8 Best Renters Insurance Companies in Tennessee of 2022
If you rent in Tennessee, you should definitely consider purchasing renters insurance.
A renter’s policy will cover your personal property against theft, as well as unseen disasters such as fire, lightning, vandalism, windstorms, and water damage from broken water pipes.
So, if your building is destroyed by a fire and all of your belongings were damaged, a renter’s policy will cover your losses.
If you didn’t have renters insurance, you’d have to pay to replace your belongings on your own. Chances are, you won’t have enough money to do that.
Your belongings may be worth thousands of dollars, especially if you have pricey items like a laptop, a smart TV, jewelry, and collectibles.
But for the cost of a pizza pie each month, you can purchase renters insurance and save a lot of money if an unforeseen event damages your personal property.
In Tennessee, the average cost of renters insurance is higher, at $22 per month or $260 per year.
And for Tennessee residents, renters insurance is a must.
In 2021, Tennessee became one of the costliest states in terms of climate disasters.
Tennessee experiences more natural disasters compared to other states, and these include tornadoes, severe storms, snowstorms, thunderstorms, and droughts.
In addition, Tennessee has a high crime rate.
So, if you protect your belongings from severe weather conditions and theft by purchasing a policy, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you are covered.
And because it’s hard to pick an insurer that’s right for you, we’ve given you a list of the best renters policy companies in Tennessee to give you an idea of what these insurers have to offer.
Best Renters Insurance Companies in Tennessee
- Lemonade: Best Policy for Instant Quote
- Liberty Mutual: Best for Online Experience
- Allstate: Best Policy for Bundling With Car Insurance
- State Farm: Best for Higher Deductibles
- Erie: Best for Customer Service
- Travelers: Best for Protecting Renter Improvements
- Progressive: Best for Many Discounts
- Farmers: Best for Many Ways to File a Claim
Lemonade: Best Policy for Instant Quote
Lemonade is a popular renters insurance that operates entirely online using the insurer’s praised website or mobile app.
While that offers convenience and saves you time, the insurer lacks any customer service support and has no live agents that you can speak to.
If you don’t want to use the website and app to do all your insurance needs and prefer talking to a rep, then Lemonade is not for you.
But if you want to get an instant quote, then Lemonade may be right for you.
Getting a quote only takes 90 seconds.
And not only that, Lemonade handles 30% of claims instantly.
So, this is a good insurer because you will get reimbursed for a claim in a noticeably short period of time.
And Lemonade is also known for its affordable premiums.
Lemonade offers many different plans to suit your needs and budget, starting with the basics for $5 per month. However if you want even more features there's an additional fee that can be applied.
It also beat the average renters insurance rate in Tennessee.
How’s Lemonade Rated?
- AM Best: A-
- NAIC: .81
Read a full Lemonade home insurance review.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Fast premium quote. | Company built for online use only. |
| Handles 30% of claims instantly. | No live agents to speak to. |
| Flat fee on monthly premiums. | Lack of deductible options. |
| 10% bundling discount when combining home insurance with pet insurance. | Few discounts to lower premiums. |
| Donates unused insurance money to charities. |
Liberty Mutual: Best for Online Experience
Liberty Mutual is one of the few insurance companies that operate in all 50 states, in addition to Washington D.C.
Liberty is known for many things, above all its discount opportunities for policyholders.
But what makes Liberty so favorable is their website and mobile app.
There are many things you can do with these technological advancements.
We liked the easy purchasing process the best. It allows you to request an online quote and obtain a renters policy in just a few minutes.
The website is streamlined and easy to use. You can use it not just to purchase a policy, but also to manage it.
You can also use it to make a claim, track it, and find the insurer’s agent that is most close to you.
In addition, Liberty Mutual’s highly-regarded mobile app—available for Android and iOS—also allows you to file a claim, as well as make a payment, access your coverage details, view your digital ID card, and much more.
In fact, due to Liberty’s robust and informative website and app, you can communicate almost exclusively without needing to call a representative.
Liberty’s competitor, Lemonade, also allows policyholders to conduct most of their affairs online.
While the latter may have a faster online quote process, Liberty is much more versatile as it also offers you the choice to speak to a live agent.
You can’t do that with Lemonade, which makes Liberty more well-rounded, especially for those who’d rather give out their personal information and conduct their affairs with an agent rather than a website.
How’s Liberty Mutual Rated?
