5 Best Home Insurance Companies (2023)

Homeowners insurance is an essential part of owning a home, and the right coverage can make a big difference to both your peace of mind and your financial situation. That’s why it’s crucial to compare different providers to find the coverage that meets your needs and your budget.

To help you make an informed decision, here’s a list of the best insurers in the market. Learn more about what they have to offer.

Best home insurance companies for 2023

To help you choose the best homeowners insurance company for you, here’s an in-depth look at the companies that provide affordable rates, excellent policy options, reliable customer service, and financial strength and stability.

Liberty Mutual

• Average monthly cost: $161

• J.D. Power customer satisfaction rating: 805/1,000

• A.M. Best rating: A (Excellent)

Product highlights

Liberty Mutual offers insurance for homeowners, renters, and landlords. It also covers several types of dwellings, including condos and mobile homes. The standard policy includes coverage for the structure, personal property, liability, and additional living expenses (which covers the cost of living elsewhere during repairs after a covered claim). You can also buy extra coverage options, such as coverage for your jewelry if it gets lost or stolen with no deductible.

Available discounts

Liberty Mutual offers discounts for bundling multiple policies, installing a new roof, going three or five years or more without filing a claim, and more.

Why Liberty Mutual made our list

Liberty Mutual’s affordable premiums, long list of available discounts, and endorsement options allow homeowners to customize their policies to meet their unique needs.

Nationwide

• Average monthly cost: $165

• J.D. Power customer satisfaction rating: 816/1,000

• A.M. Best rating: A+ (Superior)

Product highlights

Nationwide offers some coverages that other insurance providers don’t include on their standard homeowners’ insurance policies. One of these unique features is law and ordinance coverage, which covers the cost of upgrading your home to current building codes after a covered claim.

Available discounts

Nationwide offers discounts for bundling your home and auto insurance, installing smoke detectors and fire or burglar alarms, and more.

Why Nationwide made our list

Nationwide customers tend to give the company high ratings for how easy it is to get a quote, report a claim, and manage their policies online.

Foremost Signature

• Average monthly cost: $201

• A.M. Best rating: A (Excellent)

Product highlights

Foremost Signature is a subsidiary of Farmers Insurance Group. The company offers a variety of homeowners insurance options, including those for mobile homes, vacant properties, and seasonal or vacation homes.

Available discounts

Foremost gives discounts for installing fire and theft protection, remaining claim-free, and bundling boat, auto, or motorcycle coverage with your homeowners’ insurance policy.

Why Foremost Signature made our list

Foremost provides discounts for bundling other policies with your homeowners insurance. And since the company insures RVs, off-road vehicles, motorcycles, and boats in addition to traditional automobiles, just about anyone can take advantage of a multi-policy discount.

Mercury

• Average monthly cost: $267

• A.M. Best rating: A (Excellent)

Product highlights

Mercury Insurance covers homes, condos, and rental properties in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. Coverage is available through a network of independent agents.

Available discounts

Mercury offers discounts to homeowners who bundle their home and auto insurance, install smoke alarms, deadbolts, or burglar alarms, and live in gated communities.

Why Mercury made our list

Mercury offers competitive rates and a variety of coverage options that many insurance companies don’t. For example, you can purchase service line protection coverage to cover damage to the underground pipes and wires that connect your home to utilities. Mercury also offers home cyber protection, which covers the cost of recovering data and restoring systems lost or damaged in a cyber attack.

Safeco

• Average monthly cost: $635

• J.D. Power customer satisfaction rating: 809/1,000

• A.M. Best rating: A (Excellent)

Product highlights

Safeco offers a range of insurance options, including homeowners, renters, and condo insurance, through a network of independent agents. The company also provides optional equipment breakdown coverage for just $2 per month, which covers you in the event of an unexpected mechanical or electrical breakdown of your home’s appliances and systems, such as your air conditioning or plumbing.

Available discounts

Safeco customers are eligible for discounts when they bundle their home and auto policies, install a burglar alarm or sprinkler system, and more.

Why Safeco made our list

Safeco is one of the more expensive companies out there, but it offers a wide range of options that allow homeowners to customize coverage to meet their specific needs. These options include identity recovery, valuables protection, and replacement cost options for your personal belongings.

But keep in mind that the agent you choose to purchase your policy through can have a significant impact on your ultimate satisfaction with the quote and claims process.

