South Carolina Landlord Insurance Cost (2026): Dwelling Fire Benchmarks, SC DOI Data and What Drives Your Quote
What landlord insurance costs in South Carolina: why no official landlord average exists, NAIC 2023 dwelling fire benchmarks by coverage amount, SC DOI homeowners market data and SCWHUA coastal wind context.
Last verified October 12, 2026 · Insurance 8020 is not a licensed insurance producer, broker or agent and does not sell policies.
Neither the South Carolina Department of Insurance nor the NAIC publishes an average landlord insurance premium for South Carolina rentals. What they do publish are useful benchmarks: the NAIC’s 2023 South Carolina dwelling fire form average of $564 for one-family owner-occupied buildings, the NAIC HO-3 average of $1,753, SC DOI’s $2.895 billion of 2024 homeowners premium, and SCWHUA’s coastal wind-and-hail residual market with 15,337 in-force policies at year-end 2025. This guide explains those numbers, what they leave out, and what moves a South Carolina rental quote.
Key Takeaways
- There is no official South Carolina landlord average. SC DOI and the NAIC do not publish a statewide premium average for landlord or DP-3 policies.
- The dwelling fire form averaged $564 in South Carolina in 2023. That NAIC figure, collected for one-family owner-occupied homes, was 44.7% below the $1,019 countrywide dwelling fire average.
- Coverage amount drives the price. South Carolina dwelling fire policies in the NAIC data averaged $362 under $150,000 of coverage, $761 at $300,000 to $324,999 and $1,183 at $1 million or more.
- Owner HO-3 averaged $1,753. That NAIC 2023 figure is for owner-occupied homeowners policies, not landlord forms, and is useful only as a comparison.
- SCWHUA handles coastal wind separately. SCWHUA had 15,337 in-force policies and about $6.73 billion of insured limits at year-end 2025, with a 7.5% dwelling rate increase effective February 1, 2026.
- Insurers wrote $2.895 billion of homeowners premium in 2024. SC DOI’s company market-share table puts statewide homeowners multiple-peril written premium at $2,894,859,671.
How much does landlord insurance cost in South Carolina?
There is no SC DOI or NAIC table titled “South Carolina landlord insurance premium.” Landlord policies are priced address by address on rebuild cost, wind and hail exposure, liability limit, deductible and claim history. The closest official benchmarks are below. Treat them as context for your quote, not as a quote.
| Official benchmark | Figure | Source and notes |
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina dwelling fire average premium | $564 | NAIC, 2023 data, one-family owner-occupied dwelling fire policies |
| Countrywide dwelling fire average premium | $1,019 | NAIC, 2023 data |
| South Carolina HO-3 (owner-occupied) average | $1,753 | NAIC, 2023 data, for comparison |
| South Carolina renters (HO-4) average, paid by tenants | $187 | NAIC, 2023 data |
| SC DOI 2024 homeowners written premium (statewide) | $2.895 billion | Company market-share report, not a per-policy landlord average |
| SCWHUA in-force premium (coastal wind/hail) | $57.1 million | Year-end 2025; wind and hail only, not a full landlord package |
Two cautions. First, the NAIC collects its dwelling fire series for one-family, owner-occupied, non-seasonal buildings and says those figures are not directly comparable with its homeowners data. It shows what the dwelling fire form costs in South Carolina, not what landlords pay. Second, SCWHUA in-force premium is for wind and hail only in the coastal residual market. It is not a DP-3 or landlord package average.
South Carolina dwelling fire cost by coverage amount
One of the biggest drivers of any dwelling premium is how much coverage you carry. NAIC’s 2023 South Carolina table for the dwelling fire form (owner-occupied homes) shows the average premium climbing with each coverage band, and the same rebuild-cost logic applies when a landlord form is rated:
| Dwelling coverage amount | South Carolina dwelling fire average premium (2023) |
|---|---|
| Under $150,000 | $362 |
| $150,000 to $199,999 | $640 |
| $250,000 to $274,999 | $708 |
| $300,000 to $324,999 | $761 |
| $350,000 to $399,999 | $912 |
| $400,000 to $449,999 | $1,008 |
| $500,000 to $599,999 | $1,046 |
| $700,000 to $999,999 | $1,202 |
| $1,000,000 and over | $1,183 |
Source: NAIC Dwelling Fire, Homeowners Owner-Occupied, and Homeowners Tenant and Condominium/Cooperative Unit Owner’s Insurance Report, Table 4, South Carolina, 2023 data. Selected bands shown.
The statewide $564 average is pulled down by lower coverage amounts: 8,067.8 of the 16,463.8 South Carolina dwelling fire house-years (about 49.0%) carried less than $150,000 of coverage. If your rental needs $400,000 of rebuild coverage, the $1,008 band average is a more useful yardstick than the statewide mean. Set the dwelling limit to the cost to rebuild, not the market value of the property; land is not insured.
What SC DOI and NAIC data tell landlords about the broader property market
SC DOI’s 2024 homeowners company market-share report shows how large the owner homeowners market is:
- $2,894,859,671 of homeowners multiple-peril premium written in 2024.
- State Farm Fire and Casualty alone wrote 21.42% of that premium.
- The top 50 companies wrote 92.94% of the market.
