Table of Contents
- How much is renters insurance in PA?
- Average cost of renters insurance in Pennsylvania by city
- Average cost of renters insurance in Pennsylvania by insurer
- Cheapest renters insurance in Pennsylvania: Liberty Mutual
- Best renters insurance in Pennsylvania: Travelers
- Other Pennsylvania renters insurance providers to consider
- Learn more about renters insurance providers in Pennsylvania
- Additional questions about Pennsylvania renters insurance
- How we gathered our data on Pennsylvania renters insurance prices
How much is renters insurance in PA?
Renters insurance costs an average of $15.63 per month in Pennsylvania. That’s nearly $5 cheaper than the national average, which comes in at $20 monthly. In our analysis of the top 15 Pennsylvania cities by population, we uncovered some interesting information.
For instance, Philadelphia came in as the most expensive city to purchase renters insurance, with an average price of $23.22. This isn’t particularly surprising since it’s the most populous city in the state, but interestingly, the second-most populous city, Pittsburgh, is almost $6 cheaper per month at $17.22. You don’t often see that large of a price difference between two major cities. On the other end of the spectrum, the city of Lancaster was the cheapest city in PA to buy renters insurance in at $14.36.
Harsh winters and well-worn apartment buildings are the two main factors that increase the price of renters insurance in PA. While they’re beautiful and culturally significant, some of those old Philly structures are just one bad ice storm away from a burst water pipe and major flood damage.
Average cost of renters insurance in Pennsylvania by city
Renters insurance costs are affected by a variety of factors and can fluctuate weekly or even daily. Check out our list below to see the average cost of renters insurance in Pennsylvania.
| City | Price (monthly) | Price (yearly) |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | $23.22 | $280.00 |
| Pittsburgh | $17.52 | $210.95 |
| Allentown | $15.94 | $191.69 |
| Erie | $15.83 | $190.13 |
| Reading | $16.47 | $198.72 |
Average cost of renters insurance in Pennsylvania by insurer
Next up is a list of 11 top insurers in Pennsylvania. We break down their average monthly costs in PA, as well as their price difference from the statewide average.
| Insurer | Monthly cost | Difference from average |
|---|---|---|
| Allstate | $15.07 | - $0.56 |
| GEICO | $19.99 | + $4.36 |
| Progressive | $18.57 | + $2.94 |
| State Farm | $14.43 | - $1.20 |
| Liberty Mutual | $10.34 | - $5.29 |
Cheapest renters insurance in Pennsylvania: Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual offers the cheapest renters insurance policies in Pennsylvania, with policies that cost $10.34 a month on average. Unfortunately, we found that was really all they had going for them.
Benefits of Liberty Mutual renters insurance in Pennsylvania
- Cost: As mentioned, Liberty Mutual’s policies are much cheaper than the statewide average, but this is counterbalanced by their mediocre coverage and lack of endorsements.
Disadvantages of Liberty Mutual renters insurance in Pennsylvania
- ACV costs: A Liberty Mutual renters insurance policy covers the actual cash value (ACV) of any covered loss by default. They offer optional (and more beneficial) replacement cost coverage, but you’ll have to pay extra for it. With a replacement cost policy, your insurer will pay out the price of a brand new replacement for every lost item, while actual cash value only pays out what the item is worth at the time it was stolen or damaged.
- Lackluster discounts: Unfortunately, if you’re looking to further reduce the cost of your Liberty Mutual renters insurance policy, you’re not going to find any notable discounts with this company. They offer the same discounts as most of their competitors, like multi-policy bundling discounts, claims-free rates, and discounts for buying online and setting up autopay.
- Zero flood coverage: Flood insurance policies are regulated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and floods aren’t typically covered by renters insurance. Liberty Mutual is no exception, so you’ll have to purchase separate flood insurance if you want to protect your belongings against surface water flooding. Pennsylvania recently released a new mapping tool to show flood risk to help residents determine if they live in a high-risk flood zone.
Best renters insurance in Pennsylvania: Travelers
A Travelers policy is among the best renters insurance you can buy in Pennsylvania given their range of policy endorsements. At roughly $163 per year, they’re still among the cheapest options in the state, although you’ll have to pay a full year in advance for coverage.
Advantages of Travelers renters insurance in Pennsylvania
- Extensive endorsements: A renters insurance endorsement or rider is an add-on to your policy that provides more coverage. Travelers offers a wide variety of useful endorsements. For instance, if you happen to be in business for yourself and much of your livelihood relies on the use of expensive computer equipment, photography gear, etc., you can fully cover those high-ticket items easily with a Travelers personal articles rider.
