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Your home is likely one of your biggest investments, so it makes sense to protect that investment with the best homeowners insurance policy you can buy. You’re unlikely to find a good home insurance policy at a reasonable price simply by plucking names out of thin air or choosing an insurer based on your favorite TV commercial.
The best way to find an affordable policy without sacrificing coverage is by comparing home insurance quotes from multiple insurers. That’s because the price for similar coverage can vary drastically among insurers, as you’ll see below.
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Here’s a look at the average cost for a home insurance policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage among the nation’s top insurers.
What Are Quotes for Homeowners Insurance?
A home insurance quote is a free estimate of how much you will pay for a home insurance policy. The quote is based on several factors, such as the age of the house, the building materials, the cost to rebuild the house, the claims history of your property and your personal home insurance claims history. Past claims in your area for disasters such as hurricanes can also affect your home insurance quote.
Each insurer has its own formula for calculating quotes, which is why it’s advantageous to compare home insurance quotes from multiple companies. If you skip this crucial step, you could miss out on significant savings.
What Factors Influence Homeowners Insurance Quotes?
Home insurance quotes will depend on several factors, including:
- The age of the house
- The materials that make up your home (like stone or wood)
- The cost to rebuild your home
- Your location
- The fire rating in your area
- The claims history in your area
- Your personal claims history
- The coverage amount and policy limits
- Your deductible amount
- Your credit (except in California, Maryland and Massachusetts)
How Do I Get Free Homeowners Insurance Quotes?
Here are two ways to get free home insurance quotes:
- Online. Most home insurance companies offer free quotes online. You can visit several insurance company websites to gather quotes. Or you can save time by using a quote comparison website that provides quotes from multiple companies.
- By phone or in-person. You can speak with a local insurance agent who can help you choose your coverage and find the best rates. Speak with an independent agent who can gather quotes from multiple companies. A “captive” agent works for one insurance company and can give you a quote only from that insurer.
What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover?
A standard home insurance policy (also called an HO-3) covers your home for any problem that is not excluded in your policy (such as floods, earthquakes, war and wear and tear).
Your personal property is covered for specific “perils,” which is insurance-speak for “problems.” Fires, tornadoes, explosions, vandalism and theft are just some of the problems covered by home insurance.
A standard home insurance policy can be broken down into these main coverage types:
- Dwelling: This pays to repair or rebuild your home and its attached structures, such as a deck or garage, if they are damaged by a problem covered by your policy.
- Other structures: This pays to repair or replace structures that are not attached to your home, like barns, sheds and fences.
- Contents: This pays to repair or replace your personal property after a problem, such as theft or fire. Your personal items includes your clothing, furniture, jewelry, appliances, rugs and other types of items.
- Liability: This pays for property damage and injuries you accidentally cause to others. For example, if your dog bites a guest, your liability insurance can pay for a court judgment, settlement and the cost of a legal defense.
- Medical payments to others: This pays for smaller medical claims for people who do not live in your home, no matter who is at fault for the accident. For example, if a guest cuts their hand while helping you prepare dinner, this coverage could pay for a trip to urgent care.
- Additional living expenses: If you cannot live in your home due to a problem covered by your policy (like a fire), additional living expenses coverage pays for costs like hotel bills, restaurant meals and other necessary expenses, like pet boarding or laundry service.
What Is Not Covered by Homeowners Insurance?
A standard home insurance policy excludes several types of problems. For example, common exclusions found in an HO-3 include floods, earthquakes, sinkholes, war, power failure, nuclear hazard, wear and tear, intentional loss, and vermin and insect infestations.
It is recommended that you read your policy closely so you understand what is excluded from coverage.
How Do I Determine How Much Homeowners Insurance I Need?
The amount of coverage you select will be a major factor in determining your home insurance costs. Considering your financial investment in your home and all of your belongings within it, you don’t want to skimp on coverage. Having adequate coverage is crucial in case of a disaster such as a fire or tornado.
To determine how much home insurance you need, look at each coverage type and adjust the amounts as necessary. For example, you may want to consider scheduling personal property if you own high-value items like jewelry, artwork or family heirlooms. You also want to make sure your dwelling coverage amount matches the cost to rebuild your home with equitable materials, and that you have enough liability insurance to protect your savings and assets if you are sued.
Other Home Insurance Coverage Types
A standard home insurance policy may be insufficient for your home’s needs. You can typically buy add-ons to your policy or separate policies to plug coverage gaps. Here are some to consider:
- Earthquake insurance: A standard home insurance policy does not cover earthquake damage. If you live in a quake-prone area, consider buying earthquake insurance.
- Flood insurance: A standard home insurance policy won’t cover your home for flood damage. You can buy flood insurance from FEMA or the private flood insurance market.
