Nationwide Renters Insurance Review 2023
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Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Nationwide
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Nationwide renters insurance policies go beyond the basics. They include standard coverage options that many other companies' policies don’t, and Nationwide offers a consumer-first experience that lets you submit and track claims in its mobile app.
Nationwide renters insurance star rating
Nationwide renters insurance earned 4.5 out of 5 stars for overall performance. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The renters insurance scoring formula takes into account policy coverage options and discounts, ease of filing a claim, website transparency, the financial strength of the company, complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and more.
Based on these considerations, Nationwide is among NerdWallet’s Best Renters Insurance Companies for 2023.
State availability
Nationwide renters insurance is available in 47 states and Washington, D.C.
Nationwide renters insurance coverage
Landlords sometimes require tenants to purchase a policy with a minimum amount of renters liability insurance, but otherwise, the coverage you choose is generally up to you. Below are the four types of coverage included in most standard renters policies:
Type of coverage | What it does |
|---|---|
Covers your clothing, furniture, electronics and other belongings. | |
Pays for hotel stays, restaurant meals or other expenses if you have to live elsewhere while your home undergoes covered repairs. | |
Pays out if you're responsible for injuries to other people or damage to their property. | |
Medical payments | Covers injuries to other people in your home, regardless of fault. |
For more details, see What Does Renters Insurance Cover?
Beyond these standard types of coverage, Nationwide also includes the following in its basic policy:
Building additions and alterations, which pays for damage to elements of your home that you’ve updated or improved during your time there.
Credit card coverage, which pays you back — up to an amount you choose — for unauthorized financial transactions on your credit or debit card. It can also pay out if you’re the victim of forged checks or counterfeit money.
Nationwide offers several optional types of coverage, too:
Brand New Belongings, which pays you back for damaged or stolen items in two steps. You get the depreciated value of the item first; then, after you repair or replace it, Nationwide pays you the difference. Without this coverage, you’d get only the depreciated amount.
Valuables Plus, providing additional coverage for big-ticket items like jewelry or art.
Water backup, covering damage from backed-up sewers or drains.
Theft extension, offering extra coverage for personal items in a motor vehicle, trailer or watercraft.
Earthquake, paying for damage caused by an earthquake.
Identity theft protection, reimbursing up to $25,000 of covered expenses and connecting you with their network of cybersecurity experts.
Personal injury coverage, which extends the liability coverage on your policy to include lawsuits for things like slander or libel.
Inflation guard, which adjusts your personal property coverage limit to make sure your coverage keeps pace with inflation.
Coverage options may vary by state.
» MORE: Nationwide auto insurance review
Nationwide renters insurance rates
Nationwide renters insurance costs an average of $171 a year, or about $14 per month, according to NerdWallet’s rate analysis. This is slightly less than the U.S. average of $179 per year, but more expensive than rates from some other major insurers. See how Nationwide stacks up below.
Company | Average annual cost |
|---|---|
$127. | |
$154. | |
$171. | |
$226. | |
USAA* | $145. |
*USAA renters insurance is available only to active-duty military members, veterans and their families. | |
Discounts
Nationwide offers several discounts for renters insurance. Those include:
Multipolicy discount for bundling your renters insurance with another Nationwide policy, such as auto insurance.
Protective devices discount for homes with fire alarms, smoke detectors and more.
Claims-free discount if you haven’t filed any recent claims.
Gated community discount if your home has restricted access to outsiders.
Paperless billing discount if you choose to receive your policy documents electronically.
Consumer complaints
Nationwide had close to the expected number of home insurance complaints to state regulators relative to its size, according to three years’ worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. (NAIC home insurance complaints also cover other home policy types, including mobile home, renters and condo insurance.)
Consumer experience
Website: Nationwide’s website offers online quotes, bill payment and claims filing. It also has a broad range of educational articles about insurance.
App: The Nationwide app is available for iOS and Android. You can use it to file claims, pay bills and set up autopay.
Claims: You can file a claim online, through the mobile app or by calling Nationwide’s claims team at 800-421-3535. You can also contact your local agent. Once your claim is in progress, you can check its status online.
Customer service: Assistance is available through your local agent or by calling 877-669-6877. There’s also a chatbot on the Nationwide site that can help with simple questions.
Where Nationwide stands out
Coverage. Between included coverage and the endorsements you can add, Nationwide offers policies that should meet most renters’ needs.
Customer satisfaction. Nationwide had one of the highest ratings for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s 2022 home insurance study.
Where Nationwide falls short
Availability in Alaska, Hawaii and Louisiana. Renters in these states will need to seek coverage elsewhere.
» MORE: Nationwide home insurance review
Other renters insurance companies to consider
Not ready to make a decision? You may be interested in these other renters insurance companies:
Allstate: Popular insurer with many coverage options and discounts.
Lemonade: Digital-first company that sends part of your premium to charitable causes.
State Farm: The nation’s biggest insurer, with a lengthy list of coverage options.
USAA: Includes flood and earthquake in its renters policies, but serves only the military community.
Renters insurance ratings methodology
NerdWallet’s renters insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, consumer complaints, coverage options, discounts and online experience. These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our full renters insurance rating methodology.
Insurer complaints methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2019-2021. To assess how insurers compare to one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
Renters insurance rates methodology
To find the national cost of renters insurance, NerdWallet averaged rates for 30-year-old tenants from multiple insurance companies in every ZIP code across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Sample tenants were nonsmokers with good credit and no recent claims, living in a two-bedroom apartment. They had a $500 deductible and the following coverage limits:
$30,000 in personal property coverage.
$100,000 in liability coverage.
$10,000 in additional living expenses coverage.
$1,000 in medical payments coverage.
We then compared the insurer's rates to the average rate for all companies in states where it offers policies and where its rates were available from Quadrant Information Services.
These are sample rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.
