The Best and Cheapest Renters Insurance in New Hampshire

The Best and Cheapest Renters Insurance in New Hampshire

If you’re a college student in New Hampshire, you may be in search of renter’s insurance for your apartment or home. With so many providers and so many options for policies, you might have a hard time pinning down the best option.

We know affordability is a big factor for you too; so, we’ve searched through several renter’s insurance providers in NH to find the best blend of budget-friendliness and quality.

Is Renters Insurance Really Necessary for College Students?

Renter’s insurance is a vital safety net for college students; it protects you from legal liability due to damage you might do to your apartment and protects your own possessions in the event of something happening to them. It’s also really not as expensive as you might imagine; on average renter’s insurance is $15 to $30 per month for policies that should cover everything the typical college student needs.

One of the common uses of renter’s insurance is to protect you in case someone burglarizes your apartment. While the odds of this happening to you can vary based on your location, it’s possible. At the University of New Hampshire’s main campus in Durham, the burglary rate among students is 0.77 per 1,000 students, close to a 1% chance per year that someone is the victim of burglary.

Imagine that you don’t have renter’s insurance and you are the victim of burglary or some other disaster, such as a fire. If you lose several thousand dollars’ worth of possessions, you’ll have to bear the cost of replacing them all on your own. If you had renter’s insurance, you could recover all of it for a fraction of the price.

With that kind of math, it’s a no-brainer that getting renter’s insurance is not only a good idea, but necessary for your peace of mind and security.

Average Cost of Renters Insurance Across New Hampshire

To help you get an idea of how much renter’s insurance can cost, we’ll provide a few test quotes based on different locations across New Hampshire. First, we’ll compare prices across six New Hampshire college towns through Nationwide. Later, we’ll compare quotes from eight different providers to determine the best mix of affordability and quality.

Prices for renter’s insurance through Nationwide are similar across all six of the New Hampshire college town zip codes we tested and are about in the middle of the range of prices across other providers.

The quotes below were all determined assuming the renter in question is a 20-year-old, single male college student in an apartment complex with 9-16 units. Devices like smoke alarms were not factored into these quotes.

These quotes are all for policies with $15,000 in personal property protection, and $100,000 in liability coverage.

College and CityPremium Cost Per Month
Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH 03106 $15.13
University of New Hampshire Main Campus, 105 Main St, Durham, NH 03824 $15.30
Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 $14.82
Plymouth State University, 17 High St, Plymouth, NH 03264 $14.85
New England College, 98 Bridge St, Henniker, NH 03242$15.30
Keene State College, 229 Main St, Keene, NH 03431 $14.59

Your exact quote may vary based on your own qualities, such as age, sex, previous insurance claims, etc. However, it’s very unlikely you would obtain a value significantly different from these.

Additionally, this is meant to show that regardless of your zip code, your insurance provider’s rates will be about the same no matter where you are in New Hampshire. Given that, let’s look at eight renter’s insurance providers and compare their rates and qualities.

Finding the Best and Cheapest Renters Insurance

We compared prices across eight different insurance providers, ranked below by cost. Our data used in calculating these was mostly the same as what we used for Nationwide, where possible. Some providers, such as USAA, have unique requirements that may or not apply to you, so bear that in mind when weighing your options. Additionally, a plan’s deductible and coverage amounts can vary a lot based on many factors, so in these quotes we simply took the provider’s recommended or default terms.

1. United Services Automobile Association (USAA)

Premium Price Per Month: $10

Deductible: $500

Personal Property Coverage: $5,000

Liability: $100,000

Coverage:

  • Theft and vandalism
  • Smoke, fire, and lightning damage
  • Flood and some water damage
  • Building collapse and falling objects
  • Damage from frozen pipes
  • Explosions
  • Damage from aircraft
  • Riot damage
  • Accidental tearing, cracking, burning, or bulging
  • Damage from artificially generated electrical current

Customer Service: 24/7

Claims: Completed entirely through website or app

2. Allstate

Premium Price Per Month: $12

Deductible: $500

Personal Property Coverage: $15,000

Liability: $100,000

Coverage:

  • Theft and vandalism
  • Fire and smoke
  • Guest injury
  • Damage to property
  • Relocation expenses
  • Other coverages vary

Customer Service: Available via phone or by visiting local agent

Claims: Filed through website or app

3. Geico

Premium Price Per Month: $12.42

Deductible: $500

Personal Property Coverage: $15,000

Liability: $100,000

Coverage:

  • Theft and vandalism
  • Fire and smoke
  • Guest injury
  • Damage to property
  • Relocation expenses
  • Windstorm
  • Other coverages vary

Customer Service: Automated assistance via website or app, email, phone, or contacting your local agent.

