Renters insurance is inexpensive, but it can provide critical financial protection in the event of a loss. We gathered renters insurance quotes from all around Illinois to identify the best, most inexpensive choice. In Illinois, the best price for renters insurance is $10 per month. However, we do not recommend purchasing solely based on pricing; coverage alternatives and customer service are equally crucial.
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We feel that State Farm is the finest renters insurance option for the vast majority of Illinois consumers. It has the finest overall combination of low rates, excellent customer service, and extensive coverage options. State Farm provides the lowest monthly rates of any provider we looked at, with an average rate of just $10. This is 27% cheaper than the statewide average, but just $2 less per month than the next cheapest choice.
State Farm's customer service is also excellent. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners gives it a high rating, with a complaint index of 0.38. When the size is taken into account, that implies it has received 38% fewer complaints than a normal insurer. It's also J.D. Power's top pick for renters insurance. State Farm's primary disadvantage is its inadequate coverage selections. While the company offers a few beneficial extras such as valuables coverage and extended liability, it lacks other critical elements such as replacement cost coverage. If you require specific coverage from your insurance, consider Travelers, our runner-up.
We recommend Travelers for Illinois renters who require more coverage than the essentials. It provided the most coverage options of any insurance we looked at, but its costs and customer service were just mediocre. We were really happy with the variety of coverages offered by Travelers. Aside from having the most selections of any Illinois insurer, it also featured a few alternatives we didn't see anyplace else: for example, Only Travelers provided mechanical malfunction coverage, which covers repairing machines like a dryer or furnace if they start breaking down.
Unfortunately, Travelers' pricing and service are only average. The average monthly cost we discovered was $14, which was consistent across all insurance. Furthermore, Travelers has an NAIC complaint ratio of 0.50. While this indicates it has got half as many complaints as the average company in the United States, it is significantly more than State Farm.
Furthermore, Travelers only allows you to purchase renters insurance in annual payments. That implies that instead of paying $14 monthly, you pay $168 all at once, which may be too much for some people. If you decide to cancel your policy in the middle of the year, you can get a partial refund, but it is inconvenient.
We recommend Liberty Mutual to renters who are looking for low-cost coverage but are unable to find it at State Farm. It has the lowest minimum coverage of any insurance we found and the second-lowest price of any insurer we found. Liberty Mutual's rates are reasonable, starting at $12 per month for $30,000 in property coverage. That's only $2 less per month than our top pick and 13% less than the national average.
Renters who don't have a lot of property and want to cut their bill, even more, can do so at Liberty Mutual by lowering their coverage limits. Liberty Mutual has a $5,000 minimum property coverage limit, while State Farm has a $10,000 maximum. However, we only advocate lowering your limits if all of your property is still covered – saving a few dollars a month isn't worth the risk of not being fully protected.
We only recommend Liberty Mutual if State Farm is unable to provide you with a reasonable quote because Liberty's customer service is not as well rated. The NAIC has assigned it a complaint index of 0.66. This indicates it has received 66 percent as many complaints as the average insurer nationwide; nevertheless, it has the lowest score among the Illinois companies we looked at
When evaluating the best renters insurance providers in Illinois, we take three major criteria into account: cost, coverage options, and customer service.
In Illinois, the average cost of renters insurance is only $14 per month. Some renters insurance firms, however, are less expensive than others. State Farm, the cheapest business we discovered, charged only $10 per month, which was 42% cheaper than the most expensive option we found. The lowest renters insurance companies in Illinois are listed below.
Our coverage levels of choice were as follows:
Insurer | Monthly cost | % Difference from average |
State average | $14 | |
Allstate | $16 | 16% |
Farmers | $18 | 25% |
Liberty Mutual | $12 | -13% |
State Farm | $10 | -27% |
Travelers | $14 | -1% |
Every renter's insurance requirements are unique. As a result, while evaluating insurance companies, we choose insurers that provide a wide selection of optional coverages, allowing tenants to tailor their policy to their specific needs. Here are a few optional coverages to check for when choosing a renters insurance company.
