Best and Cheapest Home Insurance in Washington

Best cheap home insurance in Washington

To help Washington homeowners find the best home insurance, we compiled thousands of quotes and customer satisfaction ratings from the largest insurance companies across the state.

The cheapest companies for home insurance in Washington

That rate is $553 per year cheaper than the state average for home insurance, $1,292 per year.

Mutual of Enumclaw also offers cheap insurance at a rate of $799 per year for standard home insurance. This is $493 per year cheaper than the state average.

Cheap annual home insurance in Washington

Best overall in Washington: Mutual of Enumclaw

Mutual of Enumclaw is the best home insurance company for most homeowners in Washington. The company has excellent insurance rates, well-regarded customer service and a variety of coverages and discounts.

The company offers standard home insurance policies at an average rate of $799 per year. This is 38% cheaper than the state average.

Mutual of Enumclaw offers useful add-ons for your home insurance policy, like extended replacement cost, lock and key coverage and pet injury coverage. The company also partners with Wildfire Defense Systems Inc. and will dispatch its own private team of firefighters during a house fire at no additional cost, even with a basic home insurance policy.

The company scored a 0.60 in the customer complaint index from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which means the company receives 40% fewer complaints than an average insurer its size.

The biggest drawback of Mutual of Enumclaw is that you can't get a quote or buy a policy online, so you'd have to contact an independent agent for support. However, you can file a claim and pay your bill online for an existing policy, and a majority of customers' reviews say they have a positive experience with the company's agents.

Best for home insurance bundling: Allstate

Allstate is the best home insurance company for bundling policies in Washington. The company also offers the cheapest home insurance policy in the state at an average rate of $739 per year. This is 43% cheaper than the state annual average.

You'll also get other savings and benefits for homeowners from Allstate through a variety of discounts and coverage add-ons.

Allstate partners with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), so you can purchase your NFIP flood insurance policy through an Allstate agent.

Allstate also offers several uncommon coverage options you can add to your basic insurance policy, like:

The most prominent downside to Allstate is that customer satisfaction is poor compared to other home insurers. The company scored a 1.27 in the customer complaint index from the NAIC, meaning Allstate has 27% more complaints than average insurers its size. However, Allstate does offer convenient online support, which means you may be able to bypass most of the in-person customer service.

Best for high-value home insurance: Chubb

Chubb is the best home insurance company for high-value homes in Washington because of its cheap rates, superior customer service and benefits designed for high-net-worth individuals and their belongings. The company offers standard home insurance at $1,198 per year, $94 cheaper per year than the state annual average.

Chubb offers options for coverage that most other insurance companies don't have, like higher policy limits and cyber security coverage. The company also offers a cash-out option, so if your home is destroyed, you can keep the money rather than use it to rebuild the same home.

The company scored a 0.08 in the customer complaint index from the NAIC, meaning Chubb receives few to no complaints. This is the best customer complaint score of all the top insurance companies in the state of Washington.

Chubb provides consistent, outstanding support, but we don't recommend it for most homeowners. You'll typically need to have a home worth more than the median value in the state to qualify for Chubb home insurance. Owners of typical homes may have to buy a policy with more coverage than they need in order to qualify for a Chubb policy.

Best for military families: USAA

USAA is a good choice for members of the military and their families because of USAA's valuable benefits and affordable rates.

The company offers coverage options tailored to military personnel that aren't offered at most other companies. For example, USAA waives your deductible if your military-issued gear is lost, stolen or destroyed. The company also covers personal property while overseas in a war zone, which is rarely offered anywhere else.

The annual rates for home insurance were not the cheapest in Washington, at $1,283 per year. That's just barely cheaper than the state average.

USAA scored a 0.50 in the customer complaint index from the NAIC, meaning it receives half as many complaints as other typical insurers. That indicates most customers are satisfied with their policies.

It's worth noting, however, that USAA has strict eligibility requirements. You may only sign up for insurance from USAA if you are a current or former member of the U.S. armed forces or if you are a dependent of a USAA policyholder.

Washington insurance rates by city

Friday Harbor is the cheapest city in Washington for home insurance, at a rate of $1,144 per year, or $95 per month. This is 12% cheaper than the state annual average.

Parker is the most expensive city for home insurance in Washington at $1,597 per year, or $133 per month. That's 24% more expensive than the state annual average. Parker is a census-designated community on route 97 on the Yakama Indian Reservation.

The best homeowners insurance companies in Washington

USAA and State Farm are our top picks for best-rated home insurance companies in Washington. USAA offers the best benefits for military members and their families but isn't available for every homeowner. State Farm offers the most convenient support through their website and mobile app; however, the company had the highest rate for home insurance in Washington at $2,473 per year.

Mutual of Enumclaw is also a top-rated home insurance company, offering an abundance of valuable policy add-ons and an excellent customer satisfaction score.

Common homeowners insurance risks in Washington

Located in the Pacific Northwest, Washington state's most common regional insurance perils are wildfires, floods and earthquakes. Some of these are covered by standard home insurance, but others are not.

Are wildfires covered by homeowners insurance?

Wildfires are common in Washington, especially in the central part of the state during the late summer. Fortunately, fires of any kind are almost always covered by homeowners insurance.

However, if you live in an area that's at a very high risk of wildfires, it's possible you will not be able to get a home insurance policy from a regular insurance company. If that's the case, you may need to buy coverage from a provider that offers high-risk coverage.

One of the most distressing things about fires is that they often completely destroy homes — which is why having insurance that covers fire is so important. Make sure your home insurance policy has enough coverage to pay to replace all your property.

Are earthquakes and other earth movement covered by homeowners insurance?

Washington is home to a substantial amount of seismic activity. The Cascadia fault is located only a few miles off the Pacific coast of Washington, and small earthquakes happen on a daily basis. Larger earthquakes happen less frequently, but they do happen, especially along the western edge of the state.

Unfortunately, damage to your home from earthquakes is not covered by a standard home insurance policy. Damage from "earth movement," which includes earthquakes, landslides and mudslides, are specifically excluded from most homeowners insurance policies.

Instead, if you live in an area with frequent seismic activity, you'll need to buy a stand-alone earthquake insurance policy to protect your home. Earthquake insurance is not legally required in Washington, but it's the only way to get insurance to pay for earthquake damage.

The only possible exception to this is if the "earth movement" is caused by another covered peril. For example, if a widespread fire creates unstable earth and triggers a landslide, you may be able to make a claim under your regular home insurance. This is because the fire was the original cause of the damage.

Are floods covered by homeowners insurance?

Flooding happens occasionally in Washington state, and the most common cause is flooding rivers due to rain. Flooding from coastal storms is much less common in Washington than on the East Coast.

Flood damage is never covered by homeowners insurance. Instead, you'll need to buy a stand-alone flood insurance policy that covers damage due to flooding. You have two main options: a policy through the NFIP, which is backed by the federal government, or a private policy.

The main difference between the two options is that NFIP insurance is available to all homeowners, regardless of flood risk. On the other hand, private insurance policies have a lot more flexibility when it comes to coverage limits, rates and waiting periods.

Frequently asked questions

Methodology

We collected insurance quotes for homes in every ZIP code in Washington from the state's largest insurers. The sample property was built in 1982 and had $339,000 of dwelling coverage, which is based on the median value for the state.

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.

We ranked each company's customer service scores by comparing the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index, J.D. Power's home insurance customer satisfaction rankings and our ValuePenguin editor's ratings.