Best Homeowners Insurance in California of May 2024 (2024)

After in-depth research, we at the Guides Home Team found the following providers to offer the best and cheapest homeowners insurance in California:

• Hippo: Our pick for fast quotes
• Liberty Mutual: Our pick for discounts
• Farmers: Our pick for customizable coverage
• Nationwide: Our pick for inclusive standard coverage
• USAA: Our pick for club members

According to homeowners insurance data from Quadrant Information Services, the average cost of homeowners insurance in California is $1,587, which is lower than the national average of $2,511.

Factors that affect the cost of home insurance in California include the risk of natural disasters, the cost of construction, the condition of your property and other personal factors. We compiled the following list to help you understand how an insurer might calculate your premium.

• Property location: Various regions in California face a significant risk of natural disasters like wildfires, earthquakes, storm surges and other ocean-related events. For instance, there’s a risk of wildfires in Los Angeles and San Diego due to the dry climates. If your home is in such a region, insurers consider it risky to cover you and charge higher rates.

• Construction cost: Many regions in the state have a high cost of living, such as Silicon Valley and Los Angeles. The labor and material costs in these regions are also high, which causes an increase in your home’s replacement expenses and raises premiums.

• Age and condition of the property: Older homes in historical regions like Old Sacramento may have higher repair or replacement costs due to older structures and materials. For this reason, insurance providers will charge higher rates if you live in such a home.

• Credit score: The insurance company you choose will analyze your credit history to determine if you are risky to insure. You can qualify for a better rate if you pay your bills on time and settle outstanding debts.

• Claims history: Insurers will consider you a high-risk individual if you have filed many claims in the past, resulting in a more expensive policy. Other factors insurers consider include the type and severity of your past claims.

You can save money on home insurance in California by qualifying for discounts, comparing rates from different providers and taking steps to protect your home against natural disasters.

Check for Eligible Discounts

Most insurance providers allow you to lower your premiums with various discounts, which could include:

• Bundling: If you purchase multiple policies from the same insurer, you can earn a discount on your premium. For instance, you can bundle your home and auto insurance policies.

• Home security system: Consider installing smoke detectors and burglary alarm systems to improve the safety of your home, which could help you qualify for a discount.

• Disaster preparedness: You can save on your policy if your home is better retrofitted to withstand natural disasters like earthquakes and wildfires.

• Claims-free: Insurers consider it less risky to insure homeowners who have not filed a claim within a specific timeframe and may offer a related discount.

• Green home: Some insurers in California may also offer savings on your premium if your home is energy-efficient or environmentally friendly.

Implement a Wildfire Mitigation Strategy

Since wildfires are a significant risk in California, you might qualify for a lower home insurance rate if you reduce the risk of wildfire damage to your property. You can do so by removing vegetation that could catch fire or contribute to spreading wildfire, creating a defensible space around your property.

It’s also important to opt for fire-resistant building materials if you renovate your home, enhancing its ability to withstand wildfires.

Shop Around

Every insurance provider uses a different underwriting formula to determine home insurance premiums, which can result in varying rates. When you shop around and compare quotes, explore multiple options and choose the most suitable one based on your needs.

There’s a significant risk of natural disasters like earthquakes and wildfires in California, making it important to have sufficient coverage to protect against these disasters. Homeowners will need special coverage to protect against earthquake damage, while wildfires will be covered in a standard policy.

Earthquake Coverage

According to the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), most Californians live within 30 miles of a fault line, making it highly likely that your home will be impacted by one or more earthquakes over the course of your ownership. A standard homeowners policy generally does not cover earthquake damage, so you must purchase a separate earthquake policy if you want to be covered. Certain providers offer protection against earthquake-related damage as an add-on to your standard policy, but other providers do not. If your preferred provider does not offer this coverage, The CEA offers earthquake coverage to homeowners throughout the state for around $45 a month and offer free estimates on their website.

Wildfire Coverage

The damage done to land by wildfires peaked in 2020 at 4.3M acres burned, prompting many major insurance players to reconsider offering coverage in the state. Over the past two years, the state has managed to reduce the land damage by 90%, but the 2024 outlook for increased wildfire risk in the state has kept the number of providers available dropping and the rates increasing.

Although you will have protection against wildfire damage with a standard policy, the level of coverage can vary depending on your insurer. Review your coverage details to ensure your policy will cover the cost of rebuilding and repairing your home in case of fire damage.

State Farm and Allstate are among our highest-scoring home insurance providers based on our comprehensive reviews methodology. However, both providers have pulled out of California.

State Farm is not accepting new applications for property insurance, citing catastrophe exposure, surging construction costs and a challenging reinsurance market as major deciding factors. The insurance giant said it will continue to renew existing policyholders as of this time.

Allstate published in a November 2022 earnings report that it “will no longer write new homeowners and condominium business in California.” Like State Farm, it will continue to offer coverage to existing customers. It didn’t make any further public statements regarding the business move until after State Farm’s announcement in May 2023.

As a result, we removed these providers from our top home insurance companies in California list and replaced them with runners-up.

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Our team surveyed dozens of home insurance providers and created a scoring system to assess and compare each company’s quality and service. Here are the factors that account for our provider scores according to our home insurance rating methodology:

• Cost (27%): We compare cost data for homes nationwide to assess how competitively priced each provider is. We also consider each company’s available discounts when determining its overall cost of coverage.
• Coverage (28%): We analyze the comprehensiveness of each provider’s standard home insurance policy and compare optional policy endorsem*nts to determine the quality of coverage.
• Availability and ease of use (15%): We evaluate each company’s customer service options, such as live chat, a customer support phone line, and multiple channels for filing claims and generating quotes. Similarly, we score providers based on their digital resources, such as a mobile app or online customer portal.
• Brand trust (15%): We gauge reputation by evaluating consumer reviews and third-party financial strength and customer experience ratings, including from J.D. Power, AM Best and customer review aggregators.

Companies with the best customer service exhibit 24/7 availability, useful digital tools and a quick claims-filing process. Providers that offer extensive discount options, endorsem*nts, customizable coverage options and unique features score significantly higher than those that don’t, putting them toward the top of our recommendations to readers.

AM Best Disclaimer