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Renters insurance only costs a few dollars a month but can save you thousands if the worst ever happens. We collected dozens of quotes from across Massachusetts to find the best, most affordable options for renters to protect their belongings.
Compare Renters Insurance Quotes from Providers in Massachusetts
The cheapest rate we found for coverage in Massachusetts was just $14 per month, but we don’t recommend buying on price alone. That’s why we evaluate insurers’ coverage options and customer service, too.
Best renters insurance for most people: Amica
Amica had the lowest prices we found for renters insurance in the state and has impeccable customer service.
Read our full review of Amica.
The good:
- Very affordable prices
- Top-notch customer service
The bad:
- Fewer options for additional coverage
Amica is our recommendation for most renters insurance shoppers in Massachusetts because it has the best overall mix of price, service and coverage options.
Amica was the cheapest option for renters insurance we found in Massachusetts — the average rate was just $14 per month. That’s 14% cheaper than average, and $6 less than the most expensive company.
Customer service from Amica was well regarded, too. It has a 0.22 Complaint Index from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, meaning it received just 22% as many complaints as a typical insurer when adjusted for size.
Amica has good, but not perfect, optional coverages. It offers three, all of which are among the options we think will appeal most to renters: replacement cost coverage, valuable items protection and identity theft protection. However, it doesn’t have other extras like equipment breakdown or water backup; for those, take a look at Travelers, our pick for best coverage options.
Runner-up for low price: GEICO
GEICO’s rates were nearly as affordable as our top pick.
Read our full review of GEICO.
The good:
- Rates nearly as low as our top pick
The bad:
- No optional coverages
- Policy not actually managed by GEICO
For renters who can’t get a good rate from our top pick, we recommend GEICO — with a few qualifications.
GEICO’s average rates were only a few cents more per month than Amica for the same amount of coverage: just $14 per month, on average. That worked out to be 12% less than the average across all insurers.
However, GEICO offered essentially no optional coverages at all: You can adjust your property, liability and loss of use coverages, but that’s it. Renters who are considering any supplemental protections at all should skip GEICO.
Additionally, while GEICO is a highly reputable insurance company, it doesn’t actually manage renters insurance policies itself. While you can buy a policy on GEICO.com, GEICO will instead match you with one of its partner companies. And there’s no way to choose a company, or even know which you’re assigned to, before you buy. This makes it impossible to determine how good your real insurer’s customer service will be.
Best coverage options: Travelers
Travelers has a better package of coverage options than any other insurer we looked at.
Read our full review of Travelers.
The good:
- More coverage options than any other company we considered
The bad:
- Higher rates than average
- Requires 12-month upfront payment
For renters who are willing to pay more for a company that offers a wide range of coverage options, we recommend Travelers. It has more choices for optional coverages than any other company, though its rates are much higher than our top pick.
Travelers has nearly every optional coverage a renter in Massachusetts might want. This includes replacement cost coverage, water backup and identity theft, as well as valuable items coverage. You can even buy mechanical breakdown coverage, which pays to repair broken appliances like a dishwasher or oven, if they stop working.
Rates at Travelers were considerably higher, though. Even without any extra coverages, Travelers was one of the pricier options we looked at: We found an average of $17 per month, and any add-ons will raise the price even more.
Plus, Travelers only sells renters insurance in annual installments. That means that instead of paying $17 each month, you have to pay $204 once per year. This large lump sum of cash due all at once may not be feasible for all renters.
How we chose the best renters insurance companies in Massachusetts
When evaluating renters insurance companies in Massachusetts, we considered three main factors: affordability, coverage options and customer service.
- Affordability: Does the company charge reasonable rates for coverage, especially compared to other insurers?
- Coverage options: Do they have a wide variety of useful coverage options?
- Customer service: Are customers usually happy with the service they receive?
Affordability: Finding cheap renters insurance in Massachusetts
The average price we found for renters insurance in Massachusetts is $16 per month, but some companies charge even less. The cheapest rates we found were from Amica and GEICO, where you can pay just $14 per month for $30,000 of property coverage. That’s 31% cheaper than the most expensive option we found, Liberty Mutual.
