EPremium Renters Insurance Review 2023
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Bottom line: Convenient option for tenants at participating properties looking to fulfill their renters insurance requirement. |
If you’ve heard of ePremium Insurance, it’s probably because the company has partnered with your rental community to offer an easy way to meet your renters insurance requirement. But is the most convenient option necessarily the best?
The answer: It depends. EPremium promises that all tenants will be approved for coverage without a credit check, which may make these plans a good bet for those with a checkered credit history. (In most states, renters with poor credit pay significantly more for insurance.)
Some ePremium policies also come with appealing extras that most other renters insurance companies don’t include, such as coverage for bedbug remediation or damage your pet does to your apartment. EPremium advertises average renters insurance rates of $11 to $22 a month, which are in line with the national average of $15 a month, according to NerdWallet's analysis.
But ePremium renters insurance has its drawbacks, too — in particular, limited options for customizing your coverage and deductibles. If you shop around with other insurers, you may be able to find more flexible coverage for a similar price.
EPremium is an agency, not an insurance company, which means it will sell you a policy underwritten by another company such as Spinnaker, Century National or QBE.
State availability
EPremium renters insurance is available in Washington, D.C., and every state except Alaska.
EPremium 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?
Although ePremium offers these basic types of coverage, you may not be able to customize the limits for all of them. For instance, we weren’t able to change the liability limit for any of the sample quotes we got in cities across the country.
Nor were we able to select our own deductibles. (A deductible is the amount of an insurance claim you have to pay.)
Depending on where you live, ePremium may assign you multiple deductibles for different types of claims, such as theft or wind and hail. In our sample quotes, these deductibles ranged from $250 to $1,000. We also saw a wind/hail deductible of 2% of your personal property limit, which would set you back more than $1,000 if you had more than $50,000 worth of coverage.
If you’d have trouble coming up with $1,000 in an emergency, you might be better off with another company that lets you choose a lower deductible.
Some ePremium policies include extra perks for no charge, such as $500 of coverage for damage your pet does to your apartment or $1,000 toward cleaning up a bedbug infestation.
Policies may also include replacement cost coverage, which means if your belongings are stolen or destroyed, you’ll get a high enough claim payout to buy brand-new replacements. Some insurance companies cover your stuff on an “actual cash value” basis and pay out only what your items are worth at the time of the claim. For older items, that could be a lot less than what it would cost to replace them.
If you have a pet, check whether your policy includes animal liability, which would help cover your legal expenses if your pet bites or injures someone. Some ePremium policies limit this coverage to $10,000 or don’t include it at all, but you may be able to get more animal liability insurance by contacting the company.
Depending on where you live, you may have the option to add these endorsements to your policy, if they're not already included:
Identity fraud expense coverage, which pays expenses associated with recovering your identity.
Water backup coverage, which pays if water backs up and damages your belongings.
Increased jewelry/watches theft coverage, which provides extra insurance if your valuables are worth more than the policy’s sublimit for theft of these items.
Earthquake coverage, available in California only.
Refrigerated personal property coverage, which pays for food that spoils in a power outage.
At select properties, ePremium also offers a liability-only policy called ePremium Protect. This is typically a cheaper alternative to a full renters policy and will meet your community’s liability insurance requirement. However, it won’t provide any coverage for your personal belongings.
Discounts
You may be eligible for a discount by paying your premium in full, upfront, rather than in monthly installments.
Consumer experience
Website: You can get a quote and buy your policy on the ePremium website. Once you have a policy, you can log in to make payments, view coverage information and change or cancel your policy.
Claims: To submit a claim, call 800-319-1390, and ePremium’s customer service representatives will file the claim on your behalf.
Customer service: EPremium offers phone support on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET at 800-319-1390. You can also submit messages and policy requests through the website.
Where ePremium stands out
No credit check. Tenants with poor credit may be able to save money with ePremium.
Included coverage. Depending on where you live, your policy may include useful extras such as coverage for bedbug remediation or identity theft expenses.
Where ePremium falls short
Customization. If you want to choose a higher liability limit or change your deductible, you may not have that option with an ePremium policy.
Availability. EPremium plans are available only to tenants at participating properties.
» MORE: The best cheap renters insurance
Other renters insurance companies to consider
Not ready to make a decision? You may be interested in these other renters insurance companies:
Assurant: May include add-ons like coverage for bedbug remediation and spoiled food.
Lemonade: Digital-first insurer that donates a portion of premiums to a charity of your choice.
Progressive: Sells its own renters policies and those of a third-party partner.
State Farm: Highly rated coverage from the country’s largest insurer.
