Best Homeowners Insurance in Iowa (2023)
To help homeowners in Iowa choose a provider, the This Old House Reviews Team created a guide on the best home insurance companies based on hours of research and reviews of dozens of insurers.
Iowa homeowners have plenty to worry about when it comes to protecting their house, from damaging winter blizzards to summer tornadoes. Luckily, home insurance is designed to give homeowners peace of mind that their house will be rebuilt or repaired and their property will be replaced after an unexpected event.
To get the most accurate pricing and compare rates in your particular area, call 855-948-5219 or enter your zip code into the tool below:
3 Best Home Insurance Providers in Iowa
Here are the top providers of the best homeowners insurance in Iowa:
Lemonade: Easiest Sign-Up
- J.D. Power Rating: N/A
- AM Best Rating: NR
Lemonade offers a user-friendly experience for Iowa homeowners. It uses a mobile app and AI technology to ensure fast and easy quotes, sign-up, and claims filing. In fact, the company’s AI technology can make its own decisions on home insurance claims, providing payouts within minutes of a customer filing.
With an 83.5 out of 100, the company scored lower than competitors primarily for its lower rating on the BBB, which is from an abnormally high number of complaints—many of which reference the company’s renters insurance policies. Despite these complaints, Lemonade’s hassle-free insurance experience is a good option for homeowners looking to avoid the back-and-forth with agents during the sign-up and claims processes.
Lemonade Home Insurance Benefits
✔ Provides a unique add-on for swimming pool liability to cover injuries that happen in a pool on your property
✔ Allows you to add your significant other (unmarried) to your policy for around $2 extra per month
✔ Offers unique discounts for water leak detection systems, wind protection, and gated communities
Get Your Free Home Insurance Quote: Lemonade Home Insurance Quote
Learn More: Lemonade Home Insurance Review
*AM Best ratings accurate as of August 2023
Allstate: Best Coverage Options
Allstate scored the highest in our homeowners insurance review with a 98.1 out of 100 and impressed us with its local 24/7 customer service, substantial list of additional coverage options and discounts, policy customizability, and overall coverage. Homeowners looking for a strong company without many downsides should consider Allstate for their home insurance needs.
Allstate Home Insurance Benefits:
✔ Features a chat service on its website to help customers connect to an agent during the quote process
✔ Offers a building codes coverage add-on, which pays for up to 10% of the dwelling limit to comply with building codes or regulations during a covered repair or replacement
✔ Has the Claim-Free Rewards add-on program that pays 5% back on your policy renewal each year you don’t file a claim
Get Your Free Home Insurance Quote: Allstate Home Insurance Quote
Learn More: Allstate Home Insurance Review
Travelers: Most Experience
Travelers is a home insurance company that’s been around longer than any other company we reviewed. With its first days of operation dating back to 1853, it has the most experience serving homeowners throughout the country. Plus, it’s one of the most trustworthy providers in the home insurance industry. It has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), an A++ (superior) financial strength score from AM Best, and an 803 out of 1,000 customer satisfaction rating by J.D. Power.
Travelers Home Insurance Benefits:
✔ Offers nine deductible options, ranging from $1,000 to $50,000, to help policyholders customize their premiums
✔ Provides 24/7 claims center customer service
✔ Has a unique Decreasing Deductible add-on that credits your account with $100 towards your deductible each year you go without filing a claim
Get Your Free Home Insurance Quote: Travelers Home Insurance Quote
Learn More: Travelers Home Insurance Review
Our Conclusion
Each of these home insurance companies brings something unique to the table for homeowners in Iowa. Whether it’s Allstate’s combination of excellent customer service, policy coverage, and affordability, Travelers’ long experience in the home insurance industry, or Lemonade’s unique technological features, these companies can protect your home in the event of an unexpected disaster.
To compare customized quotes from multiple providers in your area, call 855-948-5219 or enter your ZIP code into the tool below:
Useful Resources for Residents in Iowa
Comparing the Top Providers of Home Insurance in Iowa
We recommend getting a free quote from each company to compare coverage plans and pricing in your area.
