How much is homeowners insurance in Iowa?
Iowa is one of the most affordable states in the country for homeowners insurance. However, the rate you’ll actually pay depends on several factors, including your location, the type and amount of coverage you need, and more.
How your policy choices affect home insurance rates in Iowa
The type of policy you choose affects the amount you’ll pay for homeowners insurance. Eight different homeowners policy types are available, and the one you’ll need will be largely dictated by the type of property you have and how much coverage you want.
These are the eight different types of homeowners insurance policies:[5]
HO-1: This is the most basic type of policy, providing only actual cash value coverage for damage caused by a handful of perils. HO-1 policies aren’t typically offered anymore.
HO-2: This type of policy is more comprehensive than an HO-1 policy. It includes more covered perils and will pay you for the replacement cost of your home and the actual cash value of your personal belongings in the event of a claim.
HO-3: This is the most common type of homeowners insurance policy, offering more coverage than both HO-1 and HO-2 policies. HO-3 coverage — also known as a special form policy — covers your home for all perils except those specifically excluded in your policy.
HO-4: This type of policy is designed for renters. It covers the personal belongings within a unit, rather than the structure.
HO-5: This type of policy is even more comprehensive than an HO-3 policy, but not as common. HO-5 policies — also known as premier or open policy forms — offer higher coverage limits for your personal belongings and cover them for their replacement cost instead of their actual cash value.
HO-6: This type of policy is similar to an HO-4 policy in that it only covers your personal belongings inside of your unit. But rather than being for renters, an HO-6 policy is for condo owners. It can also cover your fixtures and appliances, as well as any upgrades you’ve made to the home.
HO-7: This type of insurance is similar to HO-3 coverage, but it covers mobile homes instead of traditional homes. Like an HO-3 policy, it covers damage to your home, as well as damage to your personal belongings caused by any peril not explicitly excluded in your policy.
HO-8: This type of policy, like an HO-1 policy, covers both your home and personal belongings at their actual cash value. It has a list of perils and only covers damage caused by those perils. This type of policy is typically for older homes and isn’t as comprehensive as most homeowners insurance policies.
Each policy type covers certain perils, such as house fires, tornadoes, and vandalism. The policy you need depends on your location, your home type, and your budget.[6]
Check Out: What Are Perils in Insurance?
Your coverage level
The coverage level you choose directly affects how much you’ll pay in premiums. As you would expect, the higher your coverage levels are, the higher your premiums will be. For example, Iowans with $250,000 in coverage pay an average of $1,496 annually, while those with $500,000 in coverage pay an average of $2,616 annually.
But you shouldn’t sacrifice your coverage level just to save money on your premiums. Doing so could leave you paying tens of thousands of dollars — or more — out of your own pocket if you need to file a claim.
Your deductible
Your home insurance deductible is the amount you’ll pay out of pocket before your insurer will cover the rest. Deductibles are a way for an insurance company to share some of the risk and cost with policyholders.
Generally speaking, there’s an inverse relationship between your deductible and your premiums. The higher the deductible you choose, the lower your premiums will be, and vice versa. Just make sure you can pay the deductible if you need to file a claim.
How location affects home insurance rates in Iowa
Location is an important factor when it comes to homeowners insurance rates. And it’s not just from one state to the next that rates differ — even neighboring ZIP codes can have different rates.
“If you live in an area with high crime rates, such as theft, your cost of insurance will be higher because insurance companies will expect to pay out a greater amount of claims in that area,” says Lauren McKenzie, an insurance broker at A Plus Insurance.
“Location also matters because if the home is in a high-risk zone for flood or fire insurance, companies may be exposed to more claims for flood or wind/fire damage,” says McKenzie.
The table below shows the average monthly premiums across four of the most populous cities in Iowa.
City | Average Monthly Quote |
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Cedar Rapids | $118 |
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Davenport | $112 |
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Des Moines | $110 |
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Sioux City | $156 |
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Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify’s partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer’s unique profile.