Best Homeowners Insurance in Texas for 2023

Texas homeowners pay an average of $251 per month to insure their homes. Lone Star State homeowners looking to save on homeowners insurance may want to check out Liberty Mutual or Mercury, which offer the lowest homeowners insurance quotes in the state.

With Texas homes exposed to many different natural disasters, like hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes, having the right types of coverage can make a huge difference if your home experiences major damage. Of course, homeowners insurance can also step in to solve other issues not caused by weather events.

Keep reading to learn more about the best home insurance in Texas.

Best home insurance companies in Texas

Many quality home insurance companies serve homeowners in Texas, and which home insurance company is best for you will depend on your unique needs, home, and budget. Here are some of the best insurance companies in Texas, based on Insurify’s analysis of recent home insurance quote data.

Best insurer for cheap rates: Liberty Mutual

Average monthly premium: $170

Liberty Mutual offers a variety of insurance types, which can make it easy to tackle all your insurance needs in one place. It also offers a lot of online tools that make it easy to manage policies digitally. In Insurify’s data analysis, Liberty Mutual offered the lowest average monthly rates of all insurers we evaluated.

See Also: Homeowners Insurance Companies with the Cheapest Rates

Best large insurer: Nationwide

Average monthly premium: $208

Nationwide offers the third least-expensive average monthly homeowners insurance rates In Texas. The insurer earned a J.D. Power score of 816.^[1] Nationwide also offers a variety of discounts that can help you save more.

Best insurer for high-value homes: Travelers

Average monthly premium: $246

Travelers has a J.D. Power Score of 794 and offers insurance for high-value homes. It offers replacement cost coverage starting at $1 million.

Best regional insurance company: Hippo

Average monthly premium: $247

While Hippo isn’t available in every state, it’s available in Texas and a handful of nearby states. Hippo offers landlord, HOA, HO-3, and fire insurance, which makes its insurance options relatively limited. But the company does provide a free smart home-monitoring system and a premium discount for activating monitoring against fire, water damage, theft, and other risks.

Learn More: Hazard Insurance Guide for Texas Homeowners

Best for tornado coverage: Safeco

Average monthly premium: $354

Texas is prone to tornadoes, and Safeco provides tornado coverage. A policy through Safeco also covers hurricanes (but not flood damage caused by a hurricane), another weather event that can damage Texas homes.

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.

How much is homeowners insurance in Texas?

Several factors influence home insurance prices in Texas, including your location in the state, your credit history, and the type of home insurance policy you select.

How your policy choices affect home insurance rates in Texas

Your policy choices can also affect how much you’ll spend on homeowners insurance.

Your policy form

The type of homeowners insurance policy you choose can affect your rates. Here are some common types of homeowners insurance:

• HO-1: The most basic type of coverage, an HO-1 policy will generally cover the fewest perils (10). It’s typically cheaper than other types of homeowners policies but only covers your home and property for their actual cash value.^[5]

• HO-2: This type of policy usually provides coverage for 16 specified perils. Any peril not specifically named in the policy isn’t covered.

• HO-3: This is the most common type of homeowners policy, and it provides coverage for your home for all kinds of perils, except those the policy documents specifically named as excluded from coverage. It also covers your personal belongings, but only if they’re damaged by a peril specifically named in the policy.

• HO-5: An HO-5 policy provides the most coverage and as a result costs more, but it can be a good fit if you have expensive personal property. It covers your home and personal property for all perils except those specifically excluded in the policy.

It’s important to always confirm which perils a home insurance policy covers and which it will exclude before making a purchase.

Your coverage level

The higher your coverage level is, the more your premium will cost. You can re-evaluate how much coverage you need from time to time to make sure you’re not overspending.

Your deductible

A deductible is the amount of money you pay after a covered event occurs before your insurance coverage kicks in. You can usually choose your deductible rate. Typically, the higher your deductible is, the less you’ll spend on home insurance each month. Be careful here — you need to choose a deductible you can afford to pay if you do ever have to file a claim.

Read More: Selecting a Home Insurance Deductible

How location affects home insurance rates in Texas

Different states, as well as different ZIP codes within a state, can yield different home insurance quotes. Even being close to a fire station can make a difference in how much you pay for homeowners insurance. Common factors that affect insurance costs include crime rates and weather events. For example, in Texas, areas with increased exposure to tornados and hurricanes are more likely to receive higher insurance costs.

Take a look at the following table to get an idea of how the average monthly cost of home insurance can change in different Texas cities.

Keep Reading: Homeowners Insurance Calculator: Find the Cheapest Quotes in Your Area

What are the cheapest home insurance companies in Texas?

Liberty Mutual, Mercury, and Nationwide all offer average quotes that are lower than the overall average for Texas of $251. Your specific insurance needs can lead to more expensive coverage, but these companies are a great place to start your research.

You can use the following table to learn more about cheap home insurance rates in Texas.

