$30K personal property coverage
$155 /year
$13 /month
Auto-Owners offers a solid and affordable renters insurance product, but you’ll have to call an agent to get it.
Coverage
About average
Discounts
Great set of discounts
NAIC complaints
Fewer than expected
About Auto-Owners renters insurance
Auto-Owners renters insurance earned 4.5 out of 5 stars in our analysis. Based in Michigan, Auto-Owners offers policies through independent agents in 25 U.S. states. It has a low complaint rate, so most policyholders are satisfied with their coverage. With lots of discounts and rates below the national average, Auto-Owners tends to be an affordable option. It’s one of NerdWallet’s Best Renters Insurance Companies.
However, Auto-Owners renters insurance isn’t right for everyone. For instance, it’s not available in certain regions of the country. And the company website lacks features you’ll find on some other insurers’ sites, such as online quotes and claims filing.
Best for: People who want to work with an agent to get the right coverage.
Not ideal for: Renters who live outside Auto-Owners’ coverage area. For example, the company doesn’t serve New England or the West Coast.
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What Auto-Owners renters insurance covers
Auto-Owners renters insurance covers all the basics, including your belongings. It can help with legal expenses if someone gets hurt in your home. And if you can’t live in your place after a covered claim, it can pay for a hotel stay. Learn more about what renters insurance covers.
Optional Auto-Owners renters insurance coverage
Besides the standard coverage above, you can add a Renters Plus package that covers:
Refrigerated food that spoils during a power outage.
Water damage due to backed-up drains or sewer lines.
Waterbed liability.
A waived deductible for glass damage.
You can also add replacement cost coverage for your personal belongings. Without it, Auto-Owners would pay for destroyed items on an actual cost value basis. In other words, you'd be paid only what the items were worth at the time of the claim. Having replacement cost coverage ensures you’ll get enough to buy brand-new items.
Got a valuable engagement ring or a pricey piece of art? You may want to buy extra coverage for these items in the form of a property and valuables policy. An appraisal may be required.
Auto-Owners also offers personal cyber and identity theft insurance to help you recover from various online crimes.
What’s not covered
Auto-Owners has similar exclusions to other companies. Its renters insurance policies typically won’t cover:
Flooding. (Learn how to get flood insurance for renters.)
Earthquakes.
Damage you cause on purpose.
Auto-Owners renters insurance rates
Auto-Owners renters insurance costs $155 a year, or $13 a month, on average, according to NerdWallet’s rate analysis. That’s cheaper than the national average of $165 a year.
Where Auto-Owners renters insurance is available
Auto-Owners offers insurance in 25 states.
Availability may change at any time. Coverage may not be available to all renters in a given state.
» MORE: The cheapest renters insurance
Discounts
Auto-Owners offers several payment-related discounts. For example, you may be able to save on your renters insurance premium by:
Paying your premiums on time for at least three years.
Paying your annual premium in full, upfront.
Signing up for paperless billing and paying online.
Other discounts may be available for:
Bundling multiple policies with Auto-Owners.
Having smoke detectors, deadbolt locks or other protective devices in your home.
Getting a quote for your renters policy in advance.
Having no recent renters claims (also called a “favorable loss history”).
Living in a property that’s resistant to wind damage.
Consumer satisfaction
Complaints: One strong sign of consumer satisfaction is how many people complain about their insurance company to state agencies. Auto-Owners scores highly on this measure with a low proportion of home insurance complaints compared to other U.S. insurers.
We determined our complaint scores by analyzing three years' worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. When comparing insurers, we accounted for company size and total premiums.
JD Power rating: Auto-Owners renters insurance ranked below average for customer satisfaction in JD Power’s 2026 U.S. Home Insurance Study.
Online tools
Website: Policyholders can pay bills, set up automatic payments, read policy documents and track claims. Online quotes aren't available.
Mobile app: The app offers similar features to the website, including bill pay, claim status and policy documents.
How to file a claim with Auto-Owners
To report a claim, call your independent agent. If it's outside of business hours, you can call the company at 888-252-4626. An adjuster will be assigned to your case.
How we evaluate renters insurance companies
👋 I’m Sarah Schlichter, a senior writer and content strategist covering renters insurance. I built NerdWallet’s renters insurance rubric and did the research for this page to evaluate companies. I gathered and analyzed data across four major categories:
Companies get better scores when they have consumer-friendly features and low rates of complaints.
Consumer complaints
We analyze the number of consumer complaints reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The higher the rate of complaints, the lower a company's score.
Digital tools
We look at how easy it is to interact with insurers by evaluating their digital tools, website and customer support methods. The best insurers have user-friendly features like online quotes and live chat.
Companies earn points based on how generous and customizable their policies are.
Coverage for personal property
Insurers that cover your belongings on a replacement cost basis by default get higher scores. Those with less generous actual cash value coverage score lower.
Optional coverage
For this category, we look at whether each company offers some of the most useful add-ons, such as extra coverage for valuables.
The more affordable a company's policies are, the better its score.
We evaluate the discounts a company offers and, when available, its median rates.
Companies score well when they have a healthy balance sheet.
We evaluate an insurer’s ability to pay future claims by using assessments from independent agencies such as AM Best and Demotech. The top renters insurance companies have financial strength ratings of A, A+ or A++.
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Answer a few questions to get custom quotes and find the right policy for you.
NerdWallet writers are subject matter authorities who use primary, trustworthy sources to inform their work, including peer-reviewed studies, government websites, academic research and interviews with industry experts. All content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. You can learn more about NerdWallet's high standards for journalism by reading our editorial guidelines.
- 1.JD Power. 2026 U.S. Home Insurance Study. Accessed Sep 23, 2026.
Renters insurance star 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 affordability, financial strength, consumer experience and coverage quality. 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 from 2023 through 2025. 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 average cost of renters insurance in the U.S., NerdWallet calculated the median rate for tenants from multiple insurance companies in every ZIP code across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Rates were rounded to the nearest $5.
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 made minor changes to the sample policy in cases where rates for the above coverage limits or deductibles weren’t available.
We then compared the insurer's median rates to the median rates for other companies.
These are sample rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.
