Your home may be considered risky to insure if it’s in a high-risk area for crime and natural disasters. Several insurance companies won’t insure a high-risk home, and even if they do, it could cost more than the average policy.
The This Old House Reviews Team created a guide to help high-risk homeowners explore their best home insurance options. In this guide, we’ll walk you through what home insurance companies to consider and what to do if none of these companies will insure your home.
Top 3 High-Risk Home Insurance Companies
When your home is classified as high risk, you may have trouble finding a provider that will insure your home. Here are three top rated insurance companies that often offer coverage for high-risk homeowners:
- State Farm: Best Endorsements
- Liberty Mutual: Best Discounts
- Allstate: Best Coverage Options
State Farm: Best Endorsements
✔ Connects you with a local agent for signing up, policy management, and customer service
✔ Online quote tool features a home value estimator
✔ Extensive online resources to help you understand how much coverage you need
State Farm has unique endorsement options that allow you to customize your home insurance policy. When you get a quote, you’re assigned to a specific local agent who will work with you on any extra coverage you might need. This also gives you a great opportunity to negotiate coverage on your high-risk property if needed. They’ll help you figure out whether or not your house can be covered and why.
State Farm Optional Coverage:
- Earthquake
- Sewer or drain backup
- Identity restoration
- Sinkhole collapse
- Special computer coverage
- Business property
- Loss assessment
- Extra options available through each State Farm agent
Learn More: State Farm Home Insurance Review
Liberty Mutual: Best Discounts
✔ Has a hurricane endorsement for states susceptible to hurricanes
✔ Has a claims center open 24/7
Liberty Mutual offers a variety of discounts to homeowners looking for home insurance coverage. Because high-risk homes cost more to insure, this long list of discounts helps bring down the monthly premium. Liberty Mutual has common discounts, like ones for bundling policies and for being claims-free, but the company also has unique discounts, including having a new home or having a new roof.
Liberty Mutual Optional Coverages:
- Water backup and sump overflow
- Identity fraud expense
- Earthquake
- Blanket jewelry
- Hurricane
- Personal property replacement cost
Get My Quote: Liberty Mutual quote
Learn More: Liberty Mutual Home Insurance Review
Allstate: Best Coverage Options
✔ Provides 24/7 customer service
✔ Customers can choose 60% or 70% of dwelling coverage for personal property protection
✔ Available in all 50 states
We recommend Allstate as the best overall provider for its impressive comprehensive coverage, customer service, and unique add-on options. As one of the most popular companies in all 50 states, it’s a great place to start when you’re looking for a high-risk homeowners insurance policy. Work with a representative to see if they can offer coverage on your home.
Allstate Endorsements:
- Roof surface extended coverage
- Water backup
- Green improvement reimbursement
- Extended coverage on jewelry, watches, and furs
- Identity theft restoration
- Claim rate guard
- Yard and garden
- Scheduled personal property
- Electronic data recovery
- Business property
- Musical instruments
- Sports equipment
Get My Quote: Allstate Home Insurance quote
Learn More: Allstate Home Insurance Review
Comparing the Best High-Risk Home Insurance Providers
Before choosing a high-risk homeowners insurance provider, we recommend that you gather quotes from each of the top companies and compare which will work best for your needs and budget.
| Company | State Farm | Liberty Mutual | Allstate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other structures coverage limits | 10% of dwelling | 10% of dwelling | 10% of dwelling |
| Personal property coverage limits | 70% of dwelling | 70% of dwelling | 60% or 70% of dwelling |
| Liability coverage limits | $100,000, $300,000, $400,000, $500,000, $750,000, or $1 million | $100,000, $200,000, $300,000, or $500,000 | $100,000, $200,000, $300,000, or $500,000 |
| Monthly price* | About $100 | About $140 | About $300 |
| Unique add-ons | Home business, earthquake, sinkhole collapse | Water backup and sump overflow, hurricane | Musical instruments, yard and garden |
| Customer service | Local agents available at different hours, online claims | 24/7 for claims; limited for sales and service | 24/7 |
| BBB rating | A+ | A+ | A+ |
*Prices based on quotes from Raleigh, North Carolina, and Houston, Texas.
What is a High-Risk Home?
There are several factors that could cause an insurance company to classify you or your home as high risk.
| You | Your Home |
|---|---|
| History of filing a lot of claims | Location is susceptible to extreme weather |
| Poor credit score of 649 or below | Location has a high crime rate |
| Criminal history | House is in need of repairs |
| Aggressive pets | Vacation home isn’t used frequently |
What High-Risk Home Insurance Coverage Includes
If a provider decides to insure your high-risk home, you can expect to receive the same coverage as a standard policy:
- Dwelling Coverage: Dwelling coverage protects the structure of your home. This includes the foundation, walls, and anything else built into the home. To determine how much of this coverage to purchase, estimate how much it would cost to rebuild your home as if it were new. You can do this by using an insurance company estimator, talking to an appraiser, or calculating the cost yourself, and purchasing $100–$155 of coverage per square foot.