How much homeowners insurance do you need in Texas?

If you take out a mortgage on your home, your mortgage company will usually require you to purchase a home insurance policy. If you don’t have a mortgage, no state-level or federal law requires you to buy it. But not having homeowners insurance could be financially devastating if disaster strikes.

When it does come time to buy a home insurance policy, you need to know exactly what you want covered so you don’t accidentally overspend on coverages you don’t need.

All homeowners insurance policies include a standard amount of coverage that you need to be aware of before you buy additional insurance.

What home insurance coverages should you buy in Texas?

Homeowners insurance generally offers four essential coverages:

• Structure of the home: This type of coverage pays to repair or rebuild a home if a covered event leaves it damaged or destroyed.

• Personal belongings: This coverage protects personal belongings damaged or destroyed by covered perils. 

• Liability protection: Liability protection provides financial protection against lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage caused by policyholders or family members to other people.

• Additional living expenses: If you need to live somewhere else while your home undergoes repairs, this coverage takes care of additional living costs incurred as a result of a covered event.

What optional home insurance coverages should you buy in Texas?

A few additional types of insurance coverage could come in handy in Texas.

• Flood insurance: Mark Friedlander, director of corporate communications at the Insurance Information Institute, explains that all Texans should consider purchasing flood insurance, even if they don’t live in a FEMA-designated floodplain, where coverage is mandatory when you have a mortgage. “If it rains at your house, it could flood,” Friedlander says. “In fact, 90% of U.S. natural disasters involve significant flooding. The good news is, consumers now have numerous choices to shop for flood coverage, just like they shop for home or auto insurance.” In addition to the federally backed National Flood Insurance Program, Friedlander shares that dozens of private insurers offer flood coverage in Texas.

• Earthquake coverage: If you live in an area of the Lone Star State prone to earthquakes, such as West Texas, the III strongly recommends purchasing optional earthquake coverage. Many home insurers sell this coverage as an endorsement added to your standard policy.

• Umbrella insurance: Another optional coverage Friedlander recommends that homeowners consider is personal umbrella insurance, which will provide you with a much higher level of liability protection than a standard policy. He notes that a $1 million umbrella policy typically costs less than $500 in annual premiums and provides additional protection for your auto policy liability levels as well.

How much home insurance coverage should you have in Texas?

No single home insurance policy will work for every homeowner, as each home has different risk factors. Because of this, you should consider quotes from at least three different insurers before settling on a policy that fits your needs. Your location, the value of your home, and the current cost of construction materials are all important factors to keep in mind when choosing a homeowners policy.

Friedlander says it’s essential that Texans have enough replacement cost coverage to rebuild their home in case of a catastrophe.

“In a standard home policy, this is called dwelling coverage or Coverage A,” Friedlander says. “With replacement costs running nearly double the U.S. inflation rate due to escalating costs of construction materials and labor, you want to make sure your policy limits are adequate. We advise conducting an annual insurance review with your agent, which is an ideal time to close the gaps and make any necessary adjustments to your home policy.”

What are some of the biggest risks when owning a home in Texas?

Texas homeowners need to be aware of — and protected against — several natural disasters that can affect their homes in the Lone Star State, including:^[6]

• Hurricanes

• Flooding

• Tornadoes

• Wildfire

• Severe thunderstorms

• Winter storms

• Extreme heat

While homeowners insurance policies typically cover fire and hurricanes, you may need to purchase additional coverage for wildfires or to have enough coverage for hurricane damage. Additionally, homeowners policies won’t cover flooding — you’ll need flood insurance for that. And if hail or wind from a severe storm damages your property, your homeowners policy may not cover it unless you’ve added riders to account for that kind of storm damage.

Learn More: Private Flood Insurance vs. FEMA

How can you save money on homeowners insurance in Texas?

These are some steps you can take to save on home insurance in Texas.

Bundle home and auto insurance

If your chosen homeowners insurance company offers other types of insurance policies, like auto insurance, there’s a good chance it also provides a bundling discount for buying multiple policies from the same company.

Check Out: Compare Home and Auto Insurance Bundles

Seek discounts

Alongside bundling discounts, many home insurance companies offer other discounts that can make it easy to save on your policy. For example, by enhancing your home security, you may qualify for a discount.^[7]

Keep your credit score high

The higher your credit score is, the more favorable your insurance rates are likely to be. Make sure to pay your bills on time and practice other good credit habits to keep your credit score nice and high.

Comparison shop

Take your time researching your insurance options, and shop around to see which provider can offer you the best rate for the most coverage.

Average home replacement cost in Texas

The replacement cost of a home is the modern-day cost of reconstructing your home using the same types of building materials originally used. You want to make sure you have enough coverage to pay for the replacement cost when you buy a home insurance policy.

The following table examines the average rebuild cost of homes in popular Texas cities.

Texas homeowners insurance FAQs