Having home insurance in the United States, the best options
Having home insurance in the United States, the best options
Home insurance provides crucial protection for one of most people’s most important investments: their home.
But with so many insurance companies in the United States, it can take time to decide which one to choose. Forbes Advisor has put together a guide to help homeowners choose the best home insurance for their needs.
Home insurance is a crucial investment to protect one of the most important assets in a person’s life. This guide provides valuable information on the options available to homeowners looking for comprehensive coverage and excellent customer service. Homeowners should carefully consider their options and choose an insurance company that offers adequate coverage, is financially sound, and offers discounts to lower premiums.
According to the Forbes study, as of April 2023, the best home insurance companies in the United States are:
- Amica Mutual
- Allstate
- State Farm
- USAA
These insurance companies were selected based on Americans’ satisfaction ratings regarding affordability, financial strength and coverage options.
Amica Mutual
JD Power has ranked Amica Mutual #1 in customer satisfaction for 19 consecutive years. This makes it one of the best home insurance companies in the United States.
This insurance institution offers extensive coverage options, including jewellery, electronics, and other valuables protection. However, Amica’s policies can be more expensive than some of its competitors.
Allstate
Allstate is another of the best home insurance companies, with various coverage options to meet different needs. Its website has useful tools, such as a Digital Locker, which allows owners to create an inventory of their belongings for insurance purposes. Allstate offers several discounts, such as a multi-policy discount for customers who bundle their home insurance with another policy.
State Farm
State Farm is one of the largest and best-known insurance companies in the United States and has a strong reputation for customer satisfaction. Your coverage options include standard policies and policies for condominiums, mobile homes, and rental properties. State Farm also offers several discounts, including a discount for customers who install security devices in their homes.
USAA
USAA is seen as a very advantageous option for home insurance, especially for military members and their families, with comprehensive coverage options and excellent customer service. USAA’s policies include coverage and discounts for customers who install a security system in their homes, such as a security camera system.
When choosing home insurance, several factors must be taken into account. Coverage limits, deductibles, and discounts are important considerations. Homeowners must also consider their home’s location, age, and value when choosing insurance coverage.
It is essential to ensure that a home insurance policy provides adequate coverage for the home and its contents. Homeowners should review their policy periodically to ensure it covers any recent renovations or additions to the home.
In addition to reviewing coverage options and policy details, homeowners should research the financial strength of the insurance company they are considering. An insurance company’s financial strength rating provides information about its ability to pay claims during a catastrophe.
Lastly, homeowners should take advantage of any available discounts to reduce the cost of their insurance premiums. Many insurance companies offer discounts for bundling policies, installing security features, or having a good credit score.
Best Home Insurance Companies Ranked by Consumer Reports
At an average of $8,394, roofing problems were one of the most expensive home insurance claims, according to the Consumer Reports survey.
Consumer Reports conducted an exclusive survey of tens of thousands of our members to find America’s best home insurance companies.
Specifically, 59,670 people told us about 65,000 experiences with their home insurance company, including claims payment in the last five years, prices paid for insurance premiums, policy reviews, and other key aspects of buying and having this important coverage.
We have taken this approach because more is needed to know how well a home insurance company treats customers over the phone or how easy the policy is to read, although these are some of the attributes we consider. After a catastrophe (a storm, a fire, a theft or even a liability lawsuit), you discover if you have a reliable ally who responds during the claims payment process and pays reliably. Fair.
Responses to our survey support the ratings of 24 homeowners insurance companies available to CR members. Our list includes well-known homeowners insurance companies like Allstate, Amica, Farmers, Nationwide, State Farm, Travelers, and USAA.
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We’ve named three true winners in our home insurance ratings, though only one insurer excelled in all aspects of our survey. Like the highest-rated homeowner’s insurance company, the other two insurers were close behind and earned good overall satisfaction scores.
Notably, the members of this triumvirate are all “direct underwriters,” meaning their employees, not independent agents, sell and handle their policies typically online. In theory, bypassing the intermediary can save the insurer money, resulting in lower premiums for policyholders. One of the three main ones is a mutual company owned by its policyholders, and another operates on a mutual basis; in good years, they can pay qualifying homeowners a portion of the surplus they have earned in the form of dividends. All companies in this trio apply relatively strict criteria to new customers, meaning that not everyone may qualify for coverage.
