Our homeowners insurance ratings methodology

How we rate home insurance

We evaluated 2,752 home insurance coverage details and rated 14 homeowners insurance companies by weighting key factors and using a data-backed methodology.

Cost

We analyzed home insurance rates to determine the average cost of home insurance policies for various dwelling coverage limits: $200,000, $350,000, $500,000 and $750,000. 

The homeowner profile and other coverage limits are below:

• 40-year-old female homeowner with good credit.
• Other structures coverage equal to 10% of dwelling value.
• Personal property coverage equal to 50% of dwelling value.
• Loss of use coverage equal to 10% of dwelling value.
• $500 deductible.
• $1,000 in guest medical coverage.
• $100,000 in liability coverage. 

Companies that offered homeowners insurance for under $1,000 per year received the highest score of 60 points.

>> Why this is important: Homeowners insurance is required if you have a mortgage on your house, making it a necessary part of your annual budget. The cost of home insurance can vary based on where you live, the age of your house and its construction makeup. Compare quotes from different insurers in our best homeowners insurance rating to find the best price for your coverage needs.

Customer complaints

We scored each company based on complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which shows the volume of home insurance consumer complaints against each company. The NAIC logs complaints from state insurance departments, or similar entities, if a consumer files a complaint against an insurance company. Complaints usually have to do with dissatisfaction with a company’s claims process, delays, denials and settlements. 

The NAIC national average complaint rate is 1.0. Home insurance companies with the lowest NAIC customer complaint rate received the highest score of 30 points. All of the best homeowners insurance companies that made our top-scoring analysis have below-average NAIC customer complaint rates. 

>> Why this is important: Complaints from real people who have experience with an insurance company can lend insight into how an insurer handles and pays out claims. The lower the NAIC complaint score, the better the chances an insurance company has satisfied customers. Keep in mind that the NAIC only logs complaints, and doesn’t factor in positive reviews.

Extended/guaranteed replacement cost coverage upgrade

When you purchase home insurance, it’s suggested you buy enough dwelling coverage to rebuild your house from the ground up and back to its prior state after a covered claim. 

Extended replacement cost and guaranteed replacement cost coverage upgrades extend your dwelling coverage limit if the property damage to your house exceeds your dwelling coverage limit. Companies that offered either of these upgrades received the full 10 points. 

>> Why this is important: When there’s a natural disaster, it often leads to an increase in supply and demand for labor and construction materials. If this happens, you could end up being underinsured if you need to file a claim to rebuild your house. Extended replacement cost coverage can increase your dwelling limits by 10% to 50%. Guaranteed replacement cost coverage can ensure your house is repaired and rebuilt, regardless of the cost. 

How we choose the products we ranked

We chose homeowners insurance companies based on rates, customer complaints and coverage offerings. We also only included home insurance companies that are authorized to sell coverage in 10 or more states. For our best homeowners insurance analysis, we analyzed HO-3 special form policies, which is the most common form of homeowners insurance.

Our star ratings explained

Our best homeowners insurance star ratings are determined by weights assigned to the key factors below. Each home insurance company is scored and its total score out of 100 determines its star rating. The top scores earn 5 stars. 

Best home insurance methodology

• Cost: 60 points.
• Customer complaints: 30 points.
• Extended/guaranteed replacement cost coverage upgrade: 10 points.

See the results of our analysis in our rating of the best homeowners insurance.

How we collect data

Our insurance experts collect data from Quadrant Information Services. We then review average monthly and annual cost for home insurance policies with different levels of dwelling coverage — $200,000, $350,000, $500,000 and $750,000. We document coverage offerings, discounts, consumer complaints and extra perks. We also analyze how much home insurance costs for different profiles, like homeowners with poor credit or a house with an old roof, to make sure we assign the proper ‘best’ accolade to each company. 

Our data undergoes three levels of fact-checking to ensure accuracy. We refresh this data annually, and our ratings are updated then. 

USA TODAY Blueprint’s editorial standards

Our aim as insurance editors and experts is to provide unbiased reviews of insurance companies and policies using a mathematical approach through a calculated methodology. All star ratings are data-based and thoroughly fact-checked. 

We collect thousands of data points and evaluate them by assigning weights to the most important factors. These weights determine each product’s score out of 100, which translates to a star rating. Top-scoring insurance products get 5 stars.