The Best and Cheapest Homeowners Insurance Companies in Tennessee
The Best and Cheapest Homeowners Insurance Companies in Tennessee
Picking the right home insurance company means finding the company that has the right coverage options and great customer service, all for an affordable rate. We collected thousands of home insurance quotes and compared 15 top insurers to find the best home insurance company for a variety of Tennessee homeowners.
Compare Home Insurance Quotes from Providers in Tennessee
In Tennessee, the best price for a typical homeowners insurance policy is $899 per year. However, we recommend against buying your home insurance policy based solely on price — customer service and coverage options matter, too. Here are our top choices for the best homeowners insurance in Tennessee.
Best for most homeowners: Erie
Best for online tools: Allstate
Best for cheapest rates: Shelter
Best for military families: USAA
Best for most people: Erie Insurance
Our favorite home insurance company in Tennessee and our recommendation for most people is Erie Insurance, which offers the best overall combination of affordable rates, varied coverage options and strong customer service. Erie's statewide average price of $1,045 was 16% less than the overall average across every insurer we looked at.
We've positively reviewed Erie's insurance offerings in the past. It has consistently well-reviewed service from its customers and a variety of discounts and appealing coverage options. For example, they offer guaranteed replacement cost coverage, which will pay for the full expense of replacing a damaged or stolen item, regardless of how old it is. Erie also offers auto insurance, so you may be able to reduce your insurance expenses even more by combining all your insurance policies with one company.
The biggest possible drawback of Erie Insurance is that it's only available from independent insurance agents. This can make it more challenging to get coverage if you live in an area without any nearby agents. And if you prefer to buy and manage your home insurance online, you won't be happy with Erie.
Best for online tools: Allstate
Homeowners who prefer to manage their policies online — either because they live in a remote area or simply because of the convenience of being able to buy insurance from your computer or smartphone — should take a look at Allstate. As one of the largest home insurance companies in the country, Allstate has versatile online tools that allow you to shop for quotes, buy a policy, file claims and make changes to your policy online.
In addition, Allstate's average annual rates were on the affordable side. We found an average price of $1,088 per year of coverage, which is 12% less than the state average. Allstate also has a wide range of coverage options, meaning most homeowners will find the right kind of protection with Allstate. In addition to homeowners insurance, Allstate sells auto, motorcycle and life insurance policies.
Best for cheapest rates: Shelter Insurance
Homeowners looking for the absolute lowest rate on home insurance in Tennessee should start with Shelter insurance: at an average of $899 per year, it had the lowest prices statewide. That's 28% less than Tennessee's overall average.
However, the fact that Shelter is the cheapest option on average doesn't mean it will be the most affordable choice in every part of Tennessee. In many ZIP codes, other insurers offered lower rates. And homeowners who have different coverage needs are likely to find different prices from home insurance companies. The only way to guarantee you're paying the lowest price for your property is to get a quote for your home.
Besides its low prices, Shelter also has a surprising range of coverage options for a smaller insurance company. Notable extra coverages include emergency removal of property, as well as protection for extra structures and landscaping on your property.
Like many smaller home insurance companies, Shelter doesn't offer many of the online services you might expect at a bigger company. For example, while you can file a claim online, there's no online quote option; you must purchase through an agent.
Best for military families: USAA
For Tennesseans with ties to the military, we recommend USAA as a strong home insurer. USAA's home rates aren't as competitive in Tennessee as they are in other states: its statewide average of $1,342 was $101 more than the overall average we found. Still, the company's highly regarded customer service and benefits geared to servicemembers may make it worth the higher expense.
Most importantly, USAA has earned a reputation for providing excellent service to its customers, especially when it comes to claims. To that end, it has a perfect 5/5 from J.D. Power's homeowners insurance satisfaction survey and an impressively low 0.15 complaint index from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
USAA also provides a few unique benefits and perks to servicemembers and their families. For example, USAA covers your personal property in warzones, which most insurers don't do. This means any belongings you bring with you while you're deployed are protected, no matter where you go.
Besides homeowners insurance, USAA also provides a full suite of other financial products. This includes auto insurance, banking, credit cards and loans.
Keep in mind that USAA is not available to everyone. Only two groups of people may apply: current or former members of the U.S. military and anyone whose immediate family has been a customer of USAA in the past.
