If you're renting a home in Texas, you're not required by law to have renters insurance. However, your landlord can require you to carry it.
Renters insurance covers your belongings, provides liability insurance and helps with extra costs if you need to relocate temporarily. This guide can help you find the best renters insurance in Texas at the cheapest price.
In this article
Cost of renters insurance in Texas
Renters insurance rates vary among cities in Texas. Houston, the biggest city in the state, has an average renters insurance rate of $286 a year.
| City | Average monthly rate | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $17 | $201 |
| Corpus Christi | $17 | $202 |
| Dallas | $20 | $237 |
| El Paso | $18 | $221 |
| Fort Worth | $20 | $245 |
| Houston | $24 | $286 |
| Lubbock | $20 | $236 |
| Plano | $16 | $192 |
| San Antonio | $21 | $247 |
| Note: Average rates are based on online quotes. Your rates may vary. | ||
See how much you could save on renters insurance
Renters insurance companies in Texas
Renters insurance companies often provide the same coverage in their policies. This means when you're looking for an insurer, price and customer satisfaction trends are the key points to compare.
Comparing policy prices is relatively easy. Finding out how happy a company's policyholders are with the service they get is a bit more work. To help you with this, we've compiled the J.D. Power overall satisfaction scores and NAIC Complaint Index ratings of the biggest renters insurance companies in Texas.
J.D. Power publishes an annual report ranking the overall satisfaction that policyholders have with their insurers. This report is based on factors including policy offerings, cost and claim resolution. Insurers are ranked on a scale of one to 1,000, with an average score of 841. The higher the score, the better.
The NAIC Complaint Index ranks renters insurance providers based on the number of complaints they receive in comparison to the company's size. The National Complaint Index is 1.0. The lower the index value, the better.
The table below shows the overall satisfaction ratings and Complaint Index values of major renters insurance providers.
| Company | 2022 J.D. Power overall satisfaction | 2023 NAIC Complaint Index |
|---|---|---|
| Allstate | 837 | 0.5 |
| Amica | - | 0.1 |
| Farmers | 831 | 0.4 |
| State Farm | 836 | 0.08 |
| Travelers | 801 | - |
What does renters insurance cover in Texas?
Renters insurance covers your personal property against damage or destruction, liability expenses if you're responsible for injury or property damage and extra relocation costs if you need to move while your rental home is repaired.
Personal property
The personal property portion of renters insurance covers your possessions if they're damaged or destroyed by a covered peril. This includes:
- Clothing
- Electronics
- Furniture
Valuables such as art, jewelry or other expensive collectibles can also be covered under renters insurance. However, they may have a different, lower limit than your policy's personal property limit. When comparing quotes from different renters insurance companies, make sure you're aware of any separate limits that may be in place.
To make sure you don't over- or under-insure your personal property, make a home inventory list. Include a description of your belongings, as well as any serial numbers, and purchase costs. Not only will this help you estimate the proper coverage limits, but it may expedite the claim process.
Personal liability
If you are responsible for causing injury or property damage to someone else, the personal liability section of your renters insurance policy covers legal fees and settlement costs that may arise. Most renters insurance policies have a default personal liability limit of $100,000, but you can usually increase it.
Medical payments
This section takes care of medical expenses if you're responsible for another's injuries. Medical payments coverage limits typically range from $1,000 to $5,000.
Additional living expenses
Additional living expenses (ALE), also known as loss of use (LOU), covers extra costs that may arise if you need to relocate while repairs to your rental home are made. ALE covers additional costs such as:
- Rent
- Meals
- Extra transportation costs
- Storage
- Furniture rental
- Laundry
ALE coverage usually has a default limit of $3,000. While this amount may seem low, keep in mind that it only covers extra expenses over your usual standard cost of living.
For example, if your regular food budget is $500 a month, and restaurant meals while you're relocated raise that to $750 a month, ALE covers the additional $250. There may be a time limit on how long you may access ALE per claim, so check your policy to make sure.
How to get a renters insurance policy in Texas
Your landlord may require you to show proof of renters insurance as part of your rental agreement. Compare quotes, policy options and customer satisfaction scores from multiple companies. The more quotes you look at side by side, the better.
When you've made your best choice, go to the insurer's website. Have your personal information and coverage limits on hand. If you have any questions, speak to an agent. They can also help you set up the policy and the starting date of coverage.
Methodology
Quotes use the following coverage limits:
- $30,000 personal property
- Loss of use: 30%
- $500 deductible
- $100,000 personal liability
- $1,000 medical payments
QuoteWizard.com LLC has made every effort to ensure that the information on this site is correct, but we cannot guarantee that it is free of inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. All content and services provided on or through this site are provided "as is" and "as available" for use. QuoteWizard.com LLC makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation of this site or to the information, content, materials, or products included on this site. You expressly agree that your use of this site is at your sole risk.