Best Homeowners Insurance Companies of 2023
Best Homeowners Insurance Companies of 2023
The best homeowners insurance companies for affordable rates and dependable customer service are State Farm, Erie and Amica.
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Table of contents
We compiled tens of thousands of quotes from the largest insurers in the country to determine the best home insurance companies. We also considered customer reviews and ratings, availability, coverage options and discounts.
Best homeowners insurance rates
Erie offers the cheapest home insurance rates among the largest insurers, with an average rate of $1,244 per year. However, the company is only available in 12 states, meaning it isn't an option for many customers.
State Farm and Allstate have the cheapest home insurance rates among widely available top insurers.
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Home insurance rates by company
Company | Annual rate | |
|---|---|---|
| Erie | $1,244 |
| State Farm | $1,363 |
| Allstate | $1,369 |
| Nationwide | $1,390 |
| Average | $1,464 |
*USAA is only available to active-duty military members, veterans and their families.
Find the best homeowners insurance in your state
Best home insurance company overall: Erie
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Editor rating
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Annual rate
$1,244 ?
Pros and cons
Erie offers homeowners good insurance coverage and exceptional customer service at some of the most affordable rates in the country. However, Erie only offers home insurance in 12 states and Washington, D.C., which means that many homeowners aren't eligible.
An average home insurance policy from Erie costs $1,244 per year, which is $220 per year cheaper than the national average of $1,464. Along with cheaper rates, Erie's standard home insurance policy comes with extra coverage options that you won't find at most other companies, like guaranteed replacement cost coverage and theft coverage that includes lost items, a benefit that could come in useful if you have valuables that can easily be misplaced, like jewelry and small electronics.
Best national home insurance rates: State Farm
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Editor rating
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Annual rate
$1,363 ?
Pros and cons
State Farm is the best choice for homeowners looking for cheap insurance without sacrificing quality. Its low rates and national coverage give many homeowners affordable coverage. A standard State Farm home insurance policy costs $1,363 per year, on average, offering the cheapest homeowners insurance across several states, including Arizona, Illinois and North Carolina.
State Farm offers discounts for bundling your home and car insurance policies, as well as discounts for installing a security system or having an impact-resistant roof.
Best home insurance company for customer service: Amica
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Editor rating
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Annual rate
$1,657 ?
Pros and cons
Amica is the best homeowners insurance company for people who value great customer service. Having access to excellent service is very important as a homeowner — if you're in an emergency and you need to file a claim, you'll benefit from a company with an easy, quick process. Amica only receives 12% as many complaints as other insurers of a similar size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). In addition, J.D. Power ranked Amica first place for customer satisfaction among national home insurers (excluding USAA).
Unfortunately, dependable service comes at a price. On average, home insurance from Amica costs $1,657 per year, which is 13% more expensive than the national average. While its base policy offers all of the standard coverage options you'd expect from a national insurer, Amica lacks some optional coverage upgrades offered by competitors, like sewer backup coverage or equipment breakdown.
Best for extended coverage options: American Family
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Editor rating
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Annual rate
$1,495 ?
Pros and cons
Homeowners looking for extra protection will find a number of additional coverage options with American Family (AmFam). A policy from AmFam costs an average of $1,495 per year, or $125 a month, which is $31 per year higher than the national average rate of $1,464 per year.
Although rates from American Family are just average, the company offers more discounts than most competitors, including a smart home security system discount, a renovation discount, an age-of-home discount, a loyalty discount and payment discounts. Combined, these discounts can help make a policy from AmFam more affordable.
The extra coverage options at AmFam make it an excellent option for homeowners who want more protection than a standard policy offers. Optional policy endorsements include:
- Hidden water damage coverage protects your home from water leaks that are hidden within your walls, ceilings, cabinets or beneath flooring. These leaks are normally excluded from coverage and can cause lots of damage before you notice there's a problem.
- If your siding is damaged, matching siding protection will pay up to $20,000 in additional costs to replace undamaged siding to ensure that the repairs match as closely as possible.