Claims: Filed through website, app, or via local agent.

4. Progressive

Premium Price Per Month: $15.01

Deductible: $500

Personal Property Coverage: $20,000

Liability: $100,000

Coverage:

  • Fire & smoke damage
  • Theft & vandalism
  • Water damage
  • Visitor injuries
  • Temporary Living Arrangements up to $6,000

Customer Service: Automated chat service, email, phone, or local agent.

Claims: Filed via website or phone, depending on your specific provider within Progressive.

5. Amfam (through Midvale Home and Auto)

Premium Price Per Month: $15.01

Deductible: $500

Personal Property Coverage: $20,000

Liability: $100,000

Coverage:

  • Fire & smoke damage
  • Theft & vandalism
  • Water damage
  • Visitor injuries
  • Temporary Living Arrangements up to $6,000

Customer Service: Email and phone

Claims: Filed online, by email, or by phone.

6. Nationwide

Premium Price Per Month: $15.30

Deductible: $500

Personal Property Coverage: $15,000

Liability: $100,000

Coverage:

  • Personal property
  • Theft and vandalism
  • Damage to property
  • Guest injury
  • Relocation expenses
  • Unauthorized credit/debit/checking charges
  • Other coverages vary

Customer Service: Via website or app, phone, email, and local agents.

Claims: Filed online, by phone, or with a local agent.

7. Traveler’s

Premium Price Per Month: $17.08

Deductible: $500

Personal Property Coverage: $30,000

Liability: $100,000

Coverage:

  • Personal Property
  • Fire
  • Lightning
  • Windstorm
  • Hail
  • Explosions
  • Smoke
  • Theft and vandalism
  • Medical payments to others, even if the event happens off-property
  • Relocation expenses up to $9,000

Customer Service: Via website/app, phone, or local agent.

Claims: Filed online, via app, phone, or local agent.

8. GradGuard

Premium Price Per Month: $17.10

Deductible: $100

Personal Property Coverage: $5,000

Liability: $100,000

Coverage:

  • Fire and smoke
  • Theft and vandalism
  • Burst pipes and water sprinkler damage
  • Possessions are covered anywhere in the world

Customer Service: Live service available only Monday-Friday from 10am to 8pm EST. Email also available.

Claims: Via phone call only.

The Best Renter’s Insurance

USAA is the cheapest option on this list, and by many standards also the best. USAA’s renter’s insurance policy covers much more than most other providers like Nationwide or Progressive. For example, many providers do not offer coverage for flood damage, and certainly not for riot damage or explosions.

USAA also offers upgrades to their plans, allowing renters to protect their electronics, guns, and other unique, high-value items. A particularly rare boon for USAA renter’s insurance is automatic coverage of your belongings should you move or be deployed overseas.

However, there’s a big caveat to all this. USAA is only available to active-duty service members in the United States military, veterans of the US military, or their families. If you fall under those categories, USAA is almost certainly your best option.

If you don’t qualify for USAA, then what’s the best option for you? This really depends on your preferences and personal situation, particularly:

  1. Where you live
  2. The total value of your personal possessions

Different providers offer different types of coverage. Geico, for example, covers you in the event of windstorm damage, whereas most others don’t. If your local area is prone to violent windstorms, floods, or wildfires, then you’ll need to choose a provider who covers such events.

Additionally, if your possessions aren’t worth more than a few thousand dollars, you can safely choose a policy with relatively low personal property protection. However, if you have some very high value possessions, like a gaming computer, antique furniture, or expensive hobby equipment, you’ll want a policy with a high personal property protection.

The Best for Students with Lots to Protect

If you have tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of personal property, we’d recommend Traveler’s with its impressive $30,000 in personal property protection. While more expensive per month than others, that amount of protection is truly outstanding even at this price point. If you don’t have quite that much to protect, Progressive or AmFam would be good options instead.

The Best for Students Without a Lot to Protect

If you have under $5,000 in personal possessions, USAA is your best choice if you qualify. While GradGuard has a similarly low personal property protection, it focuses on saving you money on your deductible, whereas USAA will only cost you $10 per month. Otherwise, we’d recommend Allstate or Geico due to their low monthly premiums.

The Best for Students Without Savings

If the typical $500 deductibles seem too high for you, GradGuard is who you should go with. While their monthly premium is significantly higher than others, they offer a very low $100 deductible. If you don’t have more than that lying around at any given time, you may want to go with GradGuard to ensure you can file a claim whenever you need to.