Methodology

To evaluate home insurance companies, Insurify data scientists and editorial team analyze multiple factors that reflect a company’s quality, reliability, and financial health. We consider industry ratings and information from sources like A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch, and J.D. Power. We evaluate customer service and satisfaction data, customer reviews, NAIC complaint indexes, claims payout rates, company reputation and proprietary quoting data.

Best home insurance companies by state

With so many companies offering different levels of coverage and prices, it can be challenging to narrow down your choices — especially since homeowners insurance rates vary by state. To help you make an informed decision, here are some of the cheapest home insurance companies by state based on Insurify data.

Best companies for home and auto insurance bundles

Bundling your home and auto insurance can be a great way to save money while ensuring you have the coverage you need. Many insurers offer discounts when you bundle your home and auto insurance policies. Plus, you can benefit from reduced paperwork and streamlined customer service. Here are some of the best home and auto insurance bundles available today.

Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual offers discounts when customers bundle their home and auto, auto and renters, or auto and condo policies. Customers who switch to Liberty Mutual and bundle their policies save up to $947 per year, according to the company.

Nationwide

Nationwide offers discounts to customers who bundle their home and auto, auto and renters, motorcycle and renters, auto, home, and life insurance, multiple cars, or a boat and auto policy.

Customers who bundle their auto and homeowners insurance can save up to 20%, according to the company.

Stillwater

Stillwater is one of the cheapest homeowners insurance options in several states, and the company also offers discounts to customers who bundle multiple policies. But it doesn’t publicly disclose the size of this discount.

Cheapest home insurance companies

Home insurance premiums can make up a significant chunk of your budget, so we’ve looked at some of the cheapest home insurance companies to help you decide which insurer will provide you with the best coverage at an affordable price.

The homeowners insurance provider with the cheapest average annual premium is Commonwealth Casualty Company, which primarily serves customers in Arizona, according to Insurify data.

But keep in mind that your actual premium may vary depending on various factors, including your home’s location, age, and condition.

What is home insurance and how does it work?

Homeowners insurance covers financial losses and damages that occur to your home and personal possessions. It helps protect your finances after disasters such as fires, windstorms, hail, lightning, theft, vandalism, and other unexpected perils damage your home. Homeowners insurance also provides liability coverage for when you’re liable for bodily injury or property damage, other than in a car accident.

If you have a mortgage, your lender likely requires you to carry homeowners insurance to protect the property. But even if not mandated, homeowners insurance is essential, as it helps protect you from the unexpected.

How much does home insurance cost?

The cost of homeowners insurance can vary greatly depending on a variety of factors.

Nick Schrader, insurance agent and owner of Second Western Insurance Services, says the factors that play a large role in determining insurance rates include:

• Location: “The location of the property, including the state, city, and neighborhood, can affect the cost of insurance,” Schrader says. “Properties located in areas prone to natural disasters, such as hurricanes or earthquakes, or in high-crime areas, may be more expensive to insure.”

• Age and condition of the property: Older homes are usually more expensive to insure because of their higher maintenance and replacement costs.

• Construction type: The type of construction, such as brick or wood, can affect the cost of insurance. “Brick homes may be less expensive to insure because they are more resistant to fire, while wood-frame homes may be more expensive because they are more susceptible to fire damage,” Schrader says.

• Coverages: The amount of coverage you choose will affect your rates. A higher level of coverage typically costs more, but it also provides more protection.

• Personal factors: “Personal factors, such as your claims history, credit score, and the amount of your deductible, can also impact the cost of insurance. A good credit score can help you get a lower rate, while a history of claims can increase the cost,” Schrader says.

What does homeowners insurance cover?

While coverages vary depending on the insurer and the type of policy you buy, the standard homeowners insurance policy typically covers:^[1]

• Your home and personal belongings: Homeowners insurance will pay to rebuild or repair your home if it’s damaged by an unexpected event, such as a fire, hurricane, hail, lightning, theft, or vandalism. It also covers loss or damage to your home’s contents.

• Liability protection: Liability protection under your homeowner’s insurance policy protects you in case of a lawsuit when someone is injured on your property or if you or a household member causes damage to another person’s property.

• Additional living expenses: Your homeowners insurance policy may reimburse you for expenses if you need to relocate temporarily after a covered claim.

Learn More: How Much Homeowners Insurance Do You Need?

