Lemonade Renters Insurance: Why It’s a Top Pick for Millennials Everywhere

It takes a lot for us to be impressed, especially when it comes to insurance. After all, no matter how user-friendly an insurance app or website may be, many insurance companies are not. Getting reimbursed for expensive medical bills or other unexpected insurance claims? It may just never happen — and could take months if it does.

Enter Lemonade, the company that’s changing the face of insurance coverage for renters, drivers, homeowners, and even their pets. If you’re looking for coverage from an insurer that’s on a mission to enact social change, keep reading this Lemonade insurance review.

What is Lemonade?

Lemonade is a New York-based insurance company founded in 2016 by two entrepreneurs, Shai Wininger and Daniel Schreiber. It has since grown to provide insurance coverage to renters and homeowners in nearly 30 states.

The company describes itself as “injecting technology and transparency into an industry that often lacks both” — which feels pretty spot-on, and people are responding well. One reviewer recently called his experience “pretty sure it was easier than ordering pizza,” and another said it was his “best insurance experience ever.”

Besides providing five different types of insurance coverage (renters, homeowners, and most recently car insurance), the company is also a recognized B-Corp® organization. This means it’s been awarded certification from the nonprofit B Lab in recognition of its efforts to promote social and environmental impact.

Unlike traditional insurance companies where the claims process can take months, Lemonade prides itself on paying back claims quickly and makes the entire process of insurance coverage more transparent for its policyholders. 

Because the company is built on a different business model than most other insurance companies, it’s able to repay claims quickly and without conflict. It does this by working with reinsurance companies that offer insurance for insurance companies, and by operating on a flat-fee structure that annually returns or donates leftover user-paid premiums to charities you choose through Lemonade's Giveback program.

How does Lemonade renters insurance work?

Lemonade renters insurance works in much the same way as other renters insurance: by providing coverage for basic things renters need. With plans that start at $5 per month, this includes personal property coverage, coverage for temporary living expenses if something happens to your place (also known as loss of use), and coverage for personal liability and medical bills. This includes any damage from a fire, theft, vandalism, or even if you or someone else gets hurt at your place. 

Like all renters insurance, it's subject to coverage limits, and those limits impact your insurance rate. You'll pay more for higher coverage limits. You can also opt for add-on coverage for specific, high-value items like fine art and jewelry. 

It doesn’t include things owned by your landlord or other people unless their names are on your policy. For example, if you get a renters insurance policy through Lemonade and live with your parents or roommates but don’t share an insurance policy, their stuff won’t be covered the way yours will.

Renters insurance also won’t cover the building you live in. Unlike homeowners insurance policies, which covers the actual structure of your home and other buildings on your property, renters insurance covers only what you own, and as a renter, that’s not typically the building itself. As with insurance companies, Lemonade can’t prevent anything from happening to your stuff. But it can and is more likely to reimburse you if something happens to you or any of your personal property as a renter.

One final note here: A common misconception about renters insurance is that it’s not really worth paying for. But because renters insurance can protect your stuff whether you’re home or not (including stuff that may get stolen while you’re out and about), it’s a good bit of extra coverage for anyone who wouldn’t want to front the expense of replacing their stuff out of pocket.

What other products does Lemonade offer?

Besides renters insurance, Lemonade also offers homeowners, pet, life, and car insurance — and a bundling discount if you opt for multiple coverages. 

Homeowners insurance

Homeowners insurance, as we briefly mentioned above, is a lot like renters insurance, except it covers more things.  Starting at $25 per month, its policies include everything in renters policies, including personal liability coverage, plus property damage coverage for the physical structures on your property like your house and garage.

If your home becomes unlivable, Lemonade home insurance will also cover temporary housing in a hotel or rental. The company prides itself on responding quickly to claims, with bots (and real people) working diligently to respond to any inquiries. If you'd like to see your options, our list of the best home insurance companies is a great place to start.

Pet insurance

Created with the help of a team of vets and pet parents, Lemonade’s pet insurance policy covers everything you need to keep Fido (and your wallet) healthy, including things like diagnostic procedures, medication, accidents, and illnesses. You can also add an optional wellness package to your plan for extra coverage of things like routine wellness exams, tests, and vaccines. This package also includes access to the team’s online medical team, which means if something happens, you can ask your questions online before heading to your local vet or emergency clinic.

And if you find yourself asking, is pet insurance worth it? The answer is yes. According to our recent pet insurance survey, at least half of all pet insurance holders we asked have used their policies to file a claim in the past year. Pet insurance can save you a lot of unexpected expenses and help you avoid making difficult decisions about the value of your pet’s health.

Term life insurance

Lemonade also offers term life insurance with no medical exams. It does use health questions to determine whether you're eligible for coverage. It's available to people 18 to 60 years of age, and the Lemonade website states that you may not be eligible if you have a history of heart disease, cancer, or "other life-threatening conditions." Its term coverage is available for 10,15, 20, 25, or 30 years for up to $1.5 million. 

Auto insurance

Auto insurance is a newer Lemonade policy option. It offers liability, comprehensive, collision, and medical payment coverage. Its pricing is based in part on how you drive, and it collects that information through the Lemonade app. It offers discounts for electric and hybrid vehicles and for bundling auto coverage with its other lines of insurance. 

You can also opt for temporary transportation coverage, which covers rental cars, public transportation, and rideshares while your car is in the shop (up to daily limits). Unfortunately, Lemonade car insurance is only available in Illinois as of Jan. 20, 2022. 

How to sign up for Lemonade renters insurance

When it says it takes 90 seconds to sign up, it’s not a joke. Getting started with Lemonade is super easy and goes a little something like this.

After selecting one of its prompts to sign up, you’ll be directed to a screen with an agent’s photo and name.

After entering your full name, you’ll be prompted to input your address.

Next up, you’ll be asked a series of questions based on what systems your place has (fire alarms or security systems), and whom you share the space with, such as a partner, pets, kids, or roommates.

After that, you’ll be asked about your belongings and whether you have anything especially valuable, such as jewelry, cameras, musical instruments, or fine art. This doesn’t require you to get into any specifics, just provide a general yes or no so it knows whether you need these things covered.

Finally, you’ll be asked whether you have insurance for this rental yet.

Then just plug in your date of birth and email and Lemonade will send you an insurance quote!

In addition to offering a straightforward process for getting a quote, Lemonade also offers you the option to customize your coverage options before you pay. When you sign up, it will send you a coverage summary, and you can choose to modify your coverage and change your deductible and other policy settings. Once everything looks good, you pay for coverage and Lemonade sends you your final policy in the mail. 

FAQs about Lemonade renters insurance

The bottom line

Getting the insurance coverage you need is important as it allows for some peace of mind that no matter what happens, you can protect both yourself and your family.

A final word about Lemonade: Although there are many positives about this company, it’s still fairly new, and it’s not offering service everywhere quite yet. The good news is that you can already sign up for Lemonade renters insurance in more than 25 states, and given its success and aggressive plans for expansion, we have a feeling it won’t be too long until you can find Lemonade insurance nationwide.