Best Homeowners Insurance in Utah

If you own a Utah home, a home insurance policy can provide peace of mind and offer protection from unpredictable events, such as tornadoes and snowstorms. The This Old House Reviews team spent dozens of hours analyzing home insurance providers on policy coverage, customer service, reputation, and unique benefits to come up with the three best homeowners insurance companies in Utah.

To give you an idea of home insurance pricing in Utah, we included sample quotes for houses in various cities in Utah. Because home insurance pricing can depend on factors such as your credit score, claims history, property size and age, and ZIP code, we recommend getting quotes from a few different homeowners insurance companies in your area.

Utah’s Top 3 Home Insurance Companies

1. Best Overall: Allstate
2. Best Discounts: Liberty Mutual
3. Most Experience: Travelers

1. Best Overall: Allstate

Scoring a 98.1 out of 100, Allstate is one of the best home insurance carriers nationwide and is our top pick for Utah residents. It offers excellent coverage, a handful of coverage add-ons, such as identity theft coverage and a reimbursement for upgrading your equipment with green improvements, and a website that features resources for new homeowners, explaining the coverage they may need for their home.

Visit Allstate’s website to get started on an instant quote that doesn’t require your Social Security number or phone number.

Here are a few more Allstate benefits:

• Offers unique discounts to Utah residents for having water sensors, window and door sensors, and water valve shutoff equipment in their homes
• Has a website chat available during the quote process for any questions about coverage
• Provides the Claim RateGuard add-on, which keeps your premiums from increasing after filing a claim

2. Best Discounts: Liberty Mutual

Scoring a 95.1 out of 100, Liberty Mutual is another top home insurance company in Utah for its flexible premiums and multiple discount opportunities. For example, you could qualify for up to 10% off your premium by buying your policy online. You could also be eligible for discounts by insuring your home to its value, recently renovating your home, shopping for a policy before your current policy expires, and recently replacing your roof.

Get a quote from Liberty Mutual to take advantage of the 10% online purchase discount and to see what other savings opportunities may be available to you.

Liberty Mutual also features the following benefits:

• Offers an add-on for inflation protection that automatically adjusts coverage limits when your policy renews, preventing you from being under covered
• Provides affordable rates with lower deductibles when compared with other providers
• Has a helpful mobile app for online claims filing and policy management

3. Most Experience: Travelers

If you’re looking for a provider with a trustworthy reputation, Travelers might be the insurer for you since it has over 160 years of experience in the insurance industry. We were also impressed with its policy coverage options and deductibles and ultimately gave it a score of 93.6 out of 100.

Unlike other insurance providers, Travelers doesn’t include separate wind or hail deductibles in its policies, which means out-of-pocket costs during claims on those perils could be cheaper. It also gives you a choice of nine all-peril deductible options from $1,000–$50,000 to help you customize your premiums.

Check prices from Travelers based on your personal information and property details by filling out this easy quote form.

We were also impressed with Travelers for the following reasons:

• Has a decreasing deductible add-on that credits you with $100 towards your deductible each year you don’t file a claim
• Has customizable coverage for other structures from 1% to 100% of the dwelling limit
• Provides optional coverage to replace undamaged siding or roofing to match damaged siding or roofing that was replaced during a claim

Our Conclusion

The best way to find out which company makes the most sense for you and your home protection needs is by getting a few quotes and comparing the prices and offers from each provider.

Allstate offers impressive customer service, customization, and additional coverage options. Liberty Mutual can offer more affordable rates and has a variety of discount opportunities. If you’re looking for a trustworthy company with a lot of industry experience, check out Travelers.