How to choose a home insurance company

Choosing the right homeowners insurance company is an important decision that requires careful consideration. With so many insurers offering different coverage options, it can be difficult to know which is best for your needs.

While pricing is always important, Schrader recommends looking at the following factors:

• Financial stability: “The insurance company should have a good financial rating from independent rating agencies such as A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s,” Schrader says. “This will ensure that the company has the financial resources to pay claims.”

• Claims process: “The insurance company should have a clear and easy-to-understand claims process,” Schrader says. “It’s important to find out how long it typically takes for the company to process claims and if they have a good reputation for handling claims promptly and fairly."

• Coverage options: Schrader recommends looking for an insurance company that offers a range of coverage options to meet your specific needs. Review the coverage options and make sure they provide the right amount of protection for you.

• Discounts: Always ask about any discounts the company may offer, such as for bundling policies, owning a newly built home, or having a security system.

• Customer service: “The insurance company should have a good reputation for providing excellent customer service,” Schrader says. “It’s important to find out how easy it is to get in touch with the company and if they have a dedicated customer service team to help you with any questions or concerns.”

How to compare home insurance quotes

Comparing homeowners insurance quotes is an important step in finding the best coverage for you and your home.

For example, when comparing quotes, you might find that Company A has the lowest annual premium. On the other hand, Company B includes guaranteed replacement cost coverage, while Company A will just pay the actual cash value for your claim — the value of your damaged property minus depreciation.

When looking for the right policy, it’s important to compare multiple offers from different providers to get the best deal. That’s easy to do with an online comparison tool like Insurify because you can get personalized quotes from multiple insurance companies in five minutes or less — no sign-up required.

Home insurance deductibles

A deductible is an amount you must pay out of pocket before your insurance policy begins to cover the rest of your claim. Your homeowners insurance deductible can range anywhere from $500 to $25,000, depending on the type and amount of coverage you purchase.

In general, the higher the deductible, the lower the premium. So you save money on your premiums by choosing a higher deductible. However, it’s important to keep in mind that if an incident occurs and the damage exceeds the amount of the deductible, you’ll be responsible for paying out-of-pocket costs up to the full amount of your deductible.

How to minimize the costs of home insurance

The price you’ll pay for homeowners insurance can vary greatly — sometimes by thousands of dollars a year — depending on the coverage options you choose and other factors. Here are a few tips for minimizing your costs:

• Shop around. Shopping around for the best homeowners insurance policy is an important way to minimize the cost of coverage. By taking advantage of a comparison website like Insurify, you can easily compare different policies and providers to find the best rate.

• Bundle your policies. Bundling homeowners insurance with your auto insurance may allow you to receive discounts for having multiple policies with the same company. Insurance companies may take anywhere from 5% to 15% off your premium when you buy two or more policies from them, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III).^[2]

• Request all available discounts. Discounts can be a great way to save money on homeowners insurance. For example, many insurers offer discounts for customers who install safety features, such as smoke alarms or security systems, or those who stay with the same company for an extended period of time.

• Raise your deductible. When you raise your deductible, you agree to pay a certain amount of money out of pocket before your insurance policy begins to cover the rest of the cost. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium will be because you agree to take on more financial responsibility in the event of an incident. Raising your deductible to $1,000 can help you reduce your premiums by as much as 25%, according to the III.^[2]

How to file a home insurance claim

Filing a homeowners insurance claim can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. The first step in filing a claim is to contact your insurance provider and give them the necessary information about the incident or damage. This includes an explanation of what happened, when it happened, and any photos or video footage that might be available. Once your insurer has this information, they will assign an adjuster to review your claim and determine if coverage is available.

The adjuster may need to inspect the property to assess the damage and determine what needs repair or replacement. Once the adjuster has all the necessary information, they’ll decide whether your claim is valid and how much you should receive in compensation.

Many homeowners worry that filing a homeowners insurance claim will cause their rates to increase, but Schrader says avoiding filing a claim can have drawbacks.

“Homeowners insurance is designed to provide financial protection in case of unexpected events such as natural disasters, fires, or theft. If you do not file a claim when you need to, you will have to pay for any damages or losses out of your own pocket,” Schrader says.

That said, you should exercise some judgment when deciding whether to file a claim. If the repair cost is just slightly higher than your deductible, it might be worth paying for the damage out of pocket and avoiding having a claim on your record.

Best home insurance companies FAQs