- Equipment breakdown protection covers appliances, home systems and smart home devices if they're damaged due to mechanical, electrical or pressure systems breakdown.
- Sump pump and water backup coverage protects your home and belongings from water damage due to backed-up pipes.
- Identity theft protection monitors your credit through CyberScout to prevent fraud.
- Diminishing deductible gives homeowners a $100 credit toward their deductible for every year that they're claim-free.
Best for bundling home and auto insurance: Allstate
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Editor rating
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Annual rate
$1,369 ?
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Bundling discount
23.7%
Pros and cons
Among the largest homeowners insurance companies, Allstate offers the biggest average discount for bundling home and car insurance policies we found — 23.7%. The average cost of a home insurance policy from Allstate is $1,369 per year, which means homeowners could save around $324 per year for insuring their car with Allstate as well.
Not only does Allstate offer the largest discount for home and auto bundling, but its wide range of insurance products means that you can take advantage of additional discounts by bundling motorcycle or life insurance policies, too.
Allstate also offers discounts for switching insurance companies, buying a new home, paying automatically, installing fire and theft protection devices and signing up for a new policy at least seven days before your current policy expires.
Best home insurance for military families: USAA
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Editor rating
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Annual rate
$1,518 ?
Pros and cons
The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) combines great features with outstanding service, which makes it the best homeowners insurance company for veterans and military members.
A policy from USAA costs $1,518 per year, which is more expensive than average. However, USAA offers policyholders a few features free of charge that other insurance companies do not. For example, a basic policy includes replacement cost coverage for damaged personal items. That means USAA will pay to replace a damaged item instead of paying the actual cash value of the item when it was destroyed. This benefit costs extra from most other insurers.
Other benefits that cater to service members include:
- Property insurance extends to belongings in war zones.
- Uniforms are covered under homeowners personal property insurance, with no deductible.
USAA's awareness of the particular challenges of military life makes it an ideal insurance option for those who have served in the military and their families. In addition to insurance, USAA also offers a wide selection of other financial products, such as bank accounts and loan options. This makes it an excellent long-term choice for all of your personal financial needs.
How to find the best home insurance
Best-rated homeowners insurance companies
Once you've determined the coverage you need and found cheap quotes for homeowners insurance, you should also consider a company's ratings and reviews before purchasing a policy. Choosing a company with well-regarded customer service can make a big difference if you ever have to make a claim. Excellent service can help reduce stress in a difficult situation and get your life back to normal quickly.
The best-rated home insurance company is USAA, according to J.D. Power's annual study. However, not everyone is eligible to purchase a policy from USAA — you have to be a member of the military, a veteran or their family member.
Amica offers the best widely available customer service for homeowners, according to J.D. Power.
Home insurance company ratings
Company |
Editor's rating
|
J.D. Power
|
|---|---|---|
| USAA | 884 | |
| AAA of Southern California | 838 | |
| State Farm | 829 | |
| Erie | 827 | |
| Auto-Owners | 825 |
Best home insurance companies by state
Where you live has a significant impact on your homeowners insurance quotes. That's because certain areas are more prone to weather-related damage, like tornadoes and snowstorms. To help you shop for the best rates, we found the cheapest home insurer in each state.
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Michigan homeowners can take advantage of the cheapest rates in the country — a policy from Auto-Owners costs only $249 per year. Homeowners in Colorado have some of the highest insurance costs in the country — the cheapest policy is from Chubb and costs $2,044 per year.
Cheapest home insurance rates by state
State | Cheapest insurer | Cheapest annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Farmers | $817 |
| Alaska | Country Financial | $948 |
| Arizona | State Farm | $916 |
| Arkansas | Shelter | $863 |
| California | Allstate | $1,115 |
How to compare the best home insurance
When shopping for homeowners insurance, it's important to consider the amount of coverage you need and the reputation of each insurer before comparing insurance quotes.
1. Decide how much home insurance coverage you need
While home insurance companies offer an array of optional add-ons, like water backup coverage and identity theft protection, all policies are built on four core coverages:
The structure of your home refers to the walls, roof, siding, foundation and other fixed elements of your home's construction.
