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The Cheapest Renters Insurance in Seattle, Washington
Hate your landlord, but love the Space Needle? Take comfort in the fact that your renters insurance in Seattle protects your belongings, not ythe apartment itself. In short, renters insurance protects your prized possessions in the event they are damaged or stolen, and it gives you a fair amount of liability protection should someone get hurt while visiting.
Even though renters insurance offers so much, there’s still no need to overpay for it. We researched Seattle renters insurance companies to find both the cheapest and best providers for renters insurance using our proprietary SimpleScore methodology. Using this, we compared the best renters insurance in Seattle based on coverage options, discounts, accessibility, customer satisfaction and support. Here’s what we found.
The best renters insurance in Seattle, Washington
- Best for Customer Satisfaction: State Farm
- Best for Renters Insurance Discounts: Allstate
- Best for Coverage Options: Travelers
- Best for Liability Protection: Pemco
Best for customer satisfaction – State Farm
State Farm has both great rates and customer satisfaction, making it the Starbucks of Seattle renters insurance.
State Farm routinely scores well with J.D. Power, which means that the insurance provider doesn’t fight its customers over claims, which is obviously something you will want as a renter. Unsurprisingly, State Farm is also a financially strong company. A.M. Best in 2020 again certified State Farm’s financial strength as A++ (superior). Having both high customer satisfaction and financial strength ratings means that, at the very least, you should strongly consider getting a quote from State Farm.
Best for renters insurance discounts in Seattle – Allstate
Allstate offers some of the best discounts for renters in the business.
Allstate offers a lot of discounts for just about every type of policy it offers. The same holds true for its renters insurance. With Allstate you can get:
- Multi-policy discount: Also purchase another policy through Allstate (such as car insurance), and you’ll save money on your premiums.
- Safe home discount: Install safety and security devices in your home, and you may save up to 15% on your premium.
- Claims-free discount: Go claims-free for an entire year and you’ll get a 20% discount on the upcoming year
- 55 and retired discount: If you’re 55 or older, and you’re retired, you can enjoy a 25% discount on your renters insurance premium as long as you’re not actively seeking work.
- Easy pay plan discount: Save up to 5% on your premium for signing up for auto pay with Allstate.
Best for coverage options – Travelers
Travelers offers coverage options that go beyond the traditional.
Travelers offers great coverage options to complement their renters insurance. For example, it offers jewelry and valuable items coverage. Renters insurance, no matter what company you work with, there are caps on how much the provider is willing to pay for certain types of items. With jewelry and valuable items, that cap is greatly increased. This type of coverage protects many types of items besides jewelry.
Travelers also offers umbrella insurance coverage to complement its renters insurance. With umbrella insurance, your liability limits are greatly increased. This means that if a person gets injured in your apartment, both you and the injured party will be covered. Both their medical bills and your legal fees will be paid by Travelers.
Best for liability protection – PEMCO Insurance
Never worry about where you are when someone gets hurt again with PEMCO’s liability coverage protection.
Should you get taken to court because someone was injured in your apartment, PEMCO is a great company to have in your corner. Not only does its “medical payments to others” coverage protect you if someone gets hurt in your apartment, but it also protects you if you accidentally hurt someone while visiting them. However, it’s a great carrier to have for many other reasons, too. Most renters insuring through PEMCO get, on average, about $30,000 worth of protection, which protects them from such things as fire and theft. To purchase PEMCO’s premium option will only run you around $200 a year, but you can get that down even more if you combine your renters policy with another such as auto coverage or go three years without filing a claim.
How much does renters insurance cost in Seattle?
According to the Insurance Information Institute’s latest study, the average cost of renters insurance in Washington state is $163. This is actually lower than the national average of $180, making Washington currently the 20th cheapest state to purchase renters insurance.
There are many factors that affect how much you pay for renters insurance, including your home’s location and your coverage amount. Your final rate is also determined by your deductible, any discounts you qualify for and whether you choose an actual cash value policy or a replacement cost policy. A replacement cost policy costs more than an actual cash value policy because depreciation is not taken into account should any of your personal items need to be replaced.
[ More: How to Choose the Best Renters Insurance ]
Choosing your provider
There are pros and cons to working with a national carrier over a local carrier. Before choosing the best renters insurance in Seattle, Washington, consider the following:
Local carrier
Pros
- Support your local community
- Better customer service
Cons
- Fewer amount of discounts
- Often more expensive than national providers
National carrier
Pros
- Cheaper rates than local providers
- Offer a greater amount of discounts
Cons
- Must work with non-local agents
Tips to choosing the cheapest renters insurance in Seattle
- Choose only the amount of coverage you actually need. Renters insurance is pretty cheap compared to other types of insurance you can buy, so it’s easy to purchase more than you actually need. Beware agents who say “for just a little more you can go to our next level of coverage.” It may be true, but that’s no reason to waste your money.
