From tropical storms on the coast to harsh snow storms during the winter, owning a home in Maine means worrying about various natural disasters that could impact your property. Purchasing a homeowners insurance policy is the best way to ensure you’ll be able to rebuild or replace your home and its contents after an unexpected event.
After researching dozens of insurers and digging into policy coverage, customer service, reputation, and unique factors, the This Old House Reviews team compiled a list of the best home insurance companies in Maine to help our readers choose a provider that fits their coverage needs. We’ve also included sample quotes for homes in cities across the state to give you an idea of home insurance pricing.
We ultimately recommend calling 855-948-5219 or entering your ZIP code below to get custom quotes based on your personal information and home’s details:
3 Best Home Insurance Companies in Maine
Here are the top providers of homeowners insurance in Maine:
- State Farm: Best Endorsements
- Liberty Mutual: Best Discounts
- Travelers: Most Experience
State Farm: Best Endorsements
State Farm earned a score of 96.6 out of 100, performing exceptionally well in most of our rating categories, such as customer service, coverage, and unique benefits. It also offers some of the cheapest policies when bundled with car insurance.
However, State Farm shines for its extensive list of endorsements, also known as add-ons. These add-ons include water backup coverage, earthquake protection, identity theft restoration, loss assessment coverage for homeowners with an HOA, coverage for energy efficiency upgrades, home systems protection, and service line repair coverage.
Here are a few more benefits that make State Farm one of the best home insurance companies on the market:
- Features a home value estimation tool with a video explanation to help customers determine the total dwelling coverage they need
- Connects each customer to a local agent during the quote process to help with sign-up and policy management
- Allows its agents to sell extra protection for homeowners’ various needs, such as home business liability coverage or home daycare coverage
State Farm Sample Pricing
| City (ZIP code) | Portland (04103) | Bangor (04401) | Lewiston (04240) |
|---|---|---|---|
| House square footage | 1,350 | 1,800 | 1,400 |
| Year built | 1962 | 1991 | 1948 |
| Dwelling limit | $250,000 | $250,000 | $225,000 |
| Personal property coverage | 75% of dwelling | 75% of dwelling | 75% of dwelling |
| Liability coverage | $100,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 |
| All-peril deductible | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Hurricane deductible | $2,000 | N/A | $2,000 |
| Monthly premium | $75.08 | $80.08 | $75.33 |
Get Quote: Call 1-360-262-2561 to get your free State Farm Home Insurance Quote
Learn More: State Farm Home Insurance Review
*AM Best ratings accurate as of August 2023
Liberty Mutual: Best Discounts
Right behind State Farm with a score of 95.1 out of 100, Liberty Mutual is another top-rated home insurance provider in Maine. We recommend Liberty Mutual to budget shoppers looking for the best value on their policy, since it offers lower premiums and plenty of savings opportunities.
For instance, you could be eligible for discounts if you shop early before your current policy ends, have a claims-free history, insure your home to its value, sign up for paperless billing or auto pay, or bundle with an auto insurance policy. You could also receive additional savings for your home’s age, recent renovations, or safety features.
To save 10% on your policy when purchasing online, enter your information into Liberty Mutual’s easy quote tool.
Liberty Mutual also features the following benefits:
- Features a website chat function during the quote process to help answer questions and connect potential customers to a customer service representative
- Has a mobile app for filing claims and managing policies
- Offers a unique inflation protection add-on, which increases coverage limits each year the policy renews to keep policyholders form being under covered
Liberty Mutual Sample Pricing
| City (ZIP code) | Portland (04103) | Bangor (04401) | Lewiston (04240) |
|---|---|---|---|
| House square footage | 1,350 | 1,800 | 1,400 |
| Year built | 1962 | 1991 | 1948 |
| Dwelling limit | $250,000 | $250,000 | $225,000 |
| Personal property coverage | 75% of dwelling | 75% of dwelling | 75% of dwelling |
| Liability coverage | $100,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 |
| All-peril deductible | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Wind/hail deductible | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Hurricane deductible | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Monthly premium | $86.00 | $61.00 | $75.00 |
Get Quote: Liberty Mutual Home Insurance Quote
Learn More: Liberty Mutual Home Insurance Review
Travelers: Most Experience
When it comes to a big investment like your home, having a home insurance provider with years of experience can offer peace of mind if a covered peril damages your home. Travelers has over 160 years of experience in the insurance industry, which is far more than most home insurance companies, and it earned a score of 93.6 out of 100 in our review.
Our team was also impressed with the company’s unique Decreasing Deductible benefit, which credits your deductible with $100 each year you don’t file a claim. Since this benefit doesn’t have a limit, you could potentially bring your deductible down to $0 by staying with the company for multiple years, meaning you’d owe nothing out-of-pocket during a claim.
Get a free quote from Travelers by filling out this quick form.
