The 9 Best Home Insurance Companies
How We Chose the Best Homeowner’s Insurance When buying homeowner’s insurance, there are a few factors you’ll want to consider:
Financial Strength Ratings
If an insurance company has a good financial strength rating (FSR), it means they have the money to pay you when you make a claim. Most insurance companies have enough money to cover minor damage, but if your house were to burn down, you would require a lot of money, and fast. Companies with high FSRs are able to provide you with the money you need quickly. Because the whole point of insurance is to protect you if something awful happens, it’s a good idea to use a company with a high FSR. Many companies report their FSRs on their websites, but it’s best to check them out through an independent agency, like A.M. Best or Moody’s. For this article, we only looked at companies with a minimum of an A rating from A.M. Best, and either an A rating (“strong”) from Standard and Poor’s, or an Aa rating (“high quality”) from Moody’s.
Endorsements
Endorsements are additions to your policy that can account for incidents not specifically covered in your policy. For instance, if you live in a state where tornadoes are a large problem, some companies offer a tornado endorsement.
Discounts
Hopefully, you’ll never need to use your insurance, but that means the premiums you pay each month are just money you’re losing, so you want to keep that price as low as you can while still making sure you’re protected if anything were to happen to your home. Many insurance companies offer certain discounts, like discounts for having a claim-free history or for owning a fire extinguisher, but some companies offer more than just the standard fare. For example, Allstate has a “new purchase” discount, where the home itself doesn’t actually have to be new, it just has to be your first home. Other companies, like Traveler’s, offer green discounts, which give you a reduction in your premiums if your house meets Leadership Energy and Environmental Design specifications for a “green” home. To get the best deal on homeowner’s insurance, you’ve got to do your research on the discounts—but we’ll help you out with that.
Customer Service
We’ve all had frustrating experiences with customer service, but the stakes are much higher when dealing with homeowner’s insurance. If you have a claim that needs to be filed, you can’t be going back and forth playing phone tag with your representative for a couple of days—you need assistance right away. It also helps if you’re speaking with friendly, helpful representatives. When you need to file a claim on your home, you are likely going through something stressful: a break-in, a fire, a natural disaster, etc. If you have to deal with a difficult or irritable representative on top of that, it can take an even greater emotional toll. It’s hard to undervalue attention and kindness at a time like that.
9 Best Homeowner’s Insurance Companies
1. All state Best for New Home buyers 2. Amica Best Customer Service 3. State Farm Most Personalized Online Quote 4. Nationwide Insurance Most Endorsements 5. MetLife Best Replacement Coverage6. Traveler’s Best for Green Homes 7. Safeco Unique Bundled Deductible 8. Progressive Best for Boat Owners 9. GEICO Strongest Financial Outlook
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