- Coverage for Other Structures: This coverage is for detached structures on your property, like a garage or fence. It usually comprises 10% of your dwelling coverage.
- Personal Property Coverage: This covers your personal belongings and protects them if they’re stolen or damaged while in your home, in your car, or on a trip. This coverage is usually 50% of your dwelling coverage.
- Coverage for Additional Living Expenses: This reimburses you for living expenses you incur when you have to live elsewhere during home repairs. This could include the cost of a hotel room or the cost of meals. This coverage typically comprises 20% of dwelling coverage.
- Liability Coverage: This part of your policy covers costs if you cause bodily injury to another person or property damage. This could include legal fees, medical bills, and replacement costs. Most homeowners insurance providers recommend purchasing $300,000 worth of this type of protection.
- Coverage for Medical Payments to Others: If a guest is injured in your home, your provider will cover some of their medical bills. The standard coverage amount is $1,000 per person. If you have a deductible that’s $1,000 or higher, it may not be worth it to file a claim because your insurance provider will pay a lower amount for medical bills than you would pay for the deductible, and you would have a claim on your record for five to seven years.
How Much Does a High-Risk Homeowners Insurance Policy Cost?
Most companies don’t advertise the cost of a high-risk policy. Factors that make your home high-risk, like living in an area with a high susceptibility to crime or having a low credit score, will increase your premium, causing you to pay more than $101 per month.
On average, homeowners with low credit scores pay 122% more for their home insurance policy than homeowners with high credit scores.
How To Buy High-Risk Homeowners Insurance
Buying high-risk homeowners insurance is more complicated than buying a standard home insurance policy.
If Allstate, Liberty Mutual, or State Farm won’t insure you, consider these tips to find a high-risk policy:
- Talk to Neighbors: If your home is located in an area with a lot of crime or in an area susceptible to natural disasters, your neighbors may also be classified as high risk. Talk to them to find out how they got an insurance policy.
- Talk to a Realtor: Talking to the realtor who helped you buy a home is another option, as they have experience selling homes in the area and will likely have home insurance recommendations.
- Find an Insurance Agent: If you’re still having trouble finding an insurance company, you can find an independent agent to help you get a policy. These agents have an in-depth understanding of the insurance industry and may be able to find a national or local insurance company that’s willing to insure your home.
What Happens if I Can’t Find High-Risk Homeowners Insurance?
If all else fails, you have one more option—a Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plan. This plan is considered a last resort after being denied coverage from several private insurance companies.
Many states, especially ones with high crime rates or susceptibility to natural disasters, have a FAIR program that’s subsidized by taxpayers and private insurers. With one of these plans, several sources carry your risk instead of just one insurance company.
Which Is The Best High-Risk Homeowners Insurance Company for You?
If your home is at high risk, your best bet for finding home insurance is by checking with Allstate, Liberty Mutual, or State Farm. If they deny you coverage, consider contacting your state insurance department about a FAIR plan.
To get free home insurance quotes from providers in your area, call 855-948-5219 or enter your zip code in the tool below:
Other Homeowners Insurance Resources
- What is Homeowners Insurance?
- Is Homeowners Insurance Required?
- How Much Does Homeowners Insurance Do I Need?
- How Can I Lower My Homeowners Insurance?
- Which Insurance Company is Best at Paying Claims?
- What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover?
- What is Loss of Use Coverage?
- Homeowners Insurance in Fire Prone Areas
- Is Earthquake Insurance Worth It?
Frequently Asked Questions About High-Risk Homeowners Insurance
Our Rating Methodology
The This Old House Reviews Team is committed to providing comprehensive and unbiased reviews to our readers. This means earning your trust through transparency and having the data to back up our ratings and recommendations.
With that in mind, we created an objective rating system to score each home insurance company. Our rating system is a weighted, 100-point scale based on the following factors:
- Coverage (30): We rated home insurance companies higher if they offered the six main types of homeowner protection—dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, liability, and medical payments to others coverage.
- State availability (7.5): Companies scored higher if they covered more states than their competitors.
- Customer service (15): This factor is based on our communications with the company representatives, as well as the companies’ claims and quotes processes, availability throughout the week, and customer service information found on their websites.
- Technology (12.5): Technology can increase the efficiency of filing and tracking home insurance claims. Companies scored higher if they had technology options like mobile apps and online chat functions.
- Reputation (20): We gauged trustworthiness based on years of experience and Better Business Bureau ratings.
- Additional benefits (15): Companies that offered optional features, like discounts and endorsements, scored higher than competitors that didn’t.
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.