Farmers Renters Insurance Review (2024)

Founded in 1928, Farmers Insurance has built its reputation on providing quality insurance products and customer service. Farmers offers several types of insurance products to residents nationwide, including renters insurance policies in 42 U.S. states.

We at the MarketWatch Guides team have researched and reviewed renters insurance companies based on a series of factors. Our Farmers renters insurance review can help you understand more about the company’s offerings, including coverage options, cost comparisons and unique features that make this provider stand out.

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Bradford Cuthrell is a meticulous researcher and writer specializing in pet and home finance topics. He’s surveyed thousands of pet owners and homeowners, listened to hundreds of customer service calls and spoken with dozens of industry experts to understand homeowners’ common pain points and needs.

Ryan Lasker is a financial writer and editor with bylines in Morning Brew, The Motley Fool, and several more. As a certified public accountant, he leverages his technical expertise in personal finance and tax to fuel his passion for teaching financial literacy. When he’s not writing, editing or working in a spreadsheet, he’s biking the D.C. trails or reading.

Ryan Lasker is a financial writer and editor with bylines in Morning Brew, The Motley Fool, and several more. As a certified public accountant, he leverages his technical expertise in personal finance and tax to fuel his passion for teaching financial literacy. When he’s not writing, editing or working in a spreadsheet, he’s biking the D.C. trails or reading.

We used four different coverage amounts and four deductible levels to generate various reports and estimates from Quadrant Information Services, which provides property insurance analytics.

To better understand the cost of renters insurance premiums throughout all 50 U.S. states, we gathered over 2.5 million estimates across 28 renters insurance providers using Quadrant Information Services. When cost data is not listed for a provider in Quadrant’s database, we manually request quotes or reach out to representatives.

Our team has scored and reviewed 28 renters insurance providers nationwide, ranking each company based on our comprehensive renters insurance methodology, which considers cost, availability, ease of use, coverage and brand trust.

We surveyed 1,000 renters nationwide in 2024 to gain a better understanding of what consumers care about most when it comes to coverage. We also asked renters about their frustrations with the buying process and how much they pay for coverage.

Pros

Robust add-ons, such as replacement cost coverage, can enhance basic renters insurance policies

Features a mobile app and online customer platform for policy services

Offers numerous discounts to help keep otherwise higher-than-average insurance premiums down

Cons

Renters insurance coverage is not available in all 50 states

Premiums are higher than average compared to some other providers

Farmers Renters Insurance at a Glance

Our rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars

Year founded: 1928

J.D. Power rating: 842/1000

AM Best rating: A*

State availability: 42 states

*AM Best rating is accurate as of June 2024.

Farmers State Availability

Farmers provides home and car insurance policies to residents of all 50 states; however, its renters insurance is only available in 42 states. It does not offer renters insurance coverage in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Policies are underwritten by the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies.

Cost of Farmers Renters Insurance

According to data from Quadrant Information Services, the average price of a Farmers renters insurance policy is $205 per year or $17.11 per month. Those rates rank higher than the national average of $171 per year or $14.27 per month. Farmers renters insurance rates may vary based on your selected policy, coverage limits and underwriting criteria, including your:

• Age
• Credit rating
• Claims history
• Property value
• Pets

Cost of Farmers Renters Insurance by State

Farmers Discounts

Farmers makes it easy to save on insurance rates. It offers numerous discounts, some of which are state-specific. We suggest asking about discounts if you are working with an insurance agent for the most up-to-date information.

You can also check for discounts if you use the company’s online insurance quote process. A few of Farmers’s most popular discounts include:

• Bundlinginsurance products: Purchasing multiple insurance policies through Farmers can earn you a multi-policy discount. Bundling your renters, life insurance and auto insurance could potentially save you hundreds of dollars per year.
• Career choices: Customers in certain professions, such as first responders, teachers and medical professionals, may be eligible for discounts.
• Customer loyalty: Keeping your Farmers policy active can help you save on future premiums.
• Claims-free: Some customers can get discounts for not having filed a home insurance claim within a set period.
• Smoke-free: Farmers offers discounts on renters insurance for households that remain smoke-free for two or more years.
• Security system: You may qualify for a discount if your rental unit has a security or fire alarm. Alarms and connected home security systems can help reduce theft. Fire alarms can alert authorities about a problem before it grows out of control.

