Renters Insurance in New York: Best Options, Cheapest Prices

Table of Contents

1. How much does renters insurance cost in New York?
2. Average price of renters insurance in New York by city
3. Average price of renters insurance in New York by insurance company
4. The cheapest renters insurance in New York: State Farm
5. The best renters insurance in New York: Nationwide
6. Other New York renters insurance providers you should consider
7. Other questions about renters insurance in New York
8. How we gathered our data on New York renters insurance prices

How much does renters insurance cost in New York?

The average price of renters insurance in New York is $15.49 a month, which is lower than the national average of approximately per month. Lemonade provided the cheapest quote we received, selling policies in Rochester for $6.09 per month. Homesite had the single most expensive policy, offering renters insurance in NYC for $34.58 per month.

Generally, you’ll pay a similar amount for renters insurance no matter where you live in New York. There’s only a $5 difference between Rochester ($13.26), the most affordable city for renters insurance, and New York City ($18.70), the most expensive. New York City has a relatively high crime rate, which is why renters insurance costs slightly more there.

Factors that can affect the price of your policy in New York include:

• Credit score: Unfortunately, your provider will raise your renters insurance premiums if you have poor credit.
• Type of policy: The price of your policy will be higher if you add renters insurance riders to increase your coverage. Conversely, if you choose a policy that provides a relatively low amount of coverage, it will be cheaper than a more comprehensive one.
• Location: Your zip code can raise or lower the cost of your insurance. If you live near a fire station, you’ll pay less. If you live in a neighborhood where there’s a lot of robberies, you’ll pay more. Your home’s safety is the single biggest factor that affects your premiums.

Average price of renters insurance in New York by city

The table below displays the average cost of renters insurance per month and per year in each of the 15 most populous cities in the state of New York.

Average price of renters insurance in New York by insurance company

The table below shows the average amount you can expect to pay for renters insurance with each of the nine major insurers in New York, as well as how their prices differ from the state average.

State Farm’s pricing in New York doesn’t vary by location

State Farm offers a flat rate of $10.42 per month for insurance in New York. We reached out to several State Farm agents and they told us that the company has elected to set a single price for the entire state, rather than set different rates in every city.

$10.42 is the “base” (i.e. minimum) price of State Farm’s renters insurance policies, which you can get regardless of which part of New York you live in. This makes them on average the most affordable option in the state, although not in every city.

The cheapest renters insurance in New York: State Farm

Like we said, State Farm provides the cheapest renters insurance in New York, selling policies for $10.42 per month. Lemonade is marginally more expensive at $10.84.

However, State Farm isn’t always your most affordable option. Their competitors are cheaper in five cities: Rochester, Syracuse, Cheektowaga, White Plains, and Tonawanda. In Tonawanda, for instance, you can get a more affordable policy from both Farmers ($10) and Lemonade ($9).

Benefits of State Farm renters insurance in New York

• Personalized service: When you’re dealing with sensitive issues like insurance, it can be very helpful to get personalized service from an agent, which isn’t an option with smaller providers like Lemonade. Because State Farm is the largest provider of renters insurance in the country, they have agents across New York who can help you pick a policy and file claims.

Disadvantages of State Farm renters insurance in New York

• Limited discounts: State Farm offers fewer discounts than their competitors. Where Liberty Mutual provides five ways to save, State Farm only provides three: one discount for bundling your auto and renters policies, another for installing home alarm systems, and a third for raising your renters insurance deductible (the amount you pay on your own when you file a claim).
• Poor website design: State Farm’s mobile app is well-designed, but as we noted in our review of State Farm’s renters insurance, their website just isn’t very polished. (When we used it, it froze several times.)

If you’re looking for the best policy in New York and you’re willing to pay more for it, we suggest looking elsewhere.

The best renters insurance in New York: Nationwide

Nationwide wasn’t the cheapest insurer we looked at, but their average monthly price was still $1.43 below the state average.

Benefits of Nationwide renters insurance in New York

• Extensive coverage: All standard renters insurance policies provide personal property coverage, loss-of-use coverage, personal liability coverage, and guest medical coverage. Nationwide’s basic policies also include two extra protections. Any alterations you’ve made to your home will be protected by Nationwide’s building additions coverage, and their credit card coverage insures you against unauthorized transactions and credit card theft.
• Water backup coverage: In New York City, there are a lot of old buildings with poor drainage systems, and a standard policy won’t cover the damage they can cause to your property if they get backed up. Fortunately, Nationwide has a renters insurance rider that you can get to protect you against water backup damage.