Disadvantages of Travelers renters insurance in Pennsylvania
- Upfront costs: If you decide to go with Travelers renters insurance, you’ll unfortunately have to pay the total yearly cost of your policy all at once, which is a big ask for many people. Travelers doesn’t allow monthly payments for their renters insurance policies. But if you can afford them, it’s hard to find a better renters insurance policy in Pennsylvania.
Other Pennsylvania renters insurance providers to consider
There are plenty of other things to consider when choosing the right renters insurance policy. Take a look at the providers that perform best in the following circumstances:
Best renters insurance for pet owners: State Farm
Because renters insurance includes pet liability coverage, many insurers take pet breed into account when calculating the price of your policy. This can significantly increase your renters insurance premiums if your pet’s breed makes them a higher risk for bites or other problematic behaviors.
State Farm is committed to never asking their policyholders about what breed of dog they own. If you’re one of the many proud Philadelphians with a German Shepherd in their family, rest assured your renters insurance rates won’t increase under a State Farm policy.
Best renters insurance for college students: Allstate
As one of the five states with the most public universities, Pennsylvania enjoys an influx of first-time renters each school season. If you’re a Pennsylvania college student looking to protect your new apartment, consider purchasing an Allstate renters insurance policy.
A standard Allstate renters insurance policy offers $1,000 to help pay for medical expenses for guests injured in your rental. This type of coverage is included in most of their competitors’ policies, but Allstate offers additional tiers of guest medical coverage — up to $5,000 — which can be added for less than $10 per month. Buying more guest medical coverage is a good idea if you like to host large gatherings or parties.
Best for ride-share drivers: Erie Insurance
If a report shared by Business Insider is to be believed, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are among the top-earning cities for Uber and Lyft drivers. The gig economy seems to be booming in the Steel City and City of Brotherly Love. You can take advantage of deep discounts on an Erie renters insurance policy when you bundle it with their automobile policy.
We weren’t able to include Erie Insurance in our overall price analysis of the top insurers, but their bundled policies are surprisingly affordable — and they’re among the highest-rated insurers, according to the consumer research firm J.D. Power. With their trademark “Rate Lock” feature, you can avoid price jumps if you ever have to file a renters insurance claim on a covered loss.
Learn more about renters insurance providers in Pennsylvania
If you’re still unsure which provider to buy from, consider checking out our renters insurance reviews.
For more information on the benefits and disadvantages of each insurer, read our reviews of:
Additional questions about Pennsylvania renters insurance
If you’re looking to buy renters insurance in Pennsylvania, you should be aware of a few other things before signing the dotted line.
Can a landlord require renters insurance in PA?
Yes, a landlord can require renters insurance in Pennsylvania, but you aren’t legally required to purchase a policy in order to rent an apartment in the state.
Essentially, landlords can demand the purchase of renters insurance as a condition of the lease agreement — that’s within their legal rights. But the state doesn’t require tenants to purchase renters insurance in the same way that you’re required to have auto insurance in order to legally drive a vehicle.
Can you be evicted for not having renters insurance?
Yes, you can be evicted for not having renters insurance if your landlord explicitly required you to purchase a policy as part of the lease.
How we gathered our data on Pennsylvania renters insurance prices
We conducted a survey and obtained renters insurance quotes for Pennsylvania’s 15 largest cities. You can view our complete data set at the bottom of this article.
The following profile was used to gather quotes:
- 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 off of personal property coverage)
- Deductible: $500
Much of your own personal information and policy choices are going to affect your rates, so your quotes will be different from ours. Our quotes also don’t factor in the various down payments or installation fees required by many providers. However, you can typically avoid having to pay these costs by selecting the preferred payment option of your insurer. For more information on reducing those extra costs, be sure to take a look at our guide to the different ways you can get renters insurance with no down payment.
The average price of renters insurance in Pennsylvania by city and insurer
Below, you can compare all of the data we collected on Pennsylvania’s renters insurance prices. Be sure to scroll to the right to see the entire table.
| Allstate | Geico | Progressive | State Farm | Liberty Mutual | Nationwide | Lemonade | Midvale | Farmers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | $30.00 | $20.08 | $22.88 | $19.50 | $16.83 | $20.88 | $25.25 | $23.58 | $31.00 |
| Pittsburgh | $19.00 | $19.92 | $19.55 | $16.83 | $10.93 | $16.48 | $16.50 | $16.08 | $22.92 |
| Allentown | $13.00 | $20.08 | $17.29 | $17.75 | $9.33 | $16.06 | $15.84 | $13.42 | $21.00 |
| Erie | $15.00 | $20.08 | $22.70 | $14.08 | $8.75 | $16.40 | $13.09 | $13.58 | $18.92 |
| Reading | $13.00 | $19.92 | $17.82 | $17.75 | $13.07 | $16.07 | $12.25 | $19.58 | $19.58 |
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