Best Rental Property Insurance Companies of 2024 (2024)

Best Rental Property Insurance Companies

Best Rental Property Insurance Companies

We chose State Farm as our best overall rental property insurance provider because the company offers coverage for landlords looking to protect their investment property up to its replacement cost. It also has a nationwide network of agents, responds quickly, and offers substantial discounts for landlords who bundle rental property insurance with home and auto policies.

State Farm was founded in 1922 and has an A++ rating for financial stability from AM Best. The largest property insurer in the U.S., State Farm is ranked #1 on the Insurance Information Institute's 2021 list of top ten direct premium writers of property/casualty insurance.

The company is headquartered in Illinois and offers landlord insurance nationwide through its network of agents. However, agents are only able to insure properties in the state where the agent’s office is located.

Landlord insurance from State Farm is priced based on property replacement cost, liability limits, and landlord deductibles. All other coverage is automatically included as a percentage of the dwelling coverage—such as other structures and loss of rental income. State Farm also covers vacancies if they result from a covered peril such as fire or some other form of physical damage to the property.

State Farm does not cover loss of rent due to things like local government prohibitions against using property for short-term rental. Other common perils not covered by the basic rental dwelling policy include damage caused by flooding and earthquakes (earthquake coverage is available as an optional endorsem*nt and flood insurance can be purchased through the National Flood Insurance Program).

State Farm’s rental property insurance also doesn’t cover loss of your rental due to the inability to pay your mortgage as the result of a disability or death, although this can also be covered through separate insurance from the company.

Liberty Mutual is our choice for best claims process because it has developed user-friendly mechanisms that make it easy for consumers to get their claims handled quickly. It offers fast response times and a 24/7 claims center.

Liberty Mutual was founded in 1912 and has a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) with AM Best. Like State Farm, the company provides coverage through a nationwide network of captive agents who are extremely responsive. When we contacted Liberty Mutual for details about its coverage, we got a response within 24 hours from a regional representative who was very forthcoming with details.

While most rental property policies purchased from Liberty Mutual protect up to the replacement cost, the company also lets landlords insure properties for the purchase price or some other stated amount (unlike most competitors).

Rental property insurance from Liberty Mutual covers both the physical property and landlord liability for the premises. Additionally, landlords have the option of adding coverage for personal property, rental value, inflation protection, or umbrella coverage to their policies. As with other providers, flood insurance isn’t included unless landlords specifically add coverage, which often means getting a secondary policy through the National Flood Insurance Program.

We named GEICO our best value because, of all the rental property insurance companies we researched, GEICO was the only one that had no required minimum cost. Customers can purchase policies with no coverage or premium limits. The company only provides coverage based on the replacement cost of a property.

GEICO was founded in 1936 in Fort Worth, Texas. While the company has an A++ (Superior) rating from AM Best, this doesn’t directly affect rental property insurance policyholders because GEICO doesn’t offer landlord coverage itself. Instead, the company serves as an agency to help place landlord coverage with a network of partner carriers based on individual landlord needs.

Through its network, GEICO offers rental property insurance in most states, depending on the location of the property. Every policy is written based on the replacement cost of the home and its location. Policies include both the dwelling and any other structures on the property. (Policies may be subject to minimum and maximum coverage amounts for personal property or liability.)

Policies also cover loss of use—the value of the loss of rent due to a covered peril such as fire. Vacancies during tenant turnover are not covered, and standard exclusions are earthquake, natural flooding, and sewer line backup.

Our choice for best option for military service members and their families is USAA because, as a member-owned company, USAA’s offerings are uniquely designed to meet the specific needs of active members of the U.S. armed forces, reservists, and veterans. For example, many of USAA’s insurance products include endorsem*nts to cover premiums for deployed service members or those injured while on active duty.

USAA was founded in 1922 in San Antonio, Texas, by Army officers who were having trouble finding carriers to insure their cars. Since then, the company has grown into one of the largest member-owned financial services companies in the world. It now offers banking and investment services in addition to insurance and annuities to service members, veterans, and their families. According to the Insurance Information Institute, USAA is among the top 10 writers of homeowners insurance.

While USAA provides rental property insurance to landlords who qualify for membership, very few details about its coverage are publicly available. We were able to confirm that landlords can insure up to 10 rentals with a single policy and get coverage for both the property itself, lost rental income for covered events, and personal liability.

Landlords can also get custom home-sharing coverage if they only want to rent out a part of their primary residence. Those who want more information about rental property coverage from USAA will need to apply for membership and submit details about their property in order to get a custom quote.

Trusted Choice is our best brokerage option because the company has a nationwide network of independent agents that can help landlords find policies from multiple carriers. Landlords can get the exact coverage to fit specific needs and budgets. This works in contrast to most of the other companies on our list that directly underwrite and service policies.

With Trusted Choice, landlords can get quotes from more than 65 top insurance carriers from around the country with just a single application.

Trusted Choice is a national nonprofit insurance agency that was founded in 2001. The company is funded by its partner-carriers and has the sole mission of making information available about different types of coverage, their benefits, and costs.

Rental property coverage, cost, and claims processes vary based on which provider you choose, but policies typically protect the dwelling itself and landlord liability in the case of accidents or injuries, as well as umbrella coverage.

Income protection is also available as an add-on. With Trusted Choice, landlords can also add other coverage like workers’ compensation, inland marine, and flood insurance, depending on their specific needs.