We were also impressed with Travelers for the following reasons:
- Has nine deductible options, ranging from $1,000 to $50,000, to help customers customize their premiums
- Offers a home equipment add-on for coverage when systems break down from mechanical or electrical failure, which isn’t typically covered under standard home insurance policies
- Provides customizable coverage for your external structures, ranging from 1% to 100% of the dwelling limit, which is more than most competitors
Travelers Sample Pricing
| City (ZIP code) | Portland (04103) | Bangor (04401) | Lewiston (04240) |
|---|---|---|---|
| House square footage | 1,350 | 1,800 | 1,400 |
| Year built | 1962 | 1991 | 1948 |
| Dwelling limit | $250,000 | $250,000 | $225,000 |
| Personal property coverage | 75% of dwelling | 75% of dwelling | 75% of dwelling |
| Liability coverage | $100,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 |
| All-peril deductible | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Monthly premium | $78.39 | $78.55 | $81.55 |
Get Quote: Travelers Home Insurance Quote
Learn More: Travelers Home Insurance Review
Our Conclusion
Protect your Maine home by purchasing home insurance from one of the top three companies in Maine. Whether you prefer State Farm’s extensive list of endorsements and extra protection options, Liberty Mutual’s low prices and discount opportunities, or Traveler’s experience and trustworthiness, these companies can provide comprehensive policies to insure your home.
No matter which company you prefer, we always recommend getting quotes from at least three different providers to compare offers and pricing specific to your situation.
Compare Homeowners Insurance Companies in Maine
| Provider | State Farm | Liberty Mutual | Travelers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get a free quote | Not available through This Old House | LibertyMutual.com | Travelers.com |
| Our score | 96.6 | 95.1 | 93.6 |
| Personal property coverage limits | 75%–100% of dwelling | 75% of dwelling | 25%–100% of dwelling |
| Liability coverage limits | $100,000, $300,000, $500,000, $1 million | $100,000, $200,000, $300,000, or $500,000 | $100,000, $300,000, $500,000 |
| Sample premium* | $75.08 | $86.00 | $78.39 |
| Unique add-ons | Service line coverage, home systems protection, roof surfaces coverage, earthquake insurance | Blanket jewelry coverage, home computer and smartphone coverage, earthquake insurance | Equipment breakdown coverage, Decreasing Deductible benefit |
| Customer service | 24/7 for claims, local agents’ hours vary | 24/7 for claims | 24/7 for claims |
| BBB rating** | NR | A+ | A+ |
*Based on sample quotes we received on a 1,350-square-foot single-family house in Portland, Maine
**Figures pulled from the companies’ Better Business Bureau (BBB) profiles as of May 20, 2021
Maine Homeowners Insurance Coverage
Homeowners insurance policies cover six main coverage categories:
- Dwelling coverage—This coverage is for the main structure of your home, paying to rebuild, repair, or replace it after a covered peril. To avoid being under covered after an unexpected event destroys your home, purchase a coverage amount equal to or greater than your home’s estimated value. Each of the providers in this review features useful estimation tools when getting a quote to help you determine how much coverage you need, but speaking with a professional appraiser is the best way to get the most accurate estimate.
- Other structures coverage—This coverage type pays to rebuild, repair, or replace your property, but it’s specifically for structures that aren’t a part of your home, such as a detached garage or shed. You can customize your coverage for this category, but providers usually offer an amount that’s around 10% of your dwelling limit.
- Personal property coverage—If your personal items are stolen, damaged, ruined, vandalized, or lost, you can file a claim on your policy under this coverage type. Your provider will reimburse you for their depreciated value, unless you pay extra for replacement cost coverage, which is offered by all three providers.
- Personal liability coverage—When you have guests over, you could be liable for an accident or injury and owe thousands of dollars in medical bills or legal fees associated with the incident. Luckily, your home insurance provider will pay up to your chosen amount (typically between $100,000 and $300,000) for those expenses. We recommend getting more coverage if you anticipate having visitors over regularly.
- Medical payments to others coverage—Your policy also provides extra coverage for visitors’ medical payments when they’re injured on your property during an accident that’s not your fault. The coverage limit for this category is typically the lowest amount at around $1,000–$5,000.
- Loss of use coverage—This coverage type, also known as additional living expenses coverage, pays for items like hotel fees, extra gas, or meals when you’re forced to relocate from your house after a covered peril, such as a fire or destructive storm. The coverage amount for this category usually falls around 10%–25% of your dwelling limit.
Factors To Consider Before Buying Homeowners Insurance
Here are a few factors to consider before purchasing a homeowners insurance policy:
- Deductibles—A deductible is the amount you pay during a claim before your provider covers the rest of the claim. For instance, if it costs $150,000 to rebuild your home after a fire, and your deductible is $5,000, your provider will cover $145,000 after you pay the initial $5,000. Although choosing a higher deductible can lower your premium, it can end up costing you more in the long run when you file a claim, since you’ll owe that amount before your provider pays for the rest of the necessary costs.
- Additional coverage—While you shop around for a home insurance policy, you may find additional coverage options referred to as endorsements, riders, add-ons, or floaters. For example, you can purchase equipment breakdown coverage with Travelers if you’re worried about your home systems breaking down from an electrical or mechanical failure.
- Discounts—Each of these companies offers discounts to help lower your premiums, getting you the best value for your money. All three offer industry-standard savings for bundling with auto insurance or installing fire alarms or home security systems. However, they each have unique discounts to further lower your premium. For instance, Liberty Mutual takes 10% off your policy for purchasing insurance online.
FAQs About Homeowners Insurance in Maine
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.