Best and Cheapest Renters Insurance in Washington for 2024

Many renters contemplate this question: Do I need renters insurance in Washington? The need for renters insurance is commonly misunderstood. While your landlord will have insurance to cover the building you’re renting, that insurance won’t cover your personal belongings, but a renters insurance policy does! Additionally, renters insurance provides renters with liability coverage.

So if you want to ensure you’re properly covered while renting, it’s important to find one of the best Washington renters insurance companies. But where do you start? In the table above, you can sort through all the renters insurance companies ranked on Clearsurance. The rating next to each company — the insurer’s Clearsurance score — is based exclusively on the thousands of ratings provided by customers. Note: Only those companies with at least 25 renters insurance reviews are eligible to appear in the best Washington renters insurance rankings.

Interested in learning more about one of the companies on the list of the best renters insurance companies in Washington? You can visit the company’s profile page to find more information about the company and read reviews to learn from the experiences of other policyholders.

On this page:

• Washington renters insurance rates
• Average cost of renting in Seattle
• Renters insurance for Washington college students
• Washington property crime statistics

What are your coverage options on a renters insurance policy?

Just like any other policy, you can usually customize your renters insurance coverage to get exactly what you need. A standard policy contains some form of the following types of renters coverage:

• Personal property coverage – This type of coverage pays the replacement cost for the personal items you keep in your apartment should they be damaged or destroyed. The policy will usually have a list of covered losses or perils, so make sure to look this over closely.

• Liability coverage – Liability insurance pays for medical expenses if someone is injured in your apartment.

• Loss of use coverage – Loss of use pays for your hotel and food expenditures when you are unable to stay in your apartment because of damages. This may also be called additional living expense coverage or temporary living expenses coverage.

Beyond these basic coverage options, you may also be able to purchase additional coverage like identity theft protection, guest medical payments coverage, and other optional coverages.

People who keep expensive items in their rental unit, like musical instruments, jewelry, or sports equipment, may wish to increase their coverage limits for additional peace of mind.

Who offers the best Washington renters insurance rates?

Out of the most popular companies in Washington, Nationwide offers the cheapest Washington renters insurance rates, on average.

On average, Washington renters insurance costs about $129 per year. In Washington, renters insurance varies based on a number of factors including the company you choose. Some companies may offer renters insurance in Washington for a cheaper rate than other companies do. In the table below, you can see average annual Washington renters insurance rates from some of the largest companies in the state.

These average renters insurance rates are 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. The rates displayed should only be used for comparative purposes as individual rates in Washington will differ. Rate data is provided by Quadrant Information Services.

How much does rent cost in Seattle?

In Seattle, Washington, rent costs an average of $1,965 per month. The cost of rent in Seattle can vary based on factors including your apartment's location and size.

Seattle is a city in the Pacific Northwest known for its rainy climate and coffee. It has a number of unique and iconic landmarks like Pike Place and the Space Needle, not to mention its the headquarters for Amazon. With the location on Puget Sound and in the midst of forest land and mountains, it’s a popular city to live in despite the frequent rain. While the average cost of monthly rent in Seattle is $1,965, the cost may vary based on location in the city. For example the average monthly cost of rent in the Belltown neighborhood is $2,528 while the average monthly cost of rent in the Georgetown neighborhood is $1,375.

Like location, the size of the apartment also affects the cost of rent per month for an apartment in Seattle. On average, studio apartments cost $1,427 per month, one-bedroom apartments cost $1,884 per month and three-bedroom apartments cost $2,559 per month. People renting an apartment in Seattle may want to consider purchasing a renters insurance policy. For an affordable fee each month, a renters insurance policy will protect a renter’s personal belongings from disasters like theft, fire and much more.

See the best renters insurance companies and rates in Seattle.

Do Washington college students need renters insurance?

You may be renting a dorm on your campus or an apartment located off-campus if you’re attending a college or university in Washington state. There are a few things for college students renting housing in Washington to consider in order to protect their personal belongings.

Typically, college students who live in dorms located on the college campus are covered by their parents homeowners insurance policy. That’s usually only the case for students who live on campus, though. Washington college students who rent apartments off-campus should consider a renters insurance policy because their items won’t be covered under their parents’ policy, and without a renters insurance policy, they won’t have any protection.

College students will most likely have roommates in the apartment they rent. It’s not advised that students share renters insurance policies with roommates. Rather, each student should have their own renters insurance policy to protect their own belongings.

What are Washington's property crime statistics?

Theft and vandalism or malicious mischief are among the 16 perils a standard renters insurance policy protects you from. So, how does crime in Washington compare to other states around the country? The FBI published the following statistics on crime in Washington for 2016:

• Property crime - 254,653
• Burglary - 49,180
• Larceny theft - 173,187

When compared to the national average rate per 100,000 inhabitants, all three crime statistics in Washington rank above the national average.

How can you save money on your renters insurance in Washington?

While renters insurance may be more affordable than other types of insurance, no one wants to pay more than they have to. So what are the different ways that you can lower your Washington renters insurance premium and have some extra spending money?

Here are the top 5 ways to save on your renters insurance:

• Raise your deductible
• Ask about potential discounts
• Bundle your policies
• Determine the value of your personal property
• Pay in full by check

If you bundle your auto policy with a homeowners or renters insurance policy with the same insurance provider, you will usually receive a multi-policy discount (this might also be available for bundling with other insurance products, such as a life insurance policy or boat insurance policy). Some insurance carriers also reduce your monthly premium for safety devices in your apartment, such as a smoke detector, protective devices like burglar alarms, or for setting up automatic payments.

A wide range of discount options may be available, so make sure to ask renters insurance providers about your options when you're shopping around for quotes. If you're looking for the most affordable rate, get an online quote for a renters policy from at least three companies before making a decision.

How does Clearsurance rate and rank the best renters insurance companies in Washington?

Consistent with its mission towards greater transparency, Clearsurance does not keep its rating and ranking formulas in a black box. Our algorithm analyzes a range of inputs from our independent community of insurance customers, including:

• Price
• Customer Service
• Claim service
• Likelihood to renew

The algorithm also takes into account the percentage of what customers say the company does well vs. the percentage of what customers say the company could do better.

The Clearsurance customer ratings and rankings are derived entirely from customer reviews and ratings.

Do you need a renters insurance guide?

As we mentioned above, there are common misconceptions regarding what is and isn’t covered by a renters insurance policy. Before you purchase a policy from one of these best renters insurance companies in Washington, it’s important to understand what your policy covers. For example, did you know that many renters insurance policies include liability protection in the event a non-resident is injured on the property. Plus, if your apartment becomes uninhabitable from an incident, some policies may cover your expenses as you find temporary housing.

We want to make sure you’re equipped with a proper knowledge of renters insurance, so check out our renters insurance guide. Looking for more educational information about renters insurance? Check out our renters insurance blog for more information and topics related to renters insurance.