See our full breakdown of the best rates for renters insurance in Massachusetts, below.
| Insurer | Average cost | % difference from average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average | $16 | — | |
| Amica | $14 | -14% | |
| GEICO | $14 | -12% | |
| Assurant | $16 | 0% | |
| Travelers | $17 | 3% | |
| Liberty Mutual | $20 | 23% |
Our selected levels of coverage were:
- Personal property coverage: $30,000
- Liability coverage: $100,000
- Medical payments coverage: $1,000
- Deductible: $500
- Loss of use: $0
Coverage options: Comparing renters insurance policies and benefits
Every renter has a unique set of coverage needs. So when evaluating coverage options from renters insurance companies, we looked for a broad range of coverage options that will appeal to a variety of apartment dwellers.
A few coverages we liked for Massachusetts renters:
- Replacement cost coverage: Pays for the full cost to replace or repair a destroyed or stolen item, without considering depreciation.
- Valuable items coverage: Boost protection for expensive goods like electronics, jewelry and musical instruments, which may have limited coverage under a standard plan.
In addition, every renters insurance company we looked at offered the following basic coverages. If your renters insurance company is missing any of the following, it may be time to switch:
- Personal property coverage: Pays to repair or replace property that’s stolen, damaged or destroyed by a covered peril.
- Additional living expenses: Pays for a hotel room or other temporary lodging if your home is uninhabitable due to a covered peril.
- Liability coverage: Pays for financial damages to others that you are legally responsible for, such as if your dog injures someone.
- Medical payments coverage: Pays for medical care of guests who are injured while at your home, regardless of who is at fault. Goes into effect before liability coverage.
Customer service: Evaluating insurer quality in service and claims
Great customer service is crucial from your renters insurance company, especially while you’re buying your policy and making a claim. Good customer service means you’ll have answers and support whenever you need it; bad service can make both experiences frustrating and longer than they need to be.
To evaluate customer service for renters insurance companies, we used the following ratings:
| Insurer | NAIC Complaint Index | J.D. Power rating | AM Best FSR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amica | 0.22 | — | A+ |
| Assurant | 1.06 | — | A |
| GEICO | — | — | A++ |
| Liberty Mutual | 0.65 | 792 | A |
| Travelers | 0.50 | 796 | A++ |
- NAIC Complaint Index: This number compares the number of complaints a company has received with its size; a lower number means fewer complaints and suggests better service. The national average score is 1.00.
- J.D. Power ratings: This score is based on a national survey of renters conducted by J.D. Power asking renters how satisfied they are with their renters insurance provider.
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating: This letter grade describes the overall financial health of an insurance company. Grades range from A++ to D, and a higher grade indicates a stronger financial position.
Massachusetts renters insurance: Costs by city
One major factor in determining renters insurance costs is where you live. People who live in areas with low crime rates might pay less for renters insurance, while residents of coastal towns susceptible to storms might pay more. Here’s our city-by-city breakdown of renters insurance costs.
| City | Average | % difference from state average |
|---|---|---|
| State Average | $16 | — |
| Boston | $18 | 12.37% |
| Worcester | $17 | 4.72% |
| Cambridge | $16 | -2.92% |
| Springfield | $17 | 5.75% |
| Fall River | $15 | -5.67% |
| Somerville | $15 | -5.67% |
| New Bedford | $16 | -0.37% |
| Quincy | $16 | -0.98% |
| Lowell | $15 | -8.11% |
| Lawrence | $16 | 0.04% |
| Lynn | $18 | 7.67% |
| Brockton | $17 | 2.18% |
| Malden | $15 | -8.21% |
| Brookline | $18 | 7.97% |
| Waltham | $16 | -2.10% |
| Framingham | $16 | -3.22% |
| Revere | $18 | 12.67% |
| Medford | $15 | -9.13% |
| Newton | $15 | -7.81% |
| Haverhill | $16 | -3.12% |
| Chicopee | $16 | -3.33% |
| Everett | $15 | -7.29% |
| Chelsea | $20 | 23.26% |
| Salem | $15 | -5.46% |
| Holyoke | $16 | -3.23% |
The price for renters insurance varies based on what state you live in, too. To see how the cost of coverage varies across the United States, take a look at our national study of renters insurance costs.
Methodology
To find the best renters insurance in Massachusetts, we researched five major companies and found prices in 25 cities across the state. All our quotes were for a sample renter who’s 30 years old and lives by himself. He’s protected himself with $30,000 of personal property coverage with a $500 deductible, plus $500,000 of liability protection.
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