Dwelling coverage provides compensation for damage caused to the structure of your home by a covered peril, such as a fire or windstorm.
Your dwelling coverage limit should fully cover the cost of rebuilding your house — in other words, your home's replacement cost. Make sure you calculate this value using prices for materials that are equal in quality to your home's current structure.
Dwelling coverage is usually calculated based on either actual cash value or replacement cost. Actual cash value coverage is cheaper but reduces your claim payout because it factors in depreciation, or wear and tear.
Personal property coverage protects most of your movable belongings, excluding vehicles.
Personal property insurance policies for your home generally include items like furniture, televisions, clothing and appliances. The amount of coverage is usually calculated as a percentage of your dwelling replacement cost.
The base coverage differs between home insurance companies, so it's important to review the amount of coverage included in each quote and adjust it if necessary.
High-value goods like jewelry are often covered up to lower per-category limits. Your policy details will list the specific limits — usually in thousands of dollars — for high-value categories. Most insurers offer an option for scheduled personal property coverage, which increases the protection for these high-value items at an additional cost.
Liability coverage protects you if you're held responsible for injury to other people or damage to their property. This covers your legal fees and damages, up to policy limits. Typical personal liability limits in a home insurance policy range from $100,000 to $300,000, but you can buy more coverage for a minimal extra cost.
Additional living expenses coverage, or loss of use coverage, reimburses you for costs incurred if your house becomes uninhabitable due to a covered event. This coverage only applies to expenses that are above and beyond your normal living expenses, like the cost of a rental home or hotel, or food costs if your temporary space doesn't have a kitchen.
It's important to decide how much of each of these coverages you would need in the event of a major catastrophe before comparing quotes. Understanding your limits will allow you to make an apples-to-apples comparison when getting homeowners insurance quotes.
2. Consider how important customer service is to you
Price is often the overwhelming factor when comparing insurance companies for your home, but customer service comes into play when you need the policy to work for you. It's often hard to put a price on the value of a good customer service experience.
Better customer service can often mean a company handling elements of a repair, rather than putting it in your hands, or quick response times instead of calling multiple numbers and working through a confusing phone system.
You'll likely be dealing with your insurer when something catastrophic has happened and disrupted your life. Better customer service means getting back to normal quicker.
With that in mind, looking closely at how a company works with you, its customer, is crucial. Depending on how your policy operates, you likely won't have to deal too often with your insurer, but when you do, good customer service can make a world of difference.
If you're concerned about an insurer that has received mixed or below-average ratings, consult multiple rating sources, such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and online reviews.
Consider asking your friends, family and neighbors about their homeowners insurers, as well. Those who live near you are often subject to the same insurance risks as you — such as weather or crime — and their claims experience can help inform your decision. Homeowners insurance is a significant investment, and you should have confidence that your insurer will support you if you need to make a claim.
3. Compare the best home insurance companies
Once you've determined the amount of insurance coverage that you need and the companies that provide good customer service in your area, you can begin to compare homeowners insurance quotes. Most major insurers provide homeowners insurance quotes online, which allows you to gather multiple quotes quickly.
Compare multiple quotes to find the best home insurance rates, customer service and coverage options.
What's the most important factor in finding the best home insurance?
To better understand the relationships between homeowners and insurers, ValuePenguin conducted a national survey of home insurance customers and asked them a series of questions about their experience with providers. Among other findings, our data supported the idea that home insurance customers care more about rates than any other factor.
- 58% of homeowners said they chose their current insurer because it offered the best rate.
- About 40% of all homeowners said that they've switched insurers at least once.
- 53% of homeowners that switched insurers cited rate increases as a reason for leaving and 24% said their insurer was no longer the most affordable after a change to their profile.
- About 32% of homeowners with insurance said that they had filed a claim with their current insurer.
- 74% of those who filed a claim reported hearing back from their home insurance company within one week.