*Based on sample quotes we received on a 1,500-square-foot single-family house in Salt Lake City, Utah

**Figures pulled from the companies’ Better Business Bureau (BBB) profiles as of May 11, 2021

Utah Homeowners Insurance Coverage

Each homeowners insurance policy from these providers can be broken down into six main coverage types:

1. Dwelling coverage—After a covered peril, your policy’s dwelling coverage limit pays for the rebuilding or repairing of your home’s structure. It’s most common for homeowners to purchase a coverage limit that’s equal to or more than their house’s estimated value.
2. Other structures coverage—This coverage is an extension of your dwelling coverage, but it’s specifically designed for buildings or structures that aren’t considered part of your house, such as a shed or fence. The coverage limit for this category is typically around 10% of the total dwelling limit.
3. Personal property coverage—If your personal belongings are destroyed in a fire or stolen from your home, you could be eligible to file a claim with your policy. During a claim, your insurer will pay up to your policy’s personal property limit, which is usually around 60%–75% of the dwelling limit. You can pay extra for your insurer to cover the replacement cost of your items. Otherwise, you’ll receive money equal to the actual cash value or depreciated cost of your lost or damaged items.
4. Personal liability coverage—If you’re responsible for an accident on your property that leaves a visitor injured, you could be liable for their medical expenses. This coverage pays those costs in addition to any legal fees that may result from the situation. The annual limits for this coverage are typically between $100,000 and $300,000.
5. Medical payments to others coverage—Similar to liability coverage, this coverage pays for medical bills of others injured on your property, but it’s specifically designed for accidents for which you aren’t responsible. This coverage usually adds up to around $1,000–$5,000 per year.
6. Loss of use coverage—If your home is uninhabitable after a covered peril, you may have to live in a hotel until it’s repaired or rebuilt. Under this coverage type, your insurer is responsible for paying for extra living expenses, such as hotel fees or meal costs.

Factors To Consider Before Buying Homeowners Insurance

Considering the following factors before buying a home insurance policy:

• Home value—Getting a proper estimate of your home’s value is important before buying a home insurance policy, since this estimate will be the minimum amount you need for your dwelling coverage. Being undercovered during the rebuilding of your home after a covered peril can lead to excessive out-of-pocket expenses. Although each of the providers in this review features helpful estimation tools to help you determine how much coverage you need, consider hiring a professional appraiser to help you determine exactly how much coverage you need.
• Deductibles—Each time you file a claim, you’ll owe a deductible before coverage starts. Each provider offers customizable deductibles to help you lower your premium, but choosing a higher deductible can increase your out-of-pocket spending during a claim. We recommend finding a balance between affordable premiums and reasonable deductibles that makes the most sense for your financial situation.
• Discounts—Each company listed in this review offers discounts for fire alarms or home security systems. Additionally, Liberty Mutual offers a 10% discount just for purchasing your policy online. Each company also offers bundling discounts for those who buy a home insurance policy and bundle it with their auto insurance.
• Additional coverage—Also referred to as endorsements, add-ons, floaters, or riders, additional coverage options can maximize the coverage you need. For example, you can add extended coverage for the repair or replacement of your roof with Allstate, or you could purchase an add-on for unexpected mechanical breakdowns of your home equipment from Travelers.

Our Methodology

The This Old House Reviews team values accuracy, transparency, and trust. With that in mind, we created a thorough, objective rating system to score each home insurance company based on the following six factors:

• Coverage (30)
• State availability (7.5)
• Customer service (15)
• Technology (12.5)
• Reputation (20)
• Additional benefits (15)

Our Reviews team has a full-time researcher who collects and regularly updates data points from every company to help us compare them on key factors such as coverage, service, and dependability. Read more on our methodology here.

FAQs About Homeowners Insurance in Utah

How much does home insurance in Utah cost?

Based on the sample home insurance quotes we received, the average annual premiums in Utah are around $75–$100. This is up from the average cost of $60.83 per month in 2018, which was significantly lower than the $104.08 per month national average, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III).

Does homeowners insurance cover floods?

No. Standard homeowners insurance policies don’t cover floods. However, you can purchase flood insurance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which writes and sells flood insurance policies. It also underwrites policies sold from many popular insurers, so check with your agent if you’re looking to further protect your home by adding flood insurance to your coverage.

Is home insurance required in Utah?

Home insurance isn’t legally mandated in Utah, but many mortgage lenders require borrowers to purchase a policy for their house. Check your loan agreement for any minimum coverage requirements that may be listed. Regardless of whether or not home insurance is required, it can still be a smart investment and save you money after an unexpected event that causes property damage.

To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.