Disadvantages of Nationwide renters insurance in New York

• Replacement cost coverage costs extra: If you get a standard Nationwide policy, you’ll receive actual cash value coverage, which insures you for the depreciated value of your lost items. If you’re looking for comprehensive coverage, you want renters insurance with replacement cost coverage, which reimburses you for the value of a brand-new model of your lost item. If you want the latter type of coverage (which we recommend), Nationwide will raise your monthly premiums. Given that companies like Lemonade offer replacement cost coverage at no extra charge, this is disappointing.

Ultimately, despite defaulting to actual cash value coverage, Nationwide offers the best renters insurance in New York state.

Other New York renters insurance providers you should consider

Everyone’s circumstances are different, which is why we’ve listed some more providers that we recommend for:

• Fire coverage
• Discounts
• Pet liability coverage

Best New York renters insurance for fire coverage: State Farm

It’s normal for renters insurance to cover fires (providing you didn’t deliberately start it, since insurers aren’t big fans of arson). Since all providers cover fire, the question becomes: which provider has the best loss-of-use coverage?

In general, the answer is State Farm. They’re one of the only providers that offer 24 months of support with living expenses, which is invaluable if your rebuild takes longer than expected. (Most providers offer just 12 months.)

If you’re looking for renters insurance in NYC, which saw almost 13,000 structural fires in the first six months of 2019, check the duration of your policy’s loss-of-use coverage, and consider switching to State Farm if it’s insufficient.

Best New York renters insurance for discounts: Liberty Mutual

Although Liberty Mutual isn’t the cheapest provider in New York, their policies get substantially more affordable when you consider how easy they make it to get discounts on renters insurance.

Liberty Mutual offers discounts for:

• Bundling your auto and renters insurance policy together
• Being claims-free for 5 years or over
• Buying renters insurance from them before your current policy with another provider expires
• Setting up automatic payments from your bank
• Buying your policy online

Insurers usually offer one or two of these discounts, but offering all five is unusual, and means they might be significantly cheaper than their base rate suggests.

Best New York renters insurance for pet liability coverage: State Farm

Most renters insurance policies in New York include pet liability insurance, which means that your policy will cover dog bites and any other injury or damage that your pet causes.

However, most insurers keep a list of dog breeds that they think are aggressive. If your dog’s breed is on it, you’ll have to pay a higher premium — and that’s if your insurer doesn’t decline to issue you a policy altogether.

You won’t be able to get an online quote for renters insurance that covers pit bulls, for instance, from any of the following companies:

• Progressive
• Allstate
• Lemonade
• Erie Insurance
• Travelers
• Nationwide

Fortunately, State Farm has a policy of never asking about your dog’s breed when you buy renters insurance from them. This makes them by far the most dog-friendly insurer if you have a pit bull, a Rottweiler, a Siberian Husky, or any other breed that other providers tend to exclude. (Note that State Farm will still ask if your dog has a history of biting, and may decline to issue you a policy if they do.)

How to learn more about renters insurance providers in New York

If you want to do some more research before you buy a policy, check out our detailed reviews of the state’s best renters insurance companies:

• Allstate
• GEICO
• Lemonade
• State Farm
• USA
• Progressive

Other questions about renters insurance in New York

Before getting a policy, there are a few other things you should know about renters insurance in NY:

Does renters insurance cover hurricane damage in New York?

Typically, renters insurance covers hurricane damage — but not all types of damage.

If lightning, falling objects, or windstorms damage your property, you’re protected. However, renters insurance doesn’t cover flooding of any type. If you live in one of New York’s flood zones, you should talk to your provider about buying a separate policy from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Not all insurers work with the NFIP, so if yours doesn’t, you may have to look elsewhere for coverage.

Does renters insurance require a credit check in New York?

Yes, renters insurance requires a credit check in New York. It isn’t one of the states where you can buy renters insurance with no credit check.

Can landlords require renters insurance in New York?

Yes. Landlords can require that you buy renters insurance in New York, and they are entitled to reject your application if you don’t (providing they wrote the requirement into your lease).

How we gathered our data on New York renters insurance prices

The renters insurance quotes you’ll receive will be affected several factors, including your age, employment status, and what level of coverage you’re after. We collected data for someone with the following profile:

• Insured party: 30-year old male, employed, unmarried, with no pets
• Personal property coverage: $30,000
• Personal liability coverage: $100,000
• Guest medical coverage: $1,000
• Loss-of-use coverage: Insurer’s default (usually based on personal property coverage)
• Deductible: $500

Note that our figures do not account for any initial down payments that insurers may add to your bill when your policy starts. If you’re hoping to get renters insurance with no down payment, consider offering to pay your first year’s premiums upfront. If you do so, most companies will waive these extra charges.

The price of renters insurance in New York: complete data set

Below, you’ll find every quote we received from the nine most popular insurance companies in New York’s biggest cities.

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