- If possible, bundle your renters policy with another. If you need car insurance, it may behoove you to bundle the two together. Many insurance providers provide offer discounts for purchasing multiple policies through them.
- Opt for a high deductible. Choosing a high deductible will land you a lower premium, but at a price. Should you ever need to file a claim, you will pay more out of pocket. For this reason, you may want to consider setting a little money aside just in case.
- Install safety or anti-theft devices to your apartment or home. Insurance providers often give discounts to renters who have smoke alarms or security systems installed in their home. This is because they reduce the risk of fires or burglaries and therefore the chances of you filing a claim.
[ See: How to Buy Cheap Renters Insurance Online ]
Additional renters insurance coverage in Seattle
You may want to consider purchasing additional coverage to add to your renters insurance coverage policy while living in Seattle. Though picturesque, Seattle is prone to both earthquakes and flooding each year.
Earthquake coverage for renters in Seattle
Most renters policies don’t cover any type of earthquake damage, so it’s a necessity to purchase it separately. Yes, it’s true your landlord most likely has purchased protection, but their policy will only protect them. It won’t protect your personal property should it be damaged in an earthquake.
Flood coverage for renters in Seattle
Additionally, a standard renters policy won’t cover any belongings damaged by flood waters. Many private insurance companies offer flood insurance, but the U.S. government is the primary provider. To see if you live in a flood prone area in Seattle, visit FEMA’s flood map and input your address. FEMA’s tool will automatically tell you if your home is in an at-risk area for flooding.
Seattle renters insurance FAQs
The cheapest insurance provider in Washington state is currently State Farm. It has naturally low rates driven lower by a variety of discounts that are easy to unlock.
The average cost of renters insurance in Washington state is $163 a year, which boils down to $3.13 a week.
No, renters insurance is not legally required to rent an apartment or house in Seattle, Washington. That said, your landlord may require you to have it. If you’re unsure, refer to your lease.
Too long, didn’t read?
Seattle renters insurance premiums are below average, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the time to find the best provider. Whether you’re looking for comprehensive coverage or the lowest rates, you have plenty of quality options to choose from.
We welcome your feedback on this article and would love to hear about your experience with the renters insurance companies we recommend. Contact us at inquiries@thesimpledollar.com with comments or questions.
Keep Reading
Methodology
The SimpleScore is a proprietary scoring metric we use to objectively compare products and services at The Simple Dollar.
For every review, our editorial team:
- Identifies five measurable aspects to compare across each brand
- Determines the rating criteria for each aspect score
- Averages the five aspect scores to produce a single SimpleScore™
Here’s a breakdown of the five aspect scores and their rating criteria for our renters insurance reviews.
Why do some brands have different SimpleScores on different pages?
To ensure the SimpleScore is as helpful and accurate as possible, we developed unique criteria for every category we compare at The Simple Dollar. Since most brands offer a variety of financial solutions, their products and services will score differently depending on what we’re scoring on a given page.
However, it’s also possible for the same product from the same brand to have multiple SimpleScores. For instance, if we compare State Farm’s home insurance according to our criteria for the best home insurance, it scores a 3.8 out of 5. But when we compare State Farm according to the criteria for the best auto insurance, it scores higher, since the features the company offers can vary by the type of insurance.
Discounts
We awarded higher scores to insurance providers with more discounts available on their website.
Coverage Options
We gave providers with more renter insurance coverage options a higher score because they’re more likely to have a policy that best meets your needs.
Support
We awarded higher scores to renters insurance providers with the most channels for customer support.
Customer Satisfaction
We leveraged the J.D. Power Home Insurance Satisfaction Study℠ to see how customers rated their experience with each insurance provider. (If a provider wasn’t included in J.D. Power’s study, we skipped this aspect and averaged the four remaining aspect scores.)
Accessibility
We awarded higher scores to insurance providers that have more online and mobile features to easily manage your policy and claims.
Reviewed by
Courtney Mihocik
Loans EditorCourtney Mihocik is an editor at The Simple Dollar who specializes in personal loans, student loans, auto loans, and debt consolidation loans. She is a former writer and contributing editor to Interest.com, PersonalLoans.org, and elsewhere.
