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The Best Renters Insurance in San Francisco, California
San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in all of California. But, the view comes with a price. U.S. News’ Best Places to Live ranks San Fran (as the local’s call it) at No. 7 for its desirability and job market. If you’re looking for work and need a place to live, it might be worth noting that the average rent in San Fran is $1,673.
But the average cost of renter’s insurance is only $12 to $20 each month to guard against property damage or personal injury. We use SimpleScore to find the best renters insurance companies in San Francisco. We picked two local and three national providers to give you a range of options.
The best renters insurance companies in San Francisco
- Best for Combining Insurance: Barbary Insurance
- Cheapest Local Company: Norbert Cronin & Company
- Best for Policy Management: State Farm
- Best for Military Members: USAA
- Best for Competitive Rates: American Family
Best for combining insurance – Barbary Insurance
If you want personal service from a local agent, Barbary Insurance Brokerage is your best bet for renters insurance. But, you’ll get your quote through SafeCo.
Barbary Insurance Brokerage is an independent insurance broker located in the financial district of San Francisco. But because it hasn’t been swallowed up by the big insurance agencies, it’s staff can offer you the very best personal service found in the city. They offer renter’s insurance in both San Fran and Oakland. But renters insurance is only available through SafeCo, a spin-off of Liberty Mutual Insurance.
Cheapest local company – Norbert Cronin & Company
Norbert Cronin & Company is a local, privately-held insurance company offering Mercury renters insurance to San Fran residents. Bundle your car and get a discount, but only in some areas of the city.
Norbert Cronin & Company sells Mercury Insurance at a great price. In fact, it’s the cheapest renters insurance we found in the area. Mercury Insurance is available in 11 states and offers additional coverage for San Fran residents, including identity theft, home electronics and home cyber protection.
Best for policy management – State Farm
State Farm Insurance is probably best known for “Jake, from State Farm” He wears the khakis in the family. State Farm scores high marks for customer service through its online portal or over the phone. There are also local agents in San Fran.
There are 50+ local State Farm agents in the San Francisco area. If you’d rather get a quote online, you can plug into State Farm’s online portal and quote tool. For an additional cost, you can get earthquake insurance from most of San Fran’s agents. You can also get a discount for having multiple policies with State Farm and for installing home safety systems like smoke detectors or burglar alarms.
Best for military members – USAA
USAA renter’s insurance is hands-down the best renter’s insurance for military members and their families. If you don’t serve your country in the military, however, you’re out of luck.
USAA renter’s insurance is priced well, but only available to active and retired military members and their families. San Francisco residents will be happy to know its basic policy also covers earthquake and flood insurance — not found in most renter’s insurance coverages unless you pay more. But, if you or a family member isn’t in the military, you’ll have to find renter’s insurance elsewhere.
Best competitive rates – American Family
More than a few insurance options and competitive prices make American Family renter’s insurance hard to beat. In fact, when you bundle coverages, you can save up to 14% on your renter’s insurance.
American Family has a strong presence in San Francisco and strong customer ratings, plenty of insurance options and competitive prices. The company also offers enticing multiple policy discounts, like 14% off your renter’s insurance when you bundle coverages. Plus, American Family throws in bicycle coverage on your standard policy if it’s kept in storage that’s connected to your apartment. It also has some other unique optional coverage additions like identity theft protection, pet insurance, travel protection and home-based business coverage.
[ Read: How Much Does Renters Insurance Cost? ]
How much does renters insurance cost in San Francisco?
For about the cost of a cup of coffee in San Francisco, you can get renter’s insurance that will cover your personal belongings from damage. Some policies cover personal injury, a stolen bike if located on-premises and for an additional cost, flood and earthquake insurance. Most policies also cover identity theft, computer and electronics coverage, and if you bundle you might get a discount.
[ See: Does Renters Insurance Cover My Pet? ]
The average cost for renters insurance in San Francisco is about $17. That compares to a national average of $16 per month — not bad for one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. Overall, renters insurance in California is about $18.58 per month — that’s about $38 more than the average across the U.S.
The price of renters insurance varies quite a bit from one Californian town to the next, but is usually based on the value of the belongings being insured, how much personal injury coverage you need and any additional coverage you deem necessary.
San Francisco average full coverage renters insurance cost per carrier
| Insurance Company | CA Full Average Cost | CA Full Average Cost Monthly | CA Full Average Cost Weekly |
| Barbary Insurance | $168 | $14 | $3.23 |
| Norbert Cronin & Company | $132 | $11 | $2.54 |
| State Farm | $150 | $12.50 | $2.88 |
| USAA | $138 | $11.50 | $2.65 |
| American Family | $143 | $12.00 | $2.75 |
Choosing your provider
When shopping around for renters insurance, you’ll have to decide whether to purchase your policy through a national or local carrier. While national carriers may have better coverage options, local carriers usually offer better customer service. Take a look at some of the pros and cons of both:
Local carrier
Pros
- Knowledgeable about the area you live in
- Better customer service
Cons
- Slow claims process
National carrier
Pros
- Usually has more coverage options
- Better discounts
Cons
- Lack of personalization
Too long, didn’t read?
Living in San Francisco can be expensive, but your renters insurance doesn’t have to be. You can get renter’s insurance in the home of the Golden Gate for as low as $12 each month to protect against property damage or personal injury. The right amount of renters insurance to get in San Francisco will cover all of your belongings in case of a loss, but renters in this city should also look into flood and earthquake coverage to ensure their property is adequately protected.
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
Nashalie Addarich
Insurance EditorNasha Addarich is an editor at The Simple Dollar and a former attorney who specializes in home insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, and savings. She is a former contributing editor to Reviews.com.
