Erie Renters Insurance: The Basics
Erie Insurance has been around for nearly a century, since 1925. Its headquarters are in Erie, Pennsylvania, just blocks from the glistening shores of, you guessed it, Lake Erie. The company offers auto insurance, life insurance, and homeowners insurance, along with renters insurance and several types of business insurance.
A local network of over 13,000 independent Erie insurance agents handles all your policies and claims. This approach has earned them a stellar customer service reputation, but just know, they’re a little old-school. You have to call to make a claim—and sometimes just to get a quote. But this spring, Erie launched a mobile app to view documents, contact your agent, and pay your bills.
But if you’re not afraid to do business over the phone, Erie has some of the best prices out there, fantastic financial ratings from the big agencies, and high satisfaction with its insurance claims process, which is rare.
Before you get too excited, a disclaimer. To be an Erie renters insurance customer, you have to live in Washington, D.C., or one of the following 12 states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait to see if the company expands.
What does Erie renters insurance cover?
Erie renters insurance policies are solid but limited. They feature the typical components of most renters insurance coverage.
Personal Liability Coverage: If anyone gets hurt on your rental property or their personal property gets damaged, Erie will cover medical payments and associated costs that exceed the deductible on your policy. Liability insurance maxes out at a limit set on your policy.
Living Expenses: If your home is damaged by an event covered by your policy and it’s bad enough that you have to move elsewhere for a short period while it gets fixed, Erie will pay for your food, lodging, and other living expenses, up to a certain limit on your policy. And keep in mind you have to be displaced by a covered loss to benefit from loss of use coverage.
Personal Property: All the stuff you have in your apartment can be protected by a renters insurance policy from Erie, and if it gets lost, damaged, vandalized, or stolen, those losses can be reimbursed, provided the insurance claims process goes smoothly. Erie renters insurance policies will protect against covered losses to personal property even if those losses occur outside your home.
Erie Insurance renters insurance covers personal belongings at a max of $3,000 per item, so if you need extra personal property coverage for jewelry or a musical instrument, you might want to explore more coverage options with an Erie agent and potentially boost your coverage or buy personal valuables insurance on a separate policy. Walking through your apartment and tabulating the estimated value of your belongings will help clarify this decision.
Covered losses of money related to identity theft —like fraudulent credit card charges or forged checks—are also part of Erie renters insurance coverage.
You can choose to buy renters insurance that will pay the current cash value for your personal belongings due to covered losses, or for a little extra, Erie will guarantee the replacement cost of those items. This is a good choice to consider because the replacement cost will often help you get enough money to buy a new version of what you lost.
Special Deals and Discounts
If you already have car insurance or another insurance policy from Erie, the company is very clear that you could benefit from insurance discounts by combining policies, an option known as bundling.
If you don’t have auto coverage or another policy to combine, a perk of Erie Insurance renters insurance is their army of insurance agents, local to your area. They’re available for regular insurance reviews, where you can talk through changes in your life that might help you adjust your policy and save you money.
Where does Erie offer renters insurance?
In addition to Washington, D.C., the following states offer Erie Insurance renters insurance:
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maryland
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Erie Renters Insurance Ratings
Here’s how independent agencies and rating services score Erie Insurance. Its stats are impressive. Erie earned second place in a J.D. Power 2020 study of renters insurance customer satisfaction, just one point behind Lemonade and well above average.
Financial stability isn’t a concern if you’re considering Erie renters insurance. The company has top ratings for financial health from trusted business-rating agencies the Better Business Bureau and A.M Best.
Erie Renters Insurance Customer Reviews
Erie renters insurance reviews are the most positive you’ll find in an industry that tends to be rife with angry customers.
Reviewers often point to the personal relationships they have with their agents, who tend to live near them. That can help build a trusting relationship and reduce frustration when insurance claims come around. A company made up of local agents can be a blessing or a curse. If you contact one office but don’t get the right feeling, you can try another near you.
Erie has been in business since 1925, and some of those long-term relationships come through in Erie Insurance reviews. Plenty of customers say they’ve had multiple policies for over a decade, sometimes longer.
Average Cost of Erie Renters Insurance
Erie Insurance renters insurance doesn’t publish averages or advertise flashy rates. While State Farm takes the cake for having the lowest prices on the market, Erie renters insurance costs on average about $15 per month, and is the cheapest option in the Philadelphia metro area.
The way to get the best deal on Erie renters insurance is to combine it with car insurance. If for any reason that’s not a possibility, you are still likely to get a very competitive rate. And with such high customer satisfaction, you’re getting a pretty good value with that renters insurance policy.
Positives and Negatives of Erie Renters Insurance
There are several key advantages of getting renters insurance from Erie and a handful of drawbacks. Here’s a breakdown:
Is Erie renters insurance right for me?
If you live between New York and Wisconsin or Tennessee and Washington, D.C., Erie Insurance renters insurance is a solid option you should probably consider. If you already have an auto insurance policy from Erie or are thinking of switching, all the better.