- Increased dwelling coverage: If disaster strikes your region, there may be a surge in local construction costs. Home insurance with extended or guaranteed replacement cost coverage helps absorb spikes in labor and material costs.
- Water backup: You can typically add water backup coverage to cover damage from backed up drains, sewers and sump pumps.
- Personal cyber insurance: This add-on pays for expenses to help you recover from cyber attacks such as ransomware attacks, data breaces and online fraud. Some personal cyber insurance policies include access to fraud specialists, active cyber monitoring and lawsuit protection for unintentional online libel, slander or invasion of privacy.
- Replacement cost coverage: When it comes to actual cash value vs. replacement cost coverage, replacement cost is the superior choice. That’s because it replaces your damaged items with new items, while actual cash value pays only the depreciated value.
Better Home Insurance Coverage at a Glance
How Much Does Homeowners Insurance Cost?
The average cost of home insurance for dwelling coverage between $300,000 and $399,000 is $1,272 per year, according to the most recent report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Average home insurance cost by state
What Is the Cheapest Homeowners Insurance?
Our analysis of the best cheap home insurance found that, on average, Progressive has the cheapest home insurance among the companies we analyzed. We also found that Lemonade and Auto-Owners offer very competitive rates.
You might find that other insurance companies are able to offer you better rates. That’s why it’s so important to get home insurance quotes from multiple companies.
What Information Do I Need to Get Homeowners Insurance Quotes?
To make the home insurance quote gathering process go as smoothly as possible, have this information on hand:
- Your address
- Purchase date of your home
- The year the house was built
- Approximate size of your living area
- Number of stories
- Number of full and half bathrooms
- Distance to a fire hydrant
- The age of your roof
- The shape of your roof (like gable or hip)
- Exterior type (like stone, wood or stucco)
- Type of foundation (like slab or concrete basement)
- If you have a garage (attached or unattached)
- Members of your household
- Any dogs in your home
- Information on your plumbing, electrical and heating systems
- Any protective devices, like smoke alarms, burglar alarms or water-leak detection systems
- Information if you are running a home-based business
- Personal information, such as your date of birth, marital status, occupation, annual income and credit score
- Your personal claims history
- The amount of your mortgage
- Your net worth (this will help determine your liability insurance need)
All of these factors can influence the cost you’ll pay for home insurance.
How to Compare Homeowners Insurance Quotes
While home insurance quotes are a key factor in choosing a company, they shouldn’t be the only consideration. The best home insurance companies also offer good customer service, important coverage types like extended and/or guaranteed replacement cost coverage, and are dog-friendly.
Dog lovers will want to consider insurers that don’t exclude certain breeds from coverage. Examples of dog breeds banned by home insurance companies typically include Doberman Pinschers, pit bulls, Rottweilers, Chow Chows, wolf dogs and wolf hybrids, Presa Canarios and Akitas.
Find the Best Homeowners Insurance Companies Of 2022
Compare Homeowners Insurance Quotes FAQ
Is homeowners insurance required?
Home insurance is not required by law, but if you have a mortgage, your lender will likely require you to have home insurance.
Even if you don’t have a mortgage, home insurance is a good idea. If you are without insurance and your home is hit by a disaster, such as a fire or tornado, you will have to pay out of pocket to repair or rebuild your home and replace your belongings.
How can I lower my home insurance quotes?
The best way to lower your home insurance costs is to compare quotes among insurance companies. Not all insurers price their policies the same, so make sure you get quotes from multiple insurers so you can see a range of prices.
You can also ask about home insurance discounts. For example, you might qualify for home safety discounts if your home has smoke detectors, deadbolts on all exterior doors, and fire and burglar alarms that alert local police and fire departments. Another common discount is a multi-line discount for bundling your auto and home insurance.
Should I compare quotes if I already have homeowners insurance?
Yes, it’s worth your time to compare quotes even if you already have homeowners insurance. If you don’t, you could be missing out on savings for similar coverage with another insurance company.
A good time to compare home insurance quotes is when you review your policy before your annual renewal. You’ll want to make sure your current policy fits your coverage needs. For example, you can create a home inventory to ensure your personal belongings are adequately covered. Or you can look into increased dwelling coverage (such as guaranteed replacement cost).
Does homeowners insurance cover condos and apartments?
No, a standard home insurance (HO-3) policy does not cover condominiums or rental units.
If you want coverage for a condo, you’ll need to buy a condo insurance policy, also known as an HO-6 insurance policy. Condo insurance is similar to home insurance in that it covers repairs to the interior of your condo unit, your personal belongings, liability, medical payments to others and additional living expenses. The exterior of the building is covered by the homeowner association’s master policy.
If you rent your home, you may want a renters insurance policy, which covers your belongings and also includes essential coverage types such as liability, medical payments to others and additional living expenses. A landlord’s insurance will cover damage to the building (but it won’t cover your personal items).
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