Florida Renters Insurance

The appeal of living in Florida is obvious — stunning white sand beaches and endless ocean views. Just remember, you can still find trouble in paradise, and when you’re a renter, you need to protect yourself with renters insurance.

The best Florida renters insurance can help you pay to repair or replace your damaged belongings after a storm, theft, fallen object, fire, short-circuit damage and more. Let us help you find the best option for renters insurance in Florida.

Quick Look: The Best Florida Renters Insurance

• Best for Seamless 100% Digital Sign-Up: Lemonade
• Best for Discounts: Progressive
• Best for Existing Policyholders: State Farm
• Best for Seniors: Security First
• Best for High-Value Items: Allstate

The Best Florida Renters Insurance

Renters insurance doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all option. You might want the cheapest option available or you may want plenty of available discounts. No matter what you’re looking for, our picks for the best renters insurance in Florida can help you find it.

1. Lemonade

Did you know most of our readers prefer to work with Lemonade for their renters insurance needs?

Lemonade is leading the charge of inexpensive insurance carriers. When you use Lemonade, you get a quote for renters insurance in just 90 seconds. The platform helps you get more information on renters insurance, uses advanced technology to point you in the right direction and makes it easy to file claims, speak with adjusters and get the support you need in the event of an emergency or catastrophic loss.

Your landlord or property owner has insurance that protects their investment, and you need affordable coverage for your family and personal belongings.

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Lemonade offers fast, easy coverage through their seamless application and claims process. Get personal property and liability protection with Lemonade Renters Insurance.

2. Progressive

Renters insurance policies from Progressive offer you comprehensive protection. Under a Progressive policy, you get personal property coverage, liability coverage and also reimbursement for living expenses if your home or apartment is severely damaged.

Policies from Progressive are easy to understand and its website makes it clear what is and isn’t included with your coverage.

Additional policy options include water damage and personal injury protection. The average cost of renters insurance from Progressive is between $13 and $35 per month, which makes it an exceptionally affordable choice.

Progressive offers a great selection of policies available throughout the United States suitable for most renters’ budgets and needs. The insurance powerhouse also offers a wide range of discounts. Because Progressive offers over 30 insurance types, you’ll probably find some way to take advantage of its bundling discount.

You can also get a discount when you pay your policy in full, opt to receive documents via email or get a quote at least 3 days before you need it to go into effect. Progressive is our top choice for renters who don’t want to sacrifice quality for cost.

3. State Farm

State Farm is one of the largest renters insurance providers. The company offers affordable insurance options throughout the state of Florida. You can find several discounts for your policy to further decrease the price.

Get a multi-policy discount when you bundle renters and auto insurance. State Farm also took the 3rd spot in the 2019 J.D. Power Renters Insurance Study — its ratings were among the best in almost every category.

4. Security First

Security First is a Florida insurance company based in Ormond Beach, Florida. Prices for a basic renters insurance policy from Security First are hard to beat. A local, family-owned company, Security First focuses on providing Floridians with affordable insurance coverage.

The company has an A+ rating with the BBB. Security First also offers discounts for seniors age 55-plus and fire alarm systems.

5. Allstate

Allstate is one of the largest insurance providers in the country. The company has an A+ rating with the BBB but is not BBB accredited. The biggest benefit of Allstate is that it has an excellent claims satisfaction rating. The J.D. Power 2019 Renters Insurance Study gives Allstate a rating among the best for overall claims satisfaction.

Allstate could be a good choice if you want a company that has an easy claims process in case you face a covered loss.

Florida Renters Insurance: An Overview

You might want to think of renters insurance as a compact version of homeowners insurance. Most companies that offer homeowners insurance offer some type of renters insurance as well. Your homeowners insurance policy covers your belongings, liability and the physical structure of your home but renters insurance only protects your belongings and also covers your liability.

Renters insurance is a cheap, easy way to protect yourself from financial troubles if an accident or theft happens in your apartment.

Still on the fence about renters insurance? Many landlords now require you to get renters insurance before they’ll hand over the keys. Landlord insurance is expensive, so it’s important for a lot of landlords that their tenants take care of the rental. A renters insurance policy often shows responsibility in a renter.

Average Annual Renters Insurance Premium in Florida

In data recently published by the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost of renters insurance in Florida is $181 per year. This is just under the national annual average of $185. Florida ranks number 19 in most affordable renters insurance in the country.

