best Renters Insurance in North Carolina

Renters insurance not only fulfills your landlord’s liability requirement, it protects your personal belongings and pays for living expenses if your apartment is uninhabitable. For about $13 per month, you can get all of this coverage and have peace of mind that you can handle whatever event affects you and your North Carolina rental.

To help North Carolina renters determine which renters insurance company is best, the This Old House Reviews Team created a guide breaking down the top three providers in the state.

North Carolina’s Top Renters Insurance Companies

To determine which insurance companies provide the best policies, our team looked at coverage options, customer service, prices, discounts, and more.

The highest rated NC renters insurance providers include the following:

• State Farm
• Liberty Mutual
• Allstate

State Farm

State Farm is the most affordable out of the renters insurance providers in this review. The company says its policy typically costs $12 per month, but our team member received a quote for $7.58. However, State Farm doesn’t sacrifice quality with its cheap price. You can purchase an unlimited amount of personal property coverage and receive up to $1 million in liability coverage.

To save on your North Carolina State Farm policy, take advantage of the following discounts:

• Multiple Line Discount: When you bundle renters insurance with auto insurance or home insurance, you can get a discount on your policy.
• Home Alert Protection Discount: If you have a safety device, like a smoke detector or fire alarm, you get a discount.

Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual has been around longer than State Farm and Allstate and has more than 100 years in the business. While Liberty Mutual advertises that a base policy with medical payments, liability, personal property, and loss of use coverage starts at $5 per month, we received a quote for much higher at $30 per month.

To save money on your Liberty Mutual policy, here are the six discounts you may be able to apply to your plan:

• Claims-Free Discount: You’re eligible for this discount if you haven’t filed a claim in five years or more.
• Early Shopper Discount: You can save money by getting a quote for a Liberty Mutual renters insurance policy before your current policy expires.
• Multi-Policy Discount: If you bundle another policy with your renters insurance policy, you’ll receive a discount.
• Preferred Payment: If you link your bank account to your Liberty Mutual portal and sign up for automatic payments, you’ll get this discount.
• Online Purchase Discount: You can get a rate decrease by purchasing your policy online.

Allstate

Allstate makes the customer experience better with customer service all day, every day and with online tools and resources to guide you through the renters insurance buying process. One such tool is the estimation tool that helps you estimate how much your belongings are worth and decide how much personal property coverage to purchase.

These discounts may help lower your Allstate premium:

• Multi-Policy Discount: You can get a discount for adding renters insurance to your auto policy.
• Safe Home Discount: Safety features, like fire alarms, can save you up to 15% on your plan.
• Easy Pay Discount: You will save 5% for signing up for auto pay.
• 55 and Retired Discount: If you’re retired and 55 years of age or older, you can save up to 25% on your policy.
• Claim-Free Discount: If you’re claims-free when you switch to Allstate and stay claims-free every year you’re with the company, you will get a 20% discount.

Our Conclusion

State Farm, Liberty Mutual, and Allstate offer the best renters insurance policies to North Carolina renters. The policies are affordable and comprehensive, and the companies are well-established in the insurance industry. Before deciding which provider you prefer, get a renters insurance quote from all three to see which one will protect your home best.

North Carolina Renters Insurance Coverage

There are four types of coverage found in most North Carolina policies—medical payments to others, liability, personal property, and loss of use. You can also purchase additional coverage, called endorsements or floaters, to extend your protection.

Here’s what’s covered under each type of coverage:

• Coverage for Medical Payments to Others: This part of your policy covers medical bills if a guest is injured in your home.
• Liability Coverage: If you’re liable for injury to a neighbor or damage to their belongings, your policy will pay for the costs of their bills. Most landlords require liability insurance so that they don’t have to cover your neighbor’s bills.
• Personal Property Coverage: This type of coverage covers the cost of replacing your belongings if an event damages them. Valuable items, like jewelry and artwork, aren’t usually included in this, so you may have to buy an endorsement to protect them.
• Loss of Use Coverage: If you can’t live in your apartment for a short period due to repairs from a covered event, your policy will cover additional living expenses, like the cost of a hotel room.
• Endorsements/Floaters: You can use floaters to add extra coverage for uncovered items or events. Popular floaters include pet damage, earthquake damage, and identity theft.

How Much Does a Renters Insurance Policy Cost in North Carolina?

According to the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost of renters insurance in North Carolina in 2017 was $157 for the year, or about $13 per month. North Carolina ranked 37th in country in most expensive renters insurance, making it cheaper than most other states in the country.

Factors to Consider Before Buying Renters Insurance

Before starting your search for renters insurance, consider these factors and how they will affect your policy:

• Natural Disasters: North Carolina’s coast is susceptible to damage from hurricanes, which can cause flooding. Most renters insurance policies don’t protect water damage from floods, and you’ll have to buy an endorsement or separate flood insurance for this protection. If you live on the coast, review your policy carefully and determine if you need extra flood protection.
• Amount of Belongings: The amount of belongings you have will affect how much personal property coverage you buy and how much your policy will cost. You should take an inventory of your belongings before shopping so that you know how much to buy.
• Landlord Requirements: Most landlords will require you to buy $100,000 worth of liability coverage, so make sure the policy you buy has at least that much protection.
• Personal Information: There are several factors that will affect the price of your policy. Some of them relate to your apartment, like the age, number of units, and distance from a fire station, but a large number of them will relate to you. If you’re younger with less renting experience, have filed a lot of insurance claims in the past, or have a low credit score, your renters insurance rate may be higher.

To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.