The best-reviewed homeowners insurance companies in Tennessee
When shopping for the right homeowners insurance company, price is important, but it's far from the only consideration you should make: equally important is the level of care and service you'll receive. Two factors we consider are a company's NAIC complaint index, which shows the relative number of complaints a company has received compared to its size, and the A.M. Best financial stability rating.
2018 size rank | Insurer | 2018 NAIC index (lower is better) | A.M. Best FSR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | State Farm | 0.2 | A++ |
| 2 | Tennessee Farm Bureau | 0.08 | A |
| 3 | Liberty Mutual | 0.53 | A |
| 4 | Allstate | 0.31 | A+ |
| 5 | USAA | 0.15 | A++ |
| 6 | Erie | 0.21 | A+ |
| 7 | Farmers Insurance | 0.39 | A |
| 8 | Nationwide | 0.31 | A+ |
| 9 | Travelers | 0.14 | A++ |
| 10 | Auto-Owners Insurance Co | 0.21 | A++ |
| 11 | Chubb | 0.09 | A++ |
| 12 | Progressive | 0.8 | A+ |
The cheapest options for homeowners insurance in Tennessee
We collected hundreds of quotes from homeowners insurance companies across Tennessee in order to find the best price. We found that Shelter offers the lowest prices to Tennessee homeowners, with an average rate of just $899 statewide.
Compare Home Insurance Quotes from Providers in Tennessee
Common homeowners insurance perils in Tennessee
The most common types of insurance perils in Tennessee are related to severe weather — wind and hail damage, followed by flooding. Tennessee is far enough inland that the state does not very often get hit by full-force hurricanes; however, it's common for the remnants of these major storms to affect the state, particularly in the eastern half.
Tennessee is also subject to occasional winter storms, and conditions like snow and freezing rain can lead to an insurance claim, too.
Is wind damage covered by insurance in Tennessee?
Wind damage is one of the most frequent causes of insurance claims nationwide, and Tennessee is no different. Fortunately, wind damage is nearly always covered by home insurance claims. This is true whether the damage is a broken window, or shingles being ripped off your roof.
Is flood damage covered by homeowners insurance?
Unfortunately, damage from flooding is almost never covered by homeowners insurance policies. If your home floods from rain or an overflowing body of water, the only kind of insurance that will protect you is a standalone flood insurance policy. These policies are completely separate from homeowners insurance companies, though many companies sell both kinds.
You have two main options for flood insurance: a government-sponsored policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), or a totally private policy created by an insurance company. Policies created through the NFIP have the same coverages and rates no matter which company you buy from; the details of private policies will vary by company.
Tennessee insurance rates: City-by-city breakdown
In addition to calculating the average cost of home insurance for every ZIP code in Tennessee, we also did a city-by-city breakdown of insurance rates — so you can compare your insurance rates with what's typical in your area. Remember that homeowners insurance prices can vary greatly based on home cost and design, specific location and other factors, so the average rate in your city may not match what you pay.
City | Average annual home insurance rate | % difference from average |
|---|---|---|
| Arlington | $1,332 | 8.9% |
| Athens | $1,203 | -1.7% |
| Bartlett | $1,286 | 5.0% |
| Brentwood | $1,041 | -14.9% |
| Bristol | $928 | -24.2% |
| Brownsville | $1,441 | 17.7% |
| Chattanooga | $1,074 | -12.3% |
| Clarksville | $1,140 | -6.9% |
| Cleveland | $1,079 | -11.9% |
| Collierville | $1,351 | 10.3% |
| Columbia | $1,191 | -2.7% |
| Cookeville | $1,115 | -8.9% |
For a broader look at the costs of coverage, you can explore our analysis of how much homeowners insurance rates are in other states.
Methodology
For our analysis, we collected insurance quotes from seven of the top insurance companies in Tennessee for every ZIP code in the state. We based our quotes on a 2,100 square foot home built in 1982 with $167,500 of dwelling coverage. The companies we surveyed are:
- State Farm
- Tennessee Farm Bureau
- Allstate
- USAA
- Erie
- Travelers
- Shelter Insurance
ValuePenguin's analysis used insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services. These rates were publicly sourced from insurer filings and should be used for comparative purposes only — your own quotes may be different.
Chris is a Product Manager for ValuePenguin with years of experience in addressing critical questions about mortgages and homeowners insurance. He spends his time evaluating insurance providers and policy features to understand where consumers might find the most cost-effective coverage. Chris has contributed insights to the New York Times and many other publications.
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author’s opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.