• Replacement cost coverage: Pays the full cost of replacing a damaged or stolen item, without taking depreciation into account.
• Coverage for valuable items: Increases coverage to pay for the entire value of expensive things such as jewelry or high-end electronics, which are typically excluded from standard renters insurance.
• Equipment breakdown coverage: Covers the expense of repairing household appliances such as furnaces and washing machines if they break down.
• Personal property coverage: This coverage pays to repair or replace your property if it is damaged, stolen, or destroyed as a result of a covered risk.
• Additional living expenses: Covers the cost of a hotel stay or other temporary accommodation if your house is rendered uninhabitable as a result of a fire.
• Liability coverage: Pays for losses caused to those for which you are accountable, such as if a visitor slips and falls on your property.
• Medical payments coverage: Pays for the treatment of injuries sustained by people while on your property, regardless of who is at fault. Pays out before liability coverage kicks in.
When selecting a renters insurance company, excellent customer service is critical. A business that provides dependable, helpful customer service will make the process of purchasing your coverage much easier and will alleviate the stress of needing to file a claim. We consider three major sources of information when evaluating the customer service of Illinois renters insurance companies: the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index, J.D. Power's renter's insurance satisfaction survey ratings, and AM Best's Financial Strength Rating (FSR).
Insurer | NAIC complaint index | J.D. Power rating | AM Best FSR |
Allstate | 0.51 | 814 | A+ |
Farmers | 0.37 | 808 | A |
Liberty Mutual | 0.66 | 792 | A |
State Farm | 0.38 | 850 | A++ |
Travelers | 0.5 | 796 | A++ |
The NAIC complaint index correlates the number of complaints received by an insurer with its size. A lower number means that there are fewer complaints, implying that customers are satisfied with the service. The national average is one dollar.
J.D. Power ratings: This score is based on a countrywide poll of renters insurance customers who were asked how happy they are with their provider. The national average is 835, and the scores are calculated on a scale of 1,000.
AM Best FSR: This letter grade represented an insurance company's overall financial health. Grades range from A++ to D, with a higher grade indicating that the company is better able to meet claim demand after a natural disaster or during an economic slump.
The cost of renters insurance varies depending on where you live. Residents in high-crime regions, for example, may pay extra owing to theft. However, the cost of renters insurance in Illinois does not vary greatly by city. The gap between the most and least costly cities was only $3 per month. Check out the table below to see how your city stacks up.
City | Average | % difference from state average |
Average | $14 | -- |
Arlington Heights | $14 | -3.50% |
Aurora | $14 | -0.60% |
Belleville | $14 | 0.30% |
Berwyn | $15 | 2.60% |
Bloomington | $14 | 0.30% |
Carbondale | $14 | 1.10% |
Champaign | $14 | -1.00% |
Chicago | $16 | 15.60% |
Cicero | $16 | 9.90% |
Decatur | $14 | 0.30% |
DeKalb | $14 | -2.40% |
Elgin | $14 | -3.10% |
Evanston | $14 | -2.30% |
Joliet | $14 | -3.40% |
Naperville | $13 | -5.90% |
Normal | $14 | -2.90% |
Oak Park | $15 | 4.90% |
Palatine | $14 | -4.30% |
Peoria | $14 | 0.40% |
Rockford | $14 | 1.80% |
Schaumburg | $14 | -4.10% |
Skokie | $14 | -0.60% |
Springfield | $15 | 2.10% |
Urbana | $14 | -2.00% |
Waukegan | $14 | -3.00% |
The cost of renters insurance varies significantly across the country. Take a look at our national study of renters insurance costs to compare the cost of renters insurance across the United States.
We gathered quotations from five leading businesses in 25 major communities across Illinois to analyze the best renters insurance companies. Our hypothetical renter is a single male who lives alone and has never filed a renters insurance claim. He's covered himself with $30,000 in personal property insurance with a $500 deductible and $500,000 in liability insurance.