Renters Insurance in Boston

You’ve signed the lease to your perfect dwelling in Boston. Congrats! Before you get too comfortable hanging photos and choosing furniture, secure quality renters insurance in Boston so your dream rental doesn’t turn into a nightmare.

Quick Look: The Best Renter’s Insurance in Boston

• Best for Seamless, 100% Digital Sign-Up: Lemonade
• Best for High-Value Items: Allstate
• Best for Renters With Roommates: Assurant
• Best for Jetty Properties: Jetty

Best Renters Insurance Providers in Boston

Renters insurance offers peace of mind and here are Benzinga’s top picks for rental insurance in Boston.  

1. Lemonade

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

Lemonade found the recipe to squeeze life into a stodgy industry in 2015. Lemonade bills itself as “a tech company doing insurance, not an insurer doing an app.” It serves up a fresh offering in the long-standing insurance world because it can insure you in 90 seconds and pay claims in 3 minutes. 

Lemonade offers benefits like online quotes, paperless options, customizable coverage and social consciousness. It offers a unique giveback program by donating part of leftover money to causes you and other customers care about. 

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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. Allstate

Get personal property, liability and guest medical protection from Allstate for as low as $18 per month. Basic coverage starts with $15,000 in personal property protection with a $500 deductible for each occurrence. You also get $100,000 in liability protection and $1,000 per person for guest medical protection. You can adjust the coverage and the deductible amounts based on your needs and budget. 

Allstate offers fast and easy claims processing and an app called Allstate Digital Locker, which keeps an inventory of all of your personal property. Allstate has the experience, breadth and depth to secure the protection you need at an affordable price. 

AM Best, a global credit rating agency that rates insurance companies’ financial strength, gives Allstate an A+. If all of that isn’t enough, you can also bundle your insurance needs and save money.

3. Assurant

Assurant likes to keep things simple. It offers liability-only insurance aimed to satisfy any lease requirements and keeps costs low. You can also opt to spend a little more and protect your belongings. Both policies allow you to add up to 3 roommates.

You might pay as little as $73 per year through its pay all at once option. You can also get $10,000 in property protection (replacement cost included) and $100,000 in liability protection with a $500 deductible. You can also add fraud, flood, food spoilage and bed bug protection. AM Best gives Assurant an A rating. It’s a stable insurance option that offers value.

4. Jetty

Jetty “gets” city living and built its offerings with city dwellers in mind. Jetty offers affordable renters insurance that protects all that you own and follows you when you travel. Jetty tailors every plan to each customer using algorithms and data. You can choose to accessorize your plan to make it more of a custom fit. Jetty is new to the insurance scene but has strong connections with the National Specialty Insurance Company, which has been given an A rating by AM Best. 

Jetty customers also get discounts on certain brands — Casper mattresses, Blue Apron meal delivery, Snowe home essentials and Laurel & Wolf online interior design. No agents, no paperwork. Jetty provides the renters insurance you need quickly and without hassle. 

Renters Insurance in Boston: An Overview

The Boston renters market is wicked big. Whether you opt for the quintessential Bostonian triple-decker or an ultra-modern micro-unit, renters occupy about ⅔ of the housing in Boston. Of course, Boston also has its share of traditional apartments, condos and single-family homes available to rent.

No matter what sort of dwelling you choose to call home, remember that landlord insurance only covers the structure. Renters insurance, which is different from homeowners insurance, protects your belongings.

Average Annual Renters Insurance Premium in Boston

You can get renters insurance in Boston for about $180 – $360 per year, which is around $15 – $30 per month. The price you’ll pay depends on your deductible amount, where you live and the coverage you choose. (A deductible is the amount of money you pay before your insurance covers you.) 

Many insurance companies offer discounts for the following: 

• Nonsmoking household
• Home safety features like smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and storm shutters
• Anti-theft devices like security system and motion-sensing lights
• Loyalty to the insurance company 
• Multiple policies with that company

Renters Insurance Coverage Explained

Let’s say a pipe bursts in your building, soaks your computer and TV and ruins your possessions. Renters insurance helps cover the cost to replace the damaged items. Personal property coverage generally comes in 2 forms:

• Actual cash value pays you the depreciated value of an item at the time of loss.
• Replacement cost coverage pays you the amount equal to the amount you’d pay if you need to replace a lost item. You’ll get the amount you need to actually replace it. Replacement cost coverage is more expensive to purchase.

Let’s say you’re hosting game night for a group of friends. One friend trips and knocks her head into your table. The liability portion of your renters insurance covers your friend’s medical needs and will help you with damages if you get taken to court.

Finally, if your apartment becomes briefly unlivable as the result of a fire in the apartment building or another disaster, additional living expenses supplied by your renters insurance helps you cover the cost of safe shelter until you can move back into your pad. 

Protect Yourself with Renters Insurance in Boston

You’ll need to consider renters insurance for unintended possibilities if you call Boston home and plan to rent. That way, you can enjoy all of the cultural, educational and social perks without the worry.

Before you choose a company, sit back and take stock of what you have — personal possessions and finances. From there, look into different companies and their policies using Benzinga’s handy quick quote tool. Remember, the best renters insurance is a policy that fits your needs and budget best.