AAA Renters Insurance Review 2023
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Bottom line: AAA renters insurance is worth considering for AAA members or those interested in joining. |
AAA renters insurance comes not from a single company but from various providers in different regions of the U.S. That means your coverage and discount options may vary depending on where you live. When you visit the AAA website, you’ll enter your ZIP code and be directed to the motor club that serves your area.
You may need to be a member of AAA to buy the organization’s renters insurance. If that’s the case where you live, be sure to factor in the extra cost when comparing quotes with other insurers.
AAA renters insurance star ratings and availability
Because different AAA motor clubs have different insurance providers, we’ve rated each of them separately. Below are NerdWallet’s star ratings for three of the largest AAA-branded insurance companies.
Company | NerdWallet star rating | States available* |
|---|---|---|
Auto Club Group | GA, IL, IA, MI, MN, NC, SC, TN, WI. | |
Auto Club of SoCal | AL, AR, CA, HI, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MS, MO, NH, NM, OH, PA, TX, VA, VT, WV. | |
CSAA | AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, D.C., ID, IN, KS, KY, MD, MT, NV, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SD, UT, VA, WV, WY. | |
*Companies may not be available in all counties within a given state. | ||
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.
AAA 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?
A standard AAA renters policy will generally include the coverage above. Depending on where you live, you may also have the option to add the following types of coverage:
Extra coverage for valuables. Adds separate coverage for expensive items like jewelry or art, which a standard policy may not fully cover.
Identity theft. Pays certain expenses associated with recovering from identity theft. (Learn more about identity theft insurance.)
Water/sewer backup. Covers damage to your stuff if a drain backs up in your home.
Personal injury. Pays legal fees and damages if someone sues you for libel, slander or other issues.
Replacement cost coverage for personal property. Say a kitchen fire spreads to your living room and destroys some of your furniture. With replacement cost coverage, the insurer would pay enough out in a claim for you to buy new furniture (minus your deductible). Without this coverage, your payout would reflect the current value of the furniture, which may be significantly less if you’ve had it for a while.
» MORE: How does renters insurance work?
Discounts
Each AAA provider will have its own set of discounts, but you may be able to save by:
Bundling multiple policies.
Not filing a claim for a certain amount of time.
Having safety or security devices such as smoke alarms, deadbolt locks or smart-home devices.
Paying your premium in full, upfront.
Signing up for autopay and/or paperless billing.
Renewing your AAA policy.
Living in a gated community.
Being an older person or retiree.
Consumer complaints
To measure consumer satisfaction, we evaluate how many complaints state regulators receive from customers of each insurance company. This number varies from one AAA-branded insurer to another.
The table below shows how many complaints some of AAA’s biggest providers have drawn over a three-year span:
Company | Number of complaints |
|---|---|
Auto Club Group | Fewer than expected for a company of its size. |
Auto Club of SoCal | More than expected for a company of its size. |
CSAA | Far more than expected for a company of its size. |
Complaint ratios are based on three years’ worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. (NAIC home insurance complaints cover other home policy types, including mobile home, renters and condo insurance.)
» MORE: How much is renters insurance?
Consumer experience
Website: Each AAA insurer has its own website, so the information and features available to you will depend on where you live. Some companies let you get quotes, pay bills and/or file claims online, while others offer fewer digital bells and whistles.
App: Not all of AAA’s motor clubs have mobile apps you can use to manage your policies. One that does is Auto Club of SoCal with its Auto Club app, which is available to members in Southern California, Texas, the Northeast and other select areas. The more general AAA Mobile app doesn’t offer much in the way of insurance services, instead targeting membership needs such as roadside assistance and trip planning.
Claims: How you file and track claims depends on which AAA company insures you. With some insurers, you may be able to submit claims online and track them through your digital account.
Customer service: To find phone numbers and other customer service channels, check the website of your local AAA motor club.
» MORE: Is AAA membership worth it?
Where AAA stands out
Membership perks. Beyond access to its insurance policies, AAA membership has other benefits you may find useful, such as roadside assistance and travel discounts.
Other policies available. Though your options depend on where you live, your AAA insurance provider will likely offer auto and other common types of policies you may need.
Where AAA falls short
Membership fee. In some parts of the U.S., you’ll need to pay an annual membership fee to be eligible for AAA renters insurance.
Regional variation. If you move from one state to another, you may need to switch insurers, and you may not have the same coverage options and discounts.
Other renters insurance companies to consider
Not ready to make a decision? You may be interested in these other renters insurance companies:
Geico: Sells renters insurance through third parties.
Lemonade: Straightforward policies from a tech-centric, mission-driven company.
Progressive: Sells its own renters insurance policies and those of a third-party carrier.
State Farm: Renters insurance from the country’s largest insurer.
» MORE: AAA home insurance review
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.
