Illinois Renters Insurance. Get Online Quotes Today!
Chicago, Joliet, the Great Lakes. Who doesn’t love Illinois? Sure, the Windy City gets a little windy, but Illinois is still a wonderful place to go to college, rent a home and really start to set down roots for you and your family.
At Insurance Geek, we love setting up our Illinois renters with insurance policies that protect your belongings in case of any kind of emergency in your home. If you experience a loss, your renters insurance policy should be there to back you up and give you the coverage you need. Let’s talk more about Illinois renters insurance and how we can help you find the best quotes.
Do I have to have Renters Insurance in Chicago?
Even though having renters insurance is not legally mandated in most states, let alone cities, many landlords will ask you to have it. Landlords typically want at least $100,000 in protection across the board. As you will read below, we typically recommend a little more than this just for you to be on the safe side.
There’s plenty to do in Chicago, but depending on what part of the city you live in, you may need to be a little more careful about things like theft or how natural weather disasters affect your property. So while you may consider striking out without getting the maximum amount of renters coverage, we certainly recommend it.
Is renters insurance affordable?
Because every individual situation is unique, it’s often difficult to nail down a specific annual premium for renters insurance.
In Illinois, you can expect to pay right around $187 per year in average circumstances, which equals out to about $15 per month. We find that some customers pay a little lower or higher than this depending on their specific situations – especially those customers who happen to live in Chicago.
Rent in a city like Chicago runs right around $1627 on average, a little higher than the national average. Regardless, renters premiums across the state of Illinois are generally in line with national averages.
Here are some things to know about renters insurance in Illinois:
When you get your quote, you will find that the yearly premium will be broken down into a monthly payment just like the one we discussed above.
Although you may find premiums are a little higher in metro areas like Chicago, depending on your circumstances they generally aren’t much higher than the $15 a month mentioned above.
We recommend that anyone in Illinois starts with these types of coverage numbers on their policy. With personal property, you should consider getting at least $20,000 in coverage. This type of coverage will ensure your personal belongings are protected in the event of a loss within the rental.
We also recommend $100,000 in medical liability coverage. Medical liability is all about someone getting into an accident in your home that you’re found responsible for in a court. If this happens, you can file a claim to help cover the expenses of this person’s medical costs without having to pay out-of-pocket. Since medical expenses can be tremendous in this country, it makes sense to have higher medical liability protection under your policy.
Loss of use. If you are unable to use your home because all or part of it is inaccessible to you, loss of use coverage helps you pay for things like meals, or the higher level of expenses you are out on because you’re unable to use the home.
We find that most deductibles are right around $500 a month, though again, this depends on your personal circumstances. While that $500 may seem like no small number to you, it is far less than you would actually have to pay out of pocket if you lose all your property in the case of damage to your rental.
Here are some of the larger cities in Illinois we serve:
- Chicago
- Alton
- Collinsville
- Centralia
- Gary
How does renters protect me?
Even though Illinois is in the tornado belt, renters in the state of Illinois likely already know winter weather can be harsh, so tornadoes aren’t the only problem. Illinois sees its fair share of damaging ice storms, hailstorms and a few isolated tornadoes. The Flatland does make the state more susceptible to tornadoes than other states, so it makes sense to make sure you’re protected in case there’s an issue with weather.
How much coverage do I need?
We work with you to help you itemize your personal property so that you have a pretty close value for what all your belongings are worth. We use that value to determine how much coverage you need, and any specially priced or high-value items outside of that coverage may require an additional policy. We do this every day, so we can help advise you on what exactly you should take out and what makes sense to pay for monthly.
It’s important that you’re as specific with us as possible when you fill out that itemization sheet. Many people end up revising the sheet after speaking with us due to leaving off all the regular household items they use every day. Many people don’t think about things like bedsheets, clothing or specific items of furniture that are necessary throughout the house. We recommend getting as specific as possible by going from room to room and coming up with a complete list of any items you would need to be replaced.
You should also talk to us about ACV vs. RCV – Actual Cash Value versus Replacement Cost Value. This will allow us to determine how we calculate replacing your items factoring in depreciation.
Many things affect how much you are going to pay for your premium. Some of those things include the age of your rental, materials of your rental, and even your credit score. Your credit score matters because how you manage your finances factors into being able to pay rent, and premium payments. If you’ve filed a claim during the last five years, this may also be considered when it comes to your premium.
Pets are also something that most carriers take a look at. Some carriers have a restricted breed list for dogs because a dog attack in the home can result in medical liability. Make sure to be honest with us about the pets you have in your home and we can work with you.
Do new customers get discounts?
Carriers love rewarding loyal customers with discounts. Buying different lines of insurance from the same carrier will ensure you’re doing all your business under one roof, and carriers love giving you a percentage discount based on the amount of business you’re doing. If you need other insurance, taking out one policy and then deciding to put others into effect at the same time is a great way to save, and we certainly recommend it.
We are committed to helping our Illinois customers find affordable, top protection renters insurance in Illinois. If you need this protection, we can cover you. Filling out one form allows you to get a number of quotes from us at one time, and we look forward to doing the heavy lifting for you. Let us know what your specific needs are and we can customize a policy for you.