- BBB; A
- A.M. Best: A
- J.D. Power Overall Satisfaction Rating: 825/1,000
Read a full Liberty Mutual home insurance review.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy online claims filing. | Low JD Power score. |
| Customer service available on weekends. | According to the NAIC, the insurer received more complaints than average. |
| Add-on coverage to its standard renters insurance includes blanket jewelry specifically designed to protect your jewelry. | Discount availability varies from state to state. |
| It’s not just fast to purchase a policy online; if you do so, you’ll get an automatic discount. | Replacement cost does not come standard. |
| Offers earthquake coverage, which includes damage caused by aftershocks up to 360 hours after the initial earthquake. | Theft coverage will increase your premium. |
| Mold damage caused by flood not covered. |
Allstate: Best Policy for Bundling With Car Insurance
For Allstate’s basic policy, the cost is $120 per year or$10 per month.
Allstate’s average rate is based on a policy with $30,000 in personal property coverage with a $500 deductible, $100,000 in personal liability, and $1,000 in medical payments to others.
With its low price, Allstate is the cheapest renters insurance policy in the industry, although it only beat out State Farm by charging one dollar less than with the latter.
If you bundle Allstate renters and auto insurance, you’ll get 10% off your auto policy and 25% off your renters policy. That is definitely worth looking into.
However, the cost of a policy is initially based on where you live and can vary widely.
It also depends on any coverages you buy.
If you buy a lot of coverage, your rate will go up.
But Allstate offers some very good discounts that will ultimately drive your rate down.
Compared to most competitors, Allstate offers more discounts than others.
Allstate also offers some great additional coverages. Some of the best include:
- Personal umbrella policy
- Provides liability protection beyond the limits of regular policies.
- Increased coverage on business property
- Protects business documents and materials found in your home.
- Scheduled personal property
While a standard policy typically covers a renter’s personal property, it will only pay up to a certain limit for some types of valuables.
But if you schedule your expensive items, you can increase coverage for them if they get damaged, destroyed, or stolen.
How's Allstate Rated?
- NAIC Complaint Ratio 0.81
- JD Power Overall Satisfaction Rating: 2/5
- AM Best: A+
- BBB: A-
Read a full Allstate renters insurance review.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The most affordable renters insurance in the US. | Replacement cost coverage not standard |
| Ability to file and track claims using mobile app. | Discounts and policies may not be eligible for certain states. |
| Offers a variety of discounts. | According to customer reviews and JD Powers, customer service is below average. |
| Different ways to customize your deductibles and coverages. | Average customer satisfaction for claims. |
| Website tool helps calculate the value of your personal belongings. |
State Farm: Best for Higher Deductibles
State Farm is one of the largest insurance agencies in the nation.
Due to its wide coverage, few customer complaints, and the ability to file and track claims online, State Farm’s renters insurance is one of the best in the industry.
It’s also one of the cheapest.
State Farm’s average rate is $132 per year or $11 per month.
This is based on quotes from different ZIP codes in Tennessee for a policy with $20,000 in personal property damage, $100,000 in liability insurance and a $500 deductible.
These include Memphis, Knoxville, Columbia, Bristol, and several more.
One of many benefits that State Farm has to offer is that the insurer takes inflation into account and, as such, automatically increases the amount of your coverage on your personal items as inflation changes the cost of living.
This comes basic in State Farm’s standard policy and which you must pay extra for with other insurers.
In addition, another coverage that comes standard is business property coverage. This provides coverage for property used for a business, such as your computer and printer or business materials.
How’s State Farm Rated?
- JD Power: 850/1,000
- AM Best: A++
- NAIC: 0.38
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| One of the most affordable renters insurance company in the industry. | With limited discounts, you can’t possibly lower your premium. |
| No limit on personal property and loss of use coverage. | Fails to list different coverages and savings on its site. |
| Cleanly designed and intuitive website and mobile app. | Add-ons can be costly. |
| Few customer complaints for a company of its size. | Can’t lower premium by much due to only two discounts, bundling and having home safety protection devices such as installing smoke alarms. |
| Business property has up to $1,500 of coverage. | Not available in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. |
Erie: Best for Customer Service
Erie’s renters policy has the best customer service compared to all the insurers we looked at.
First, Erie received only about 25% of the complaints expected for its size.
Second, J.D. Power rated its service the fifth-best in the country among large insurance providers. These scores were the best among widely available providers.
However, Erie offers a bare-bones renters policy due to limited ways to customize your policy.
There are no other extras or bonuses like replacement cost that comes standard in the insurer’s policy.
In particular, there are no add-ons like scheduling your personal property to expand its coverage because the basic renters insurance only covers up to the policy’s limit.
