If you’re looking to purchase homeowners insurance in California and want more than just industry-standard coverage, you’ll have a wide range of options among potential providers.
Because of the state’s susceptibility to natural disasters, you’ll want the best home insurance policy that protects your home from all possible perils.
To see which companies offer comprehensive coverage, keep reading our review of the best homeowners insurance companies in the Golden State.
For free home insurance quotes in your area, call 855-948-5219 or enter your zip code in our quote tool:
5 Best Homeowners Insurance Providers in California
Here are the top providers of homeowners insurance in California:
- Allstate: Best Coverage Options
- Liberty Mutual: Best Discounts
- Farmers: Most Customizable Coverage
- State Farm: Best Endorsements
- USAA: Best Membership Perks
State Farm: Best Endorsements
The largest home insurance company in the nation based on market share, State Farm insures more homeowners than any provider we’ve reviewed.
State Farm is a popular homeowners insurance company in California that offers some of the best policies in the state. While it offers fewer discounts than some companies, its add-ons are notable.
In addition to letting customers customize coverage, State Farm provides additional coverage options, such as an earthquake insurance policy from the California Earthquake Authority (CEA). Some local agents offer even more add-on options, such as daycare coverage or business property coverage, that can be purchased directly from them.
Pros and Cons of State Farm Home Insurance
✔ Connects customers to a local insurance agent for sign-up and policy management
✔ Provides personal property coverage for firearms and silverware
✔ Features bundling discounts that significantly decrease monthly insurance premiums
✘ Has fewer discounts than competitors like Allstate and Liberty Mutual
✘ Sometimes requires you to contact an agent to get a quote
Additional Coverage Options
State Farm’s endorsements include:
- Earthquake coverage
- Energy efficient replacement coverage
- Loss assessment coverage for HOA charges
- Home systems protection
- Identity theft protection
- Flood policies via the NFIP
- Water backup coverage
Available Discounts
State Farm offers a multi-policy discount and a home security discount. While it has a roofing material discount, it is not currently available in California.
Get Your Free Home Insurance Quote: State Farm Quote
Learn More: State Farm Home Insurance Review
*A.M. Best ratings accurate as of January 2023
Allstate: Best Coverage Options
Allstate is a solid choice of insurer for California residents. The company has earned high rating from both J.D. Power and AM Best, suggesting it has a positive customer experience and is financially solvent. It offers flexible coverage options, with a long list of endorsements and discounts that allow you to make the policy your own.
While Liberty Mutual and Farmers have 24/7 representatives only in their claims centers, Allstate allows you to contact them any time for any reason, whether it’s regarding claims, sales, billing, or policies. Additionally, you can review your policy or open claims within the customer portal and mobile app.
Pros and Cons of Allstate Home Insurance
✔ Offers nine discounts, including ones for being a new customer or for being retired
✔ Providers a choice of 60% or 75% of dwelling for personal property coverage
✔ Offers protection for valuable items like musical instruments, scheduled personal property, and extended coverage on jewelry, watches, and furs
✘ Is more expensive than other providers in this review, on average
✘ Deductibles start at $2,500, while other companies have more flexible deductible choices
Additional Coverage Options
Allstate provides numerous endorsements, including the following:
- Scheduled personal property coverage
- Manufactured and mobile homes
- Green improvement restoration
- Home-sharing
- Water backup
- Yard and garden protection
- Electronic data recovery
- Business property
- Musical instruments
- Identity theft restoration
- Sports equipment
- Umbrella insurance
Available Discounts
You can save on premiums with Allstate’s impressive lineup of discounts, which include a multi-policy, responsible payment, claims-free, welcome and loyalty, home buyer, easy pay plan, protective device, and early signing discount.
Get Your Free Home Insurance Quote: Allstate Quote
Learn More: Allstate Home Insurance Review
Liberty Mutual: Best Discounts
Liberty Mutual has close to 110 years of experience in the home insurance industry. Although it scored below the industry average in the J.D. Power Home Insurance Study based on customer satisfaction, the company has built a strong reputation over the years and holds an A rating with AM Best.
While you receive comprehensive coverage for dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, liability, and medical payments to others, Liberty Mutual premiums stay low because of its various discounts.
For example, you can save money on premiums when you renovate your home or replace your roof.
Pros and Cons of Liberty Mutual Home Insurance
✔ Has a 24/7 claims center
✔ Offers highly customizable coverage options
✔ Features an earthquake add-on for earthquake-prone areas of California
✘ Excludes some dog breeds from liability coverage
✘ Offers varying coverages and add-ons depending on where you live
Additional Coverage Options
Liberty Mutual has a handful of endorsements, which include:
- Additional hurricane coverage
- Total replacement cost
- Water backup and sump pump overflow protection
- Fine jewelry coverage
- Inflation protection
Available Discounts
LIberty Mutual offers claims-free, safe homeowner, early shopper, preferred payment, and paperless policy discounts. It also provides discounts for newly purchased or renovated homes, new roofs, multi-policyholders, and insuring your home to its total value.