Compare Homeowners Insurance Companies in Iowa
| Provider | Lemonade | Allstate | Travelers |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Personal property coverage limits |
40%–83% of dwelling |
60% or 75% of dwelling |
25%–100% of dwelling |
|
Liability coverage limits |
$100,000, $200,000, $300,000, $400,000, $500,000, $1 million |
$100,000, $200,000, $300,000, $500,000 |
$100,000, $300,000, $500,000 |
|
Sample premium* |
$114.50 |
$102.00 |
$146.00 |
|
Discounts available |
4 |
7 |
5 |
|
Unique add-ons |
Coverage for musical instruments, significant other coverage, swimming pool liability protection |
Roof surfaces extended coverage, water backup protection, green improvements |
Equipment breakdown coverage, Decreasing Deductible benefit |
|
Customer service |
Online chat on website and mobile app |
24/7 |
24/7 for claims |
*Based on sample quotes we received on a 1,700-square-foot single-family house in Des Moines, Iowa
Iowa Homeowners Insurance Coverage
Homeowners insurance policies in Iowa primarily cover the following six categories:
- Dwelling coverage—This is perhaps the most important home insurance coverage type, since it pays for the rebuilding or replacement of your home after a covered peril. For instance, if a fire destroys the structure of your house, your provider will pay up to your dwelling limit to return it to the way it was before the disaster. The limit is typically at least 100% of your home’s overall estimated value.
- Other structures coverage—This pays for rebuilding or replacing other buildings or structures on your property, such as a fence or detached garage, when they’re damaged during a covered peril. The limit is usually around 10%–20% of your dwelling limit.
- Personal property coverage—Your personal belongings are also covered by home insurance. This coverage replaces or reimburses you for items like furniture, electronics, or other items that are vandalized, stolen, damaged, or destroyed during a covered event. The coverage limit is typically customizable, but it should be around 50%–75% of the dwelling limit.
- Loss of use coverage—When you’re forced to stay away from your home after a covered event, you could accrue extra charges for gas, food, or hotel fees. While your home is being repaired during a claim, your home insurance company will pay for these costs through your policy’s loss of use or additional living expenses coverage.
- Personal liability coverage—If a guest or visitor on your property gets injured from an accident that you caused, you could be liable for excessive medical costs or legal fees. Luckily, home insurance companies cover these costs through their policies’ liability coverage. Most policies come with around $100,000–$300,000 of coverage.
- Medical payments to others coverage—Similar to liability coverage, this category includes coverage for medical costs to visitors or guests on your property but specifically from accidents that weren’t caused by you. This typically has the smallest coverage limit of around $1,000–$5,000 per policy.
Factors To Consider Before Buying Homeowners Insurance
No matter where you live in Iowa, the following factors are important to consider before purchasing a home insurance policy:
- Home value—The value of your home is one of the most important things to consider before purchasing home insurance, since it determines how much dwelling coverage you need on your policy. Purchasing a policy with a coverage amount that’s lower than your home’s value could result in being under covered after an unexpected event, which means paying excessive out-of-pocket costs or living with damaged property. Each company has a home value estimation tool, but it could be beneficial to speak with a professional appraiser or insurance agent for the most accurate amount.
- Natural disasters—Iowa experiences severe storms, tornadoes, landslides, and winter storms. Luckily, home insurance protects your home against these potentially damaging conditions. Floods are also common in Iowa, but they aren’t considered a covered peril in home insurance policies. If you’re worried about floods, you can purchase a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy through a partnered provider or directly from the program.
- Additional coverage—Additional coverage options offer a great way for homeowners to further customize protection for their home. Each of the companies in this article offers a handful of coverage options for items like identity theft protection, water backup coverage, or swimming pool liability coverage.
Homeowners Insurance in Iowa FAQs
How much does home insurance in Iowa cost?
The cost of home insurance in Iowa can vary depending on your ZIP code, personal information, and claims history in addition to your property’s size, age, construction type, frame type, and overall value. Based on the quotes we received in various cities across the state, the average cost of homeowners insurance is typically around $100–$150 per month.
Is home insurance required in Iowa?
Home insurance isn’t required by law in any state, but it’s often required by mortgage lenders to ensure the home’s value is protected from unexpected disasters. If you have a loan on your property, check your lending agreement to see if there are any required minimum coverage limits for your policy.
What are some common home insurance discounts in Iowa?
Common discounts for Iowa homeowners insurance policies include a discount for safety features, such as home security systems, fire alarms, and water shut-off equipment, a gated community discount, early shopping discounts for looking for a policy before your current one expires, and home and auto insurance bundling discounts.
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.