You can’t even purchase coverage for your dog.
However, you can get a good discount if your bundle your renters insurance with Erie's car insurance.
But unlike other insurers that save you time by allowing you to get a quote online, Erie makes customers have to talk to an agent, which can be very inconvenient.
How’s Erie Rated?
- J.D. Power: 4.3/5.
- NAIC: 1.10.
- BBB: A+
- A.M. Best: A+
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Highly rated customer service. | Few add-ons. |
| Offers discounts to renters with auto policies. | Requires you to speak to an agent for a quote. |
| Customers looking for personal interaction with an agent rather than using insurer’s website and mobile app. | People who live in the western United States. |
| Shoppers who prefer to buy and manage their policies online. | |
| Biggest shortcoming is its limited coverage area; only sells insurance in 12 states, plus the District of Columbia. | |
| Relatively few online tools. |
Travelers: Best for Protecting Renter Improvements
Travelers is known for its wide range of discounts, a user-friendly website, and policies available in most states.
But what makes the insurer unique is that it caters to renters who spruce up their rentals.
You know how it is when you rent. You want to personalize it, but there’s not that many improvements you can make because you aren’t a homeowner.
But in general, a landlord will allow you to paint the walls, put up wallpaper, or change a ceiling fixture. These may be all you need to make the rental your own.
But what if your improvements are damaged due to a covered peril like fire?
With Travelers, its standard policy covers any improvements you make.
You get up to 10% off a renters insurance policy's personal property coverage that you can use to repair or replace the improvements that you made if they are damaged from a covered peril.
In addition, Travelers offers two critical optional riders
If your personal property is damaged, you get replacement coverage, which means you will be reimbursed for your items in full and at today’s value rather than get the depreciated cost.
You get a rider that covers expensive items like jewelry, fine art, laptops, and more, with higher coverage limits than a standard policy.
Unlike scheduling your high-cost items, you don’t need to have your property appraised or listed individually.
How’s Travelers Rated?
- NAIC: 0.50
- JD Power: 807/1,000
- AM Best: A+
- BBB Rating: A+
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 24/7 for claims and customer service. | Higher premiums compared to similar insurers. |
| Useful features on website and app. | Replacement cost value (RCV) is not standard. |
| Some unique add-ons, like decreasing deductible and equipment breakdown. | With RCV, policy limits and deductibles apply, including limits for jewelry, watches, furs, and other expensive possessions. |
| Offers replacement cost coverage. | JD Power score is low. |
| Financially stable. | Relatively few add-ons. |
| Bundling renters with auto policy gets you a 5% discount on auto insurance. | Need to call to get quotes in some states. |
| If you have boat insurance, an umbrella policy, or a floater policy, you can save even more. | Can’t go below $30,000 of personal property. |
| Partial refund if you cancel policy midyear. |
Progressive: Best for Many Discounts
Progressive teams up with third-party insurers to provide renters insurance.
Progressive is best known for offering extensive named peril coverages.
But it’s also known for the many discounts it offers to policyholders.
While one discount may not lower your policy in a significant amount, a bunch of them will.
Progressive Discounts
Early Quote
You get a discount for getting a quote from Progressive at least three days before your policy takes effect.
Pay in Full
If you choose to pay your premium in full rather than monthly, you’ll save.
Paperless Discount
If you decide to go paperless and wish to receive important documents electronically, you get a discount.
Security Measures Discount
If you have alarms, security features like remote cameras, or if you live in a gated community or your rental complex has a doorman or security guard, you’ll get a discount.
Multi-Policy
Discount when you bundle with another Progressive insurance, such as auto.
How’s Progressive Rated?
- AM Best: A+
- JD Power: 835/1,000
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 24/7 customer service. Customers can contact via phone, web, app, or online chat. | Highest premium in comparison to similar insurers. |
| Increased coverage at a cost for collections, watercraft, theft of firearms, and business property. | Without discounts, the rate remains high. |
| Additional coverage for computer and equipment, as well as business use of your personal computer. | Website allows for online quote but filing renters claim must be done with insurer directly. |
| Coverage for water damage from the backup of sewer or sump pump systems. | Has mobile app for auto and other types of insurance but can’t use it to manage renters policy. |
| If you get renters insurance quote through Progressive, the policy may come from a different insurer through Progressive’s insurance agency. |
Farmers: Best for Many Ways to File a Claim
Farmers offers a wide variety of coverages and your personal possessions are protected anywhere in the world.
An insurer like that is bound to cover your belongings in many ways, and Farmers delivers.