Consumer Reports members can keep reading to see which companies topped our homeowner’s insurance ratings. They can also view the performance of 21 other companies, many with commendable or satisfactory overall ratings and more open qualifying requirements.
The best home insurance companies
• USAA, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, sells homeowners insurance in all states and the District of Columbia. USAA, which stands for United Services Automobile Association, serves only people with direct ties to the United States military: members of the military and their families, honourably discharged veterans, as well as descendants and spouses of USAA clients (read more about how to qualify for USAA coverage). Consumer Reports members gave USAA top scores in all aspects of the homeownership, claims and buying experience. USAA is a reciprocal exchange between insurances, in which coverage is pooled to spread risk and potentially save money for policyholders. In good times, USAA offers dividends, but currently, that’s just for auto insurance.
• NJM Insurance, headquartered in West Trenton, New Jersey, sells homeowners insurance policies in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania. NJM exceeded our ratings based on surveys of premium pricing, customer service, advice and help, and policy review experience. In other rating categories, NJM received favourable scores. NJM operates on a mutual basis, which means homeowners may qualify for a dividend credited to their premium when they renew their policy.
• Amica Mutual Insurance Co ., headquartered in Lincoln, Rhode Island, offers homeowners insurance coverage in all states except Alaska, Florida and Hawaii. In our member survey, policyholders rated Amica’s claims experience as outstanding; They did the same with customer service, advice and help, and the policy review process. In terms of premium price, breadth of coverage, and policy clarity, Amica scored favourably. Amica offers the ability to save money in dividends on a version of your home insurance policy; that coverage costs more upfront. Dividends are also not available in all states.
These three companies have a track record of excellence. They were among the highest rated when CR first surveyed its members on homeowners insurance in 2019 and 2016. Six other insurers, mostly moderate-sized companies, are also in our “green zone,” receiving favourable overall satisfaction scores. , light green: Auto-Owners, Chubb, Cincinnati, COUNTRY (company capitalizes), Erie, and Farm Bureau Property & Casualty.
Conspicuous by their absence from the green zone are many domestic brands that dominate the advertising waves, observes David Gopoian, research program manager in CR’s Survey Research department, who led the homeowner’s insurance survey project. CR’s house.
As in previous surveys, the largest and most well-known homeowners insurance companies (Allstate, Farmers, The Hartford, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, State Farm, and Travelers) are in our ratings’ “yellow” zone, representing mean overall satisfaction scores. We have yet to receive full marks on any of our survey attributes. Only two insurers earned light green “favourable” scores: State Farm for customer service and policy review and Nationwide for claims handling.
Before you buy homeowners insurance
Consumers identify the keys to satisfaction.
The 24 insurers in our survey satisfied 77% of CR members when handling claims payments. On the opposite side, they only satisfied about half, 56%, in terms of the price of the premiums.
“These attributes are the two best predictors of overall satisfaction,” Gopoian says. But he adds, “They pull in different directions.” For most insurers, there is a trade-off between relatively good marks they get for satisfaction with claims and relatively low marks they get for the prices they charge customers.”
Chubb Group is an example of this dynamic. The Warren, New Jersey-based home insurance company specializes in high-end homes, which may require additional coverage for collectables, valuables and unique features like custom closets. Chubb was rated excellent in handling claims but unfavourable in pricing. Overall, the insurer was near the top of our ratings.
The worst home insurance companies are based in Florida.
Only two home insurance companies scored below average: Tower Hill Insurance and Universal Property & Casualty. Both are based in Florida, where homeowners pay the highest premiums (PDF).
Gainesville-based Tower Hill was rated unfavourably overall; received mediocre marks for premium prices, advice and help, and clarity of policies. The company recently announced that it would not renew half of its Florida home insurance policies and that the other half would be assigned to a new affiliate, a “reciprocal exchange” in which policyholders share the risk of insuring each other.
Ft. Lauderdale-based Universal Property & Casualty received a failing grade. It got poor marks for claims, premium prices, and advice and help; on all other attributes, it received ratings below satisfactory. A company spokesperson declined to comment on these results.
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Having home insurance in the United States, the best options
