State Farm Renters Insurance Review
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In This Review: Pros and Cons | Cost & Discounts | Coverage | State Availability | Filing a Claim | Customer Reviews | Conclusion | Comparison | Company Information | FAQ | Methodology
Renters insurance protects your home and ensures that you can afford to repair or replace damaged property when an unexpected event, like theft or fire, occurs. With a renters insurance policy through State Farm, you can get affordable premiums from a company with close to 100 years of industry experience.
The This Old House Reviews Team created this State Farm renters insurance review to help you find the best renters insurance for your needs.
Pros and Cons
Discover the costs and benefits of State Farm renters insurance:
Cost of State Farm Renters Insurance
State Farm doesn’t provide much information on their website regarding how much a renters insurance policy costs, so our team received a free quote to give you an idea of the monthly price. Here’s what State Farm quoted us for a single woman living in a one-bedroom apartment in Raleigh, North Carolina:
State Farm Cost Breakdown
| Type | Amount |
|---|---|
|
Deductible |
$1,000 |
|
Monthly cost |
$7.58 |
To get your own quote, State Farm will collect the personal information listed below:
- Your address
- Your date of birth
- The size of your building
- The number of people in your unit
- Your gender
- Your marital status
State Farm Renters Insurance Coverage
State Farm covers losses from a wide range of events that fall into the following three categories. The first category is accidents, which includes damage from vehicle impact, falling objects, fire, or smoke, and water damage from plumbing or appliances. The second category is weather impacts, which protects against the weight of snow, sleet or ice, lightning, windstorms, hail, and water damage from freezing pipes. The third category includes malicious mischief, which protects against damage from acts like vandalism, theft, riots, and civil commotion are protected.
For the above-mentioned scenarios, State Farm provides four types of renters insurance coverage:
1. Personal Property Coverage: Personal property coverage protects the personal belongings in the rental that you own. If an accident were to damage your property, the policy would pay to replace it. To determine how much of this type of coverage to get, take an inventory of your belongings before signing up for a plan.
In the quote we received, State Farm covered $25,000 for personal property.
2. Loss of Use Coverage: When an event puts you out of your rental property temporarily for repairs, State Farm will cover living expenses, like the cost of a hotel room or food.
3. Liability Coverage: If a tub overflows and damages your downstairs neighbor’s belongings, your renters insurance policy will cover the damage. This, along with other accidents that cause damage or bodily injury to others, is protected under renters insurance.
In our quote, State Farm covered $100,000 for liability coverage.
4. Coverage for Medical Payments to Others: If you have a guest over and they get injured, your policy will pay the medical bills for that guest to get treated by a doctor.
In the quote we received, State Farm covered $1,000 per person for medical payments to others.
Below are the areas of coverage and associated limits provided by State Farm based on a North Carolina residence:
State Farm Range of Coverage
| Area of Coverage | Amount Range |
|---|---|
|
Personal property |
No limit |
|
Loss of use |
No limit |
|
Liability |
$100,000, $300,000, $400,000, $500,000, $750,000, or $1,000,000 |
|
Medical payments to others |
$1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $4,000, or $5,000 |
|
Deductible |
$500, $1,000, or $2,000 |
Additional Coverage
State Farm offers several additional coverage options that you can tack onto your base plan. Here are the covered items that are advertised on the State Farm website:
- Earthquake damage
- Jewelry
- Computers
- Waterbed
- Identity restoration
- Additional liability coverage
- Additional business property
- Incidental business liability
What’s Not Covered by State Farm Renters Insurance?
The following situations are not covered:
- Property damage to your building, roof, or siding
- Water damage caused by flooding or underground water
- Damage caused by earth movements, such as earthquakes and landslides
State Availability
State Farm Renters insurance is available in all 50 states, which means that no matter where you live or plan to live in the US, you will be able to use State Farm. To see a complete list of the top providers in your area, click on your state in the list below:
Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Customer Service and Claims Support
For a quote or general insurance questions, you can call your local State Farm agent or the general customer service line at 800-782-8332. To file a claim, you can call 800-732-5246. State Farm also has a website, customer portal, and mobile app that can act as resources for your policy and claims questions.
Customer Reviews
During our review process, we searched through State Farm’s third-party ratings and customer reviews. State Farm is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), but has been rated a B by the organization.
Here is some of what customers have had to say about State Farm renters insurance in their reviews on the BBB:
Bobby B said:
“I purchased rental insurance from agent Alex Quilis from the Lawrenceville, GA office. I’m very satisfied with the courtesy and service that I received.”
Marilyn P said:
“2 major claims in last 11 years. Agent, claims adjuster and claims liaison were amazing. Settled in less than 48 hrs an consistently guided us to protect our own interest. No problem contacting any of them.”