Farmers Policy Coverage

Renters insurance provides financial coverage if an uncontrollable event causes damage to the policyholder’s personal property inside their rental unit. Unlike homeowners insurance, renters insurance does not cover the structure of the building, but rather the items inside. A standard renters insurance policy with Farmers offers the following coverage:

• Personal property: The core of a renters insurance policy is coverage for a renter’s personal belongings. Personal property coverage typically pays to replace items lost due to theft, vandalism or another covered event. It can help to create an inventory of your items to ensure you have sufficient personal property coverage in place. This also helps if you need to file a claim. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has a home inventory app that makes it simple to create a record of your personal belongings.
• Additional living expenses: A renters policy does not offer coverage to repair or rebuild a damaged dwelling, but that’s generally not your responsibility as a renter. However, it does include protection to ensure you have a roof over your head if disaster strikes your rental. Sometimes called loss-of-use coverage, this portion of your policy will pay for short-term living expenses, such as a hotel room and meals, while your rental unit is being repaired after a covered event.
• Liability insurance: The personal liability coverage portion of a renters policy pays for expenses related to accidents, injuries or property damage for which you are responsible. For example, if someone trips and falls on a loose area rug, liability coverage would help pay for expenses related to medical treatment and potential legal claims. Your policy’s coverage limit will determine maximum payout amounts.
• Medical expenses: Medical payments coverage pays for injuries of third parties (not the policyholder) at your residence, regardless of fault.

Typically, renters insurance policies cover damage due to the following events:

• Certain types of water damage
• Explosions
• Falling objects
• Fire and smoke
• Ice, snow and sleet accumulation
• Lightning strikes
• Theft
• Vandalism
• Vehicle impacts
• Windstorms and hail

Additional Coverage

Farmers also offers policy add-ons you can purchase to enhance your coverage.

• Identity theftprotection: Identity theft can cause thousands of dollars in losses and time spent trying to resolve problems. Many Farmers renters policies include up to $1,500 in identity theft protection. You may also choose to add Identity Shield to your policy, which further aids in recovering your identity by assisting with notification of credit bureaus and replacing identity documents.
• Refrigerated food replacement: A power failure or lighting strike that shuts down a refrigerator can lead to hundreds of dollars in spoiled food loss. This add-on coverage pays to replace up to $500 in spoiled food after meeting your deductible.
• Replacement cost coverage: The value of your personal belongings depreciates over time, and standard renters insurance covers only the actual value of items at the time of loss. Adding replacement cost coverage increases your payout to cover the full amount to replace lost items, without depreciation.
• Personal article floaters: You can add extra coverage to your renters policy for specific high-dollar items with a personal article floater. This type of coverage allows you to customize coverage for items such as collectibles, artwork and expensive electronic equipment.

Farmers Renters Insurance Reviews

In compiling our Farmers renters insurance review, we carefully examined customer testimonials on third-party sites such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot.

Farmers has mixed reviews on both websites, including complaints about poor customer service. However, some customers praise local agents for providing a quality experience. Additional complaints appear to be from previous MetLife policyholders whose policies moved to Farmers after an acquisition. Here is a selection of reviews from Farmers customers:

“My experience at Farmers Insurance in Silver City has been excellent. Both [customer service agents] have been helpful and courteous and prompt. There has never been a disagreement or misunderstanding between us, and the same was true of Farmers Insurance in Albuquerque some 25 years earlier when my auto policy was first started there. [Farmers agents] are dependable people and trustworthy.” —Philipp M. via Trustpilot

“Farmers rendered the best experience we have ever had with insurance. [The company was] responsive and professional, and the turnaround time for everything was immediate. It only took a couple of days to get everything worked out from hail damage to our autos and house. We are beyond pleased with Farmers.” —Nancy A. via Trustpilot

“[Farmers] posted someone else's payment to my account which caused my billing to be thrown off. [Farmers] didn't fix it, [it] just billed me. After speaking with several managers and hours later I was told it would be taken care of. It wasn't. Worst customer service I have had.” —Robin M. via Trustpilot

“Farmers bought out MetLife a year ago. MetLife was wonderful — [it] replaced my roof when a hail storm went through my area nine years ago. Farmers is another story. Farmers just notified me that my homeowner's policy will not be renewed. The reason given was that my roof looked like it needed to be replaced. My roof is nine years old and I have the receipts. [Farmers] will not let me show that the roof was replaced or have an inspection to prove it does not need to be replaced. Horrible insurance company.” — Ismith via Trustpilot

The Bottom Line

Farmers offers robust and customizable renters insurance coverage that can help protect your personal property and financial assets if you are a renter. The company’s mobile app and online customer portal simplify policy servicing and allow you to get a quick online quote. If you do need to speak with a customer service representative, Farmers has local agents throughout the country and nationwide representatives available seven days a week.

Average rates for renters insurance through Farmers are slightly more expensive than some other options, such as State Farm or American Family. However, you can combine multiple deductible options with discounts to help bring premium costs down.

Farmers receives fewer complaints to state regulatory agencies than average for renters insurance providers. However, its J.D. Power customer satisfaction score is lower than average. If customer satisfaction is a high priority, you might want to explore coverage options from providers like Lemonade or Liberty Mutual.