The average annual premium for renters insurance in Florida can be a little misleading, however. Florida is a state with a lot of exposure to extreme weather. Additionally, certain areas in Florida are more prone to crime than others. The exact location of your rental plays a big role in the cost of your renters insurance policy.

For example, you might rent a beachfront apartment in a densely populated neighborhood in an area with high crime. Your renters insurance is likely to be more expensive than if you rent the same apartment in an inland city with low crime ratings.

Renters Insurance Discounts

Although renters insurance is already one of the most affordable types of insurance, you probably want to know if there are ways to make it more affordable. Luckily, there are plenty of discounts available for renters insurance policies.

The most common renters policy discounts include:

• Multi-policy: This discount rewards you for using the same insurance provider for multiple insurance needs, such as renters and auto insurance. Multi-policy discounts, often known as bundling, can help you save on all of your insurance policies.
• Safety device: You may be able to get a discount on your rates for having things like fire alarms or smoke detectors installed.
• Security: Does your apartment complex have a doorman or anti-theft monitoring system? You could get a discount for living in a secure building or gated community.
• Loyalty: If you’ve used the same insurance company for years, they may offer you a discount for continuing to use their services.
• Payment: Your renters policy could give you a discount based on how you pay. Discounts often include paid-in-full, autopay and paperless billing.

Renters Insurance Coverage Explained

Adding a renters insurance policy is an easy way to reduce risk if an accident occurs in your rental or apartment building. We’ll take a look at exactly what renters insurance covers, but first, understand more about the policies and procedures of renters insurance.

Let’s break down some common terms you’ll see when shopping for renters insurance:

• Actual cash value (ACV): This is the current value of the items you plan to insure with renters insurance. ACV comes from the value of the item today, so you’ll need to consider that when you insure items like computers or older electronics.
• Claim: A claim is a request you make to your insurance company to pay for covered damages.
• Covered loss: This is damage to you or your property that’s covered under your insurance policy. After you make a claim, your insurance company will decide if the claim is covered. Your damages are considered a covered loss if the claim is approved.
• Deductible: Your deductible is a set amount of money you must pay before your renters insurance will pay for damages. For example, let’s say a burst pipe causes $2,000 in damage to your belongings. You have a $500 deductible. Your renters insurance covers $1,500 of the repairs to your possessions and you cover $500.
• Depreciation: To value your items based on the current value, you need to figure in depreciation. This is the loss of value of an item due to wear, tear and age. Let’s say your computer cost $2,000 new, but that was 5 years ago. You’ll need to depreciate the item based on its age and your usage to find its current value.
• Liability coverage: Liability coverage protects you from legal action if a guest or visitor is harmed while at your apartment. For example, let’s say a friend comes over, trips on your rug and breaks his ankle. Your liability coverage helps pay for his medical bills. It also covers damage to another person’s property if you’re responsible. Let’s say you accidentally leave the water running and ruin the furniture of the unit below yours. Your renters insurance helps replace your neighbor’s things.
• Limits: Coverage limits are the total amount your insurance will pay for a covered loss. For example, let’s say your entertainment system is damaged in a covered loss. Your policy covers up to $20,000 of property damage but your system costs $25,000. You won’t be covered for the final $5,000 without additional coverage added to your policy.
• Peril: This involves risks or threats you may face that are covered by your policy, such as vandalism, fire or water damage from a burst pipe.
• Replacement cost: Similar to ACV, you can opt for replacement cost coverage to pay for the actual cost to replace your items instead of their current depreciated value.

How Does Renters Insurance Work?

Your renters insurance policy covers 3 things:

• Personal property, or the items you own
• Liability protection, which helps pay for damages to others caused by you
• Additional living expenses (ALEs), which cover your living costs if your rental is destroyed and becomes unlivable in a covered loss

You can usually add endorsements, or add-on coverage to your policy, for certain items. For example, you may want to add extra coverage for expensive jewelry if its value is outside your standard coverage limits.

Generally, renters insurance covers losses related to accidents or theft, including:

• Fire
• Windstorms and hail
• Explosions
• Theft
• Vandalism
• Smoke damage
• Water damage from burst pipes or leaks

Get Renters Insurance in Florida 

Although the cost of renters insurance in Florida can vary widely based on location, it’s usually a good idea to get coverage. Renters insurance is generally a cheap way to help reimburse you if you lose your possessions in an accident.

Check out Benzinga’s list, find the right policy for you and collect quotes from top providers today.