Homeowners prioritize affordable coverage
According to the homeowners in our study, the cost of coverage was the strongest factor in how they chose their insurance company. When asked why they had selected their current provider, 58% cited the fact that the provider offered the "best rate" as one of their reasons. The quality of customer service came in at a distant second.
Reasons people gave for choosing their home insurer
Customer reason | % of customers |
|---|---|
| Best rate | 58% |
| Customer service | 39% |
| Benefits (such as discounts) | 29% |
| Local office | 27% |
| Recommendations from friends/family | 22% |
| Online reviews | 10% |
| Recommendations from mortgage lender | 8% |
Survey asked: 'Why did you decide to use your current home insurance provider? Please select all that apply.'
When asked why they had left their old insurers, homeowners showed the same concern for finding the best home insurance rates. Of those who switched, 53% explained their decision by saying that rates had increased and 24% said their old insurer was no longer the most affordable option following a change in the homeowner's profile.
Reasons people gave for leaving their previous home insurer
Customer reason | % of customers |
|---|---|
| Rates increased | 53% |
| Poor customer service | 27% |
| My details changed (e.g., moved, renovated my home, etc.) and they no longer offered the best rates | 24% |
| Mishandled my claim | 10% |
| No local office in my area | 10% |
| Insufficient benefits (such as discounts) | 9% |
| Denied my claim | 7% |
Survey asked: 'Why did you leave your previous home insurance provider? Please select all that apply.'
Other considerations, such as a negative claim experience, fell far behind the overriding importance of finding an affordable premium.
People who file claims generally report a positive experience
Our survey findings went against the common idea of homeowners leaving their insurers after a dispute over claims handling. Roughly 40% of insured homeowners in the survey said that they had switched insurers at least once. Of these, only 10% blamed the change on a mishandled claim and 7% on a denied claim.
Homeowners insurance satisfaction vs. claim history
Satisfaction | No claims | Filed a claim | All homeowners |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extremely satisfied | 49% | 58% | 52% |
| Somewhat satisfied | 34% | 30% | 33% |
| Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | 14% | 8% | 12% |
| Somewhat dissatisfied | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Extremely dissatisfied | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Survey asked: 'Overall, how satisfied are you with your current home insurance provider?'
Meanwhile, those who did file a claim ended up happier with their choice of insurance provider than those who didn't. While homeowners expressed satisfaction with their current insurance provider by an overwhelming majority (85%), satisfaction was even higher among those who had gone through at least one claim with their insurer (88%).
Frequently asked questions
What are the top five best home insurance companies?
State Farm, Allstate, American Family and USAA are all top companies depending on what you're looking for in a home insurance company. Erie offers some of the cheapest rates but is not widely available.
Which homeowners insurance company has the best customer satisfaction?
Who has the cheapest home insurance?
Erie offers homeowners the cheapest rates — averaging $1,244 per year. Unfortunately, the company only sells insurance in 12 states, so most homeowners can't take advantage of its low rates. State Farm and Nationwide are widely available and offer affordable homeowners insurance as well.
What is the best insurance company for bundling home and car insurance?
Allstate is the best company for bundling home and auto insurance. The company offers the biggest bundling discount compared to other large insurers — 24% on average.
Methodology
To evaluate the best homeowners insurance companies, we compared the largest home insurance companies based on rates, reviews, ratings and financial strength.
- Rates: Home insurance rates depend on a number of factors, including the location of the home being insured and a policyholder’s previous claim history. Due to the price variation that exists in the home insurance industry, our search for the best companies was focused on insurers that consistently offer low rates.
- Reviews and ratings: Customer reviews and ratings give insight into what can be expected of a company’s claims process. You’ll want to select an insurance company that is highly reviewed and rated in order to ensure a smooth experience should you ever need to file a claim.
- Financial strength: A home insurance company is only as good as its ability to meet its customers’ claims. A company with great financial strength won’t have any problems paying out claims, whether a claim is for $100,000 or $500,000. On the other hand, a poor financial strength rating indicates that the insurance company might struggle to pay a customer’s claims.
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.