Holly B said:
“State farm insurance for auto and renters has been competitive so far concerning price. Nevertheless, customer service has been increasingly poor, from misinformation on the phone resulting in delays, redos, etc. From hanging on the phone with agents to do just about anything, from having to make repeat calls the get things sorted that I should be able to do online and that the website failed to do properly. Coverage changes made online that agent says were never received, info given through 1-800 call center that’s wrong and has to be fixed, wasting time, energy etc. Website issues logging in, having to request tech support because account keeps saying I have to reset password each time I log in, the list has grown in recent weeks. Issues with delays when moving from one agent to another out of state, agents miscommunication with each other etc. Agents appear overworked, State Farm needs to update their business model which is way to “heavy” for everyday affairs or changes. Latest issue prompted non-renewal of life policy after beneficiary change took way too long to complete, rejections of submissions for strange reasons, etc. Still looking for a better insurance experience though not sure it exists.”
Our Conclusion
In our State Farm renter insurance review, we found that the company offers some of the most affordable premiums in the renters insurance industry and provides more than five add-on options to customize your renters insurance policy. However, if you’re looking for around-the-clock customer service, you may want to go with another renters insurance provider, as State Farm mostly operates within regular business hours.
We recommend getting renters insurance quotes from at least three providers before purchasing a policy so that you can find a plan that fits your home protection and budget needs:
State Farm Renters Insurance vs. The Competition
If you’re not sure whether State Farm is right for you, compare it to other top-rated renters insurance companies below.
Compare Renters Insurance Companies
| Companies | State Farm | Progressive | Geico |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Known for |
Cheap premiums |
Single deductible benefit |
Low deductibles |
|
Monthly price |
About $12 |
$13–$25 |
As low as $12 |
|
Customer service |
Hours vary by department |
24/7 |
24/7 |
|
BBB rating |
N/R |
A+ |
A+ |
Company Overview
- Company Name: State Farm
- CEO: Edward Rust Jr.
- Years in business: 97
- State availability: 50
- Address: 1 State Farm Plaza
- City/State: Bloomington, IL
- Zipcode: 61701
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A++
Frequently Asked Questions About State Farm
Does State Farm offer renters insurance discounts?
Yes. You can get discounts for bundling renters insurance with auto insurance and for having safety features, like a smoke detector, burglar alarm, or other home monitoring system.
How quickly can I get State Farm renters insurance?
If you request a quote online, you can purchase a State Farm policy right away. If you call for a quote over the phone, you will be transferred to a local insurance agent. In this instance, you can still get a quote and sign up for a policy that same day, but it may take more time.
What does the State Farm cancellation process look like?
You can cancel your renters insurance policy through your local agent by calling their direct number or visiting their office. You can also call the general customer service line at 800-782-8332 or send a letter to State Farm’s headquarters. Most of the time, State Farm doesn’t charge a cancellation fee, and you can get a prorated refund for the amount of time left on your policy.
What is a good deductible for renters insurance?
Most renters insurance companies will allow you to choose a deductible between $500–$2,500. However, the lower your deductible, the higher your premium will be.
Why do landlords require renters insurance?
Landlords have their own insurance that protects the building, but it doesn’t cover potential damage to tenants’ personal property. By requiring renters insurance, landlords protect themselves from liability claims when an unexpected event like fire damages their tenants’ belongings.
Our Methodology
The This Old HouseReviews team is committed to providing comprehensive and unbiased reviews to our readers. This means earning your trust through transparency and having the data to back up our ratings and recommendations.
With that in mind, we created an objective rating system to score each renters insurance company. Here’s what that review process looked like:
- We analyze the information on each company’s website. This allows us to determine what products and services are offered by each renters insurance provider.
- We get a sample quote from the companies by either talking to a sales representative or by using the online quote tool. This tells us what a policy looks like and costs.
- We test customer service by talking to a company representative, finding out their hours of operation, and determining what technological features are available for customers.
- We update all of this information on a continuous basis, storing it in a proprietary database that allows us to compare dozens of home insurance companies against each other.
With this data, we created a rating methodology to score each home insurance company. Our rating system is a weighted, 100-point scale based on the following factors:
- Coverage (30): We rated home insurance companies higher if they offered the six main types of renters protection—dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, liability, and medical payments to others coverage.
- State availability (7.5): Companies scored higher if they covered more states than their competitors.
- Customer service (15): This factor is based on our communications with the company representatives, as well as the companies’ claims and quotes processes, availability throughout the week, and customer service information found on their websites.
- Technology (12.5): Technology can increase the efficiency of filing and tracking home insurance claims. Companies scored higher if they had technology options like mobile apps and online chat functions.
- Reputation (20): We gauged trustworthiness based on years of experience and Better Business Bureau (BBB) ratings.
- Additional benefits (15): Companies that offered optional features, like discounts and endorsements, scored higher than competitors that didn’t.
Our Reviews team has a full-time researcher who collects and regularly updates data points from every company to help us compare them on key factors such as coverage, service, and dependability.
*AM Best ratings accurate as of August 2023
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.