If your personal property is stolen from your car or rental vehicle, or if theft occurs in your hotel room while you are traveling, Farmers will reimburse you.
Farmers also offers something called “floater insurance,” which covers your personal property located in any place and also while your goods are being moved from one place to another.
For example, say you are moving from a rental to another rental, and you leave your rental truck opened while you carry boxes to your new place.
Now say that while you are in your new place and thieves raid your rental truck, floater insurance will provide additional coverage, which other insurers do not.
The policy is best for your expensive belongings like your jewelry because to qualify, they must be valued at above $500.
Besides covering your possessions above and beyond a basic policy, Farmers is also known for its easy claims process.
You can file a renters insurance claim with Farmers in many ways.
How’s Farmers Rated?
- AM Best: A
- JD Power: 808/1,000
- BBB: A+
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Offers a deductible as low as $100. | Premiums are high compared to most top competitors. |
| No limit on personal property coverage. | Premiums start at $30 per month. |
| Optional pet insurance. | Provides only one add-on coverage option. |
| Umbrella liability insurance to expand your liability coverage across several policies, like renters and car insurance. | 24/7 for claims, but customer service line available during limited times. |
| Identity Shield pays for expenses to restore your identity if you are the victim of identity theft. | Low JD Power Score. |
| Special incentives for non-smoking households that have been smoke-free for at least two consecutive years. | |
| Unique occupation discount if you are a professional such as a doctor, nurse, dentist, engineer, firefighter, police officer. or teacher. |
How We Ranked and Picked the Best Apartment Renters Insurance Companies in Tennessee
To determine the best renters insurance company in Tennessee, we looked at several factors.
With so many renters’ insurance companies to choose from, we researched and narrowed down the list of 16 best in Tennessee. We looked at their ratings on criteria such as ease-of use, financial strength ( Ratings ) , customer service quality/ Affordability .
Location
We didn’t just research renters insurance quotes in Tennessee.
Since we needed to compare quotes to find the best policy, we looked at a total of 25 cities in Tennessee.
We found that each of these cities all had an average monthly premium of $21 per month. That’s higher than the state and national average, so then we looked at the reasons why the rates are high.
We discovered that most cities had expensive premiums due to high crime rates and the many natural disasters they received.
The cities we looked at included Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Franklin, Bristol, Oak Ridge, Columbia, and Chattanooga.
What Natural Disasters are Not Covered in a Renters Policy?
Just like with homeowner’s insurance, the basic renters policy does not include coverage for floods or earth movement such as earthquakes and sinkholes.
At least Tennessee is not prone to earthquakes.
But for those who live in flood zones, it’s wise to get flood insurance.
How Much is Renters Insurance in Tennessee?
The best renters insurance companies combine many coverage options and dependable customer service.
They also should have affordable policies.
That said, the average cost of renters insurance in the US is $16 per month or $187 per year.
Meanwhile, the average cost of a renters insurance policy in Tennessee is $179 per year or $15 per month according to the Insurance Information Institute.
Renters insurance in Tennessee is lower than the national average.
The average renters insurance in Tennessee, to reiterate, is just $15 per month.
Why are Tennessee Renters Rates So High?
One, Tennessee has many catastrophic natural disasters.
Two, Tennessee has a high violent crime rate.
Tennessee’s Natural Disasters
In 2021, Tennessee became one of the costliest states in terms of climate disasters.
According to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Tennessee endured six different billion-dollar disasters last year.
Severe storms have caused the highest number of billion-dollar disaster events.
Tropical cyclones and flooding are the second and third most frequent event types, respectively.
Tropical cyclones are responsible for the highest number of deaths.
Severe storms, droughts, and heatwave are right behind.
Tornadoes in Tennessee also account for record-breaking billion-dollar
natural disasters.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2020 State of Climate report, there were two deadliest tornadoes that hit Tennessee in 2020. In total, there were 35 tornadoes in Tennessee for that year.
Flooding and Snowstorms
Flooding and snowstorms are also common problems in Tennessee.
Most towns in Tennessee that have rivers are susceptible to flooding. Unless you live in the mountains or on higher grounds, you should purchase flood insurance, an additional coverage that will protect you from flood damage.
In particular, if you live in Davidson county, renters are actually required to buy flood insurance because their rentals there often border a creek or stream.
In addition, Middle and East Tennessee are also known for both snowstorms and ice storms, which causes flooding.
Thunderstorms
Tennessee is also known for its thunderstorms. The Memphis area and middle Tennessee are most impacted by this natural disaster.