The NAIC’s 2025 group report puts South Carolina homeowners direct premiums written at $3.506 billion with a statewide loss ratio of 26.36%. Those figures describe the owner homeowners market, but they matter to landlords because the same wind, hail and rebuild-cost pressures feed into rental underwriting. For the full owner market picture, see our South Carolina homeowners insurance statistics.
Wind, coastal counties and SCWHUA
Location matters as much as rebuild cost for many South Carolina rentals.
SCWHUA (wind and hail). SC DOI’s 2025 Coastal Property Report describes the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association as the residual market for wind and hail in Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Georgetown and Horry counties. At December 31, 2025, SCWHUA had 15,337 in-force policies, $57,117,778 of in-force premium and $6,725,586,781 of insured limits. Zone 1 held 69% of policies; Zone 2 held 31%. Horry County carries the highest county exposure.
Policy count fell by 994 in 2025 (about 6% year over year) and is down 67.6% from the August 2011 peak. SC DOI approved a 7.5% dwelling rate increase (and 25% for mobile homes) effective February 1, 2026. Ask every landlord quote whether wind is included, excluded, or placed with SCWHUA. SCWHUA is not a full landlord package: fire, liability, theft and flood sit outside it.
Flood. Major landlord forms, including those from State Farm and Allstate, list flood among common exclusions. Flood needs a separate policy, especially near the coast and inland floodplains.
What drives your South Carolina landlord quote
- Rebuild cost and dwelling limit. As the NAIC bands above show, moving from under $150,000 to $500,000 of dwelling fire coverage nearly triples the average premium in the owner-occupied series.
- Wind and hail exposure. Coastal ZIPs in the five SCWHUA counties may need a separate wind policy. Inland rentals still face hail and convective-storm risk.
- Form breadth. A named-peril fire policy costs less than a broader landlord form because it covers less.
- Liability limit. Landlord liability protects you when a tenant or guest is hurt. If you add an umbrella, the underlying limit matters; see our best umbrella insurance companies.
- Loss of rent. Fair rental value coverage replaces rent while a covered loss is repaired. Confirm the number of months included.
- Flood. Separate from the landlord form and from SCWHUA wind coverage.
South Carolina landlord vs homeowners vs renters cost
| Policy | Who buys it | South Carolina figure |
|---|---|---|
| Dwelling fire form | NAIC series: one-family owner-occupied homes | $564 (NAIC 2023) |
| HO-3 homeowners | Owner-occupants | $1,753 (NAIC 2023) |
| HO-6 condo | Condo unit owners | $628 (NAIC 2023) |
| HO-4 renters | Tenants (not the landlord) | $187 (NAIC 2023) |
| Landlord / DP-3 package | Rental-property owners | No official statewide average published |
For carrier product pages and AM Best grades, see best landlord insurance companies in South Carolina. For national cost drivers, see landlord insurance cost. Sibling state guides: Texas landlord insurance cost, North Carolina landlord insurance cost, California landlord insurance cost, Colorado landlord insurance cost and Washington landlord insurance cost and Arkansas landlord insurance cost.
City pages and next steps
South Carolina city landlord pages for Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach and North Charleston surface related guides when posts are tagged landlord and south-carolina. When you are ready to compare, request landlord quotes with the same dwelling limit, liability limit, deductible and wind treatment across carriers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is landlord insurance in South Carolina?
There is no official statewide landlord average from SC DOI or the NAIC. The closest official dwelling fire benchmark is $564 in 2023 for owner-occupied one-family buildings, which is not a landlord quote. Your premium depends on rebuild cost, location, wind treatment and coverage limits.
Why is coastal landlord insurance more complicated in South Carolina?
Because wind and hail may be written through SCWHUA while fire, liability and other perils stay with a voluntary carrier. SCWHUA had 15,337 in-force policies at year-end 2025. Ask every quote how wind is handled.
Does the $1,753 HO-3 average apply to rentals?
No. That NAIC figure is for owner-occupied HO-3 policies. Landlord forms are underwritten separately. Use it only as an owner-occupied comparison.
Should tenants buy renters insurance too?
Yes. Landlord policies typically exclude tenant belongings. South Carolina HO-4 renters policies averaged $187 in 2023 NAIC data. Require proof of renters insurance in the lease when appropriate.
How do I get a South Carolina landlord quote?
Gather the rebuild estimate, year built, roof age, liability limit you want and whether the property is in an SCWHUA territory, then compare quotes from carriers with verified landlord products such as State Farm, Allstate, Travelers and Liberty Mutual.
How we verified this page
NAIC dwelling fire and homeowners averages come from the NAIC Homeowners Report (2023 data). Statewide homeowners premium comes from SC DOI’s 2024 Homeowners Multiple Peril Premiums report. SCWHUA figures come from SC DOI’s 2025 Coastal Property Report. All primary sources were fetched October 12, 2026. We did not invent a landlord average or cite competitor comparison sites. See our methodology.
Important disclosures
Averages are not quotes. Official averages blend many policies, coverage amounts and locations. Your premium depends on your property and the insurer’s underwriting.
Coverage descriptions summarize public pages and residual-market reports and are not policy contracts. Availability varies by ZIP code and underwriting.
About Insurance 8020. Insurance 8020 is an independent insurance comparison and education resource. We are not a licensed insurance producer, broker or agent, and nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy any specific policy. We may earn a referral fee when you request a quote through our partners, at no cost to you.