Get Your Free Home Insurance Quote: Liberty Mutual Quote
Learn More: Liberty Mutual Homeowners Insurance Review
USAA: Best Membership Perks
Military members and their families can qualify for a membership with USAA and receive access to quality financial products, including homeowners insurance. USAA boasts a nearly perfect J.D. Power score for customer satisfaction and a superior financial strength rating from AM Best.
This insurer offers home insurance policies for service members who work on the 32 military bases in California. We also recommend this provider for its affordable home insurance premiums, endorsements that help policyholders fine-tune their coverage, and unique membership perks.
Pros and Cons of USAA Home Insurance
✔ Has an additional coverage option for military uniform protection
✔ Offers flood insurance coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
✔ Features benefits, such as discount car rentals and local shopping deals
✘ Is only available to military members and their families
✘ Has fewer agents and local branches than competitors
Additional Coverage Options
USAA offers personal umbrella insurance, flood insurance, valuable personal property coverage, and business insurance add-ons.
Available Discounts
USAA offers a multi-policy discount, claim-free discount, good payment history discount, loyalty discount, and home age discount. You may also be eligible for an impact-resistant roof or protective device discount.
Get Your Free Home Insurance Quote: USAA Quote
Learn More: USAA Home Insurance Review
Farmers: Most Customizable Coverage
Farmers is another well-respected name in the insurance industry with a long lineup of insurance products, including home, life, renters, and car insurance. The company provides an impressive suite of coverages, add-ons, and discounts, detailed below.
Farmers also offers customizable coverage for other structures, personal property, and additional living expenses, unlike Liberty Mutual and Allstate which offer a set amount based on dwelling coverage. While Farmers protection is based on dwelling coverage, you can purchase up to 200% of dwelling coverage for other structures and personal property and up to 30% for loss of use.
Pros and Cons of Farmers Home Insurance
✔ Provides up to $25,000 of additional insurance coverage to rebuild your home using eco-friendly appliances and building materials with eco-rebuild rider
✔ Lowers your deductible by $50 each year
✔ Provides an ordinance or law endorsement, which isn’t usually covered under home insurance
✘ Earned a lower J.D. Power score than other providers in this review
✘ Does not offer its Premier package and some add-ons in California
Additional Coverage Options
Farmers offers the additional coverages below:
- Personal article floaters
- Eco-rebuild
- Replacement cost coverage
- Identity theft
- Ordinance or law
- Flood insurance via the NFIP
Available Discounts
Farmers offers numerous discounts, including:
Farmers offers the discounts below to help you save money on coverage:
- Affinity discount
- ePolicy discount
- Preferred payment
- Protective device
- Good payer
- UL-approved roofing materials
- Green certification
- Nonsmoker discount
- New home
- Home safety
- Multi Line discount
- Claims free
- Rent to own
- Connected home
Get Your Free Home Insurance Quote: Farmers Quote
Learn More: Farmers Home Insurance Review
What Is the Average Cost of Homeowners Insurance in California?
The average cost of homeowners insurance in California is approximately $1,073, based on the Insurance Information Institute’s most recent study. This is below the national average of $1,249, but significantly higher than premiums in some other states.
California residents are exposed to a number of weather-related perils, and the state’s diverse topography lends itself to a wide range of home insurance costs. The best way to accurately determine how much a policy will cost you is to get quotes from providers and input your personal and home information.
What Risk Do Homeowners in California Face the Most?
California residents face an elevated risk of natural disasters, which can result in major damage and home insurance claims. Two of the biggest natural disasters are earthquakes and wildfires. Fire is usually listed as a covered peril on a home insurance policy, but earthquakes are not.
If you live along a fault line, you can buy added earthquake coverage to supplement your policy through Liberty Mutual. If you want more comprehensive earthquake coverage, you can purchase a separate earthquake insurance policy from an insurance company like State Farm.
Compare Top Home Insurance Companies in California
Which Is the Best Homeowners Insurance Provider in California for You?
Liberty Mutual, Allstate and Farmers, are some of the best homeowners insurance providers in California. To find the best policy for you, we recommend getting quotes from all three companies as well as other providers in your area by calling 855-948-5219.
FAQs About Homeowners Insurance in California
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. Here’s what that review process looked like:
- We analyze the information on each company’s website. This allows us to determine what products and services are offered by each home insurance provider.
- We get a sample quote from the companies by either talking to a sales representative or by using the online quote tool. This tells us what a policy looks like and costs.
- We test customer service by talking to a company representative, finding out their hours of operation, and determining what technological features are available for customers.
- We update all of this information on a continuous basis, storing it in a proprietary database that allows us to compare dozens of home insurance companies against each other.
With this data, we created a rating methodology 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.
The This Old House 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.
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.