Affordable Homeowners Insurance – that will pay when disaster strikes

Homeowners insurance can save you tons of money in the event of a disaster. While it might come out to a small monthly bill, it can make a massive difference right when you need it the most. There are dozens of homeowner’s insurance companies making similar promises, but the rates vary dramatically.
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So, what’s the best homeowner’s insurance? Some of the most popular companies are Allstate, State Farm, and USAA. However, there are also many more companies to consider. You need to figure out which is the best one is for you, not just in general.

Throughout this article, you’re going to learn all about choosing a homeowner’s insurance policy. You’ll also discover:

Which companies have the best prices, policies, and customer service
Different types of homeowner insurance
How you can save on your policy
Do you actually need homeowner’s insurance?

Best Homeowners Insurance Companies

Before you choose a homeowner’s insurance company, you need to do two things:

Find out what type of homeowner’s insurance you’re looking for
Get quotes from multiple companies

We’ll get into the first step in the next section, but you should always get quotes. Never choose a company or a random policy simply because it worked for people that you know.

Just because someone else got a great rate from a particular company doesn’t mean that you will. Credit score, the house you live in, and the policy you choose are just a few factors that can make or break your rate.

You also need to know what you want the ‘best’ to be. For example, there’s a “best” company for affordability, another for customer service, and another for military members. You’ll even find all sorts of other companies that offer fantastic deals that you simply can’t pass up. For this reason, it’s impossible to pinpoint a single ‘best’ homeowner’s insurance company from the bunch.

However, you can still find the best policy for what you’re looking into. ValuePenguin recently rated some of the top insurance companies on the market. You might be surprised to see that many big brands aren’t even on the list at all, while other small companies take their place. With prices and various other factors in mind, here are the best homeowner’s insurance companies:

Allstate offers fantastic rates and other options for first-time homeowners. If you’ve never owned a home, but you want to go through one of the top companies rated across the country, Allstate is your best bet. They even have numerous other insurance bundles to save you money.
If you’re worried about high coverage limits, Farmers Insurance is your new go-to choice. They cover all sorts of problems, ranging from fire damage to flood insurance. Choose as you go and find the best options for you.
Military families can reap the benefits of the well-known USAA. This company allows veterans and active service members, as well as their families, to take on low rates unlike any other company. You’ll still have excellent customer service and plenty of policy options to look through.
Speaking of customer service, Amica is rated the best in the industry currently. They’ll help you find the policy you need using your specific, unique information. You shouldn’t find a company that simply spews out a number and expects you to pay. Amica will allow you to see what you’re paying for and help you reduce your monthly rate.
When it comes to affordability, nobody beats StateFarm. This company has countless bundles to reduce your costs while also covering almost any accidental damage that you could think of.

Again, these are the best companies for homeowner’s insurance based on ratings.

You might have a better customer service experience with one over the other. You also might even find a cheaper rate than State Farm. There are far too many variables that impact your decision. However, there’s no doubt that you’ll have the best experiences with these five insurance companies.

Different Types of Homeowners Insurance

There are plenty of homeowner’s insurance types that allow you to pick which are the most applicable. You might not need flood insurance if you live on top of a mountain, but you’ll still need fire and smoke protection. For this reason, you should always pick and choose to get a proper quote from several companies.

The most basic homeowner’s insurance covers fire, smoke, small explosions, theft, lightning damage, and more. It also covers vandalism, damage from vehicles and aircraft, as well as riots.

As you can see, some of these issues are common, while others are incredibly rare. Many basic plans even cover volcanic eruptions. Such a plan might be useful in Hawaii, but not places without much volcanic activity like Wisconsin.

The next step up in a plan would give you coverage, including snow and ice damage, cracking and broken pipes, water stream discharge, electrical current damage, and more. Some of these are common, making them necessities for many homeowners.

You’ll also be able to choose from several other plans and levels, including earthquake damage, floods, mold or rot, and rodent damage. Many apartments require apartment insurance, which often falls in a similar category as the basic insurance policies. They’re generally much cheaper than insuring an entire house.

In some cases, you can buy homeowner’s insurance for mobile homes. Some states limit this, as do certain companies. Research your local market to review the availability of these plans.

Tips to Save Money on Homeowners Insurance

When you buy a brand new house, you’ll save much more money than an older house insurance policy. This is because an old house is much more likely to need repairs from cracks, foundation moving, and pipe problems. However, some new houses can be a bit costly to insure as well.

The square footage of a house is also taken into consideration. Big houses cost more to repair, which means you’re likely going to spend more on them for insurance. You can’t really change this much since reducing square footage is often impossible. There are a handful of tips to save you money on any house that you buy.

For example, you should always do research on natural disasters in your local area. California is no stranger to earthquakes, making earthquake insurance an absolute must. There are also plenty of places on the Mississippi river or near oceans that flood. Smoke and fire are both common in forested regions, and volcanic insurance is only necessary where they’re present.

Many people feel that there’s no point in buying flood insurance since their driveway is sloped. Unfortunately, the slope is only designed to keep rain from approaching the doorstep. You don’t want to end up with flood damage and wood rot from a storm that you could’ve paid for with an insurance policy.

You should also always take note of everything in your house, along with their respective prices. Take photos of furniture and electronics in case they get destroyed in an accident. When you make a claim, you’re going to need this information to get the money that you’re owed.

Do You Need Homeowners Insurance?

Homeowner’s insurance saves you a massive amount of money if it’s used. If you’re worried about spending too much, check around for quotes and pick a low rate.

In short, you should never own a home without insuring it. The cost is too high to repair all of the unpredictable damage. Any homeowner will tell you that random repairs come up when you least expect it!