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Shelter Home Insurance Review

Author Icon By Brenda Woods Updated 02/26/2024

In This Review: Our Take | Pros and Cons | Cost and Discounts | Coverage | State Availability | Customer Reviews | Conclusion | Comparison | Company Information | FAQ | Methodology

Purchasing a home is a serious financial commitment. If an unforeseen disaster like a fire or a burglary were to occur, you could be on the hook for the costs associated with returning the structure of your home—and its contents—back to the way they were before it all happened.

Luckily, you can purchase a home insurance policy to help you sleep easier at night. These policies can help cover these costs and more, like if someone were to get injured on your property.

But not all homeowners insurance companies are the same, and finding the right one is key. The This Old House Reviews Team has created an in-depth Shelter home insurance review, evaluating coverage, cost, availability, and more to help you determine if it’s the best fit for you.

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Our Take

Shelter Insurance offers all basic, industry-standard coverage and allows homeowners to customize their protection with a number of less common endorsements, like docks and piers. Unfortunately, only a few discounts are available, and you can only get protection in 14 states. We give Shelter an overalls score of 85.25 out of 100 on key metrics like coverage, availability, customer service, and more.

Both positive and negative reviews about Shelter can be found on third-party review sites. Common complaints cite unprofessional and hard-to-reach customer service, while other comments express overall satisfaction.


Pros and Cons

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of Shelter home insurance.

✔ Hard-to-find endorsements
✔ Detailed website
✔ Not a household name

✘ Only available in 14 states
✘ Few discounts


How Much Does Shelter Insurance Cost?

The exact cost of Shelter home insurance depends on a variety of factors, including your property value, size, its construction materials, where you live, the coverage limits you select, the insurance deductible you choose, and more.

Discounts

Shelter only offers a few discount opportunities to help lower the cost of your coverage.

Shelter Home Insurance Discounts

DiscountDescription

Companion policy

Discount for bundling your insurance policy with a Shelter auto insurance or renters insurance policy

Protective devices credit

Discount for having an approved alarm system, deadbolt locks on all exterior doors and all accessible doors and windows, and at least one fire or smoke alarm on each level

Claim-free

Discount for having not filed a claim for at least six consecutive years (discount applies on all subsequent renewals)

New home

Discount for homes under construction, including homes completed and first occupied during the preceding calendar year

Heating system

Discount for not having a solid wood heating device (i.e. wood or coal; fireplace not considered a solid fuel heating device)


Coverage

Shelter Insurance offers all industry-standard home insurance coverage, in addition to some endorsements.

Shelter Home Insurance Coverage

TypeDescription

Dwelling + other structures

Covers costs of repairing or rebuilding your home’s interior and exterior, in addition to any other structures on the property (garage, shed)

Personal property

Covers the replacement of personal belongings, including clothing, furniture, and electronics

Personal liability

Covers legal costs associated with someone being injured on your property

Loss of use/additional living expenses

Covers living expenses, including accommodations and dining, if you temporarily cannot live in your home due to covered damage or destruction

Medical payments to guests

Covers the medical expenses of someone who is injured on your property

Shelter’s endorsements range from common to uncommon.

Shelter Home Insurance Endorsements

TypeDescription

Necessary repairs after a loss

Covers cost of repairs to protect your home from extra damage after an event occurs, like patching poles to prevent entrance of animals or rain

Emergency removal of property

Covers damage to property caused while trying to remove it during an emergency

Debris removal

Covers the cost to remove debris after covered damage or loss

Fire department charges

Covers up to $500 in fire department charges if they come to protect your home

Trees, shrubs, plants, and lawns

Covers damage to the greenery on your property in event of covered damage or loss

Credit card fraud and check forgery

Covers up to $1,000 in the case of credit card fraud or forgery

Property damage

Covers property damage you or someone in your family causes to others

Additional coverage options include

  • Increased personal computer coverage
  • Protection from inflation
  • Identity fraud
  • Water backup
  • Certain businesses located on your property
  • Additional premises
  • Earthquake damage
  • Certain farming activities
  • Docks and piers
  • Liability and medical bills associated with certain watercraft activities
  • Claims brought against homeowner for malicious prosecution and slander

State Availability

Shelter only offers homeowners insurance in the following 14 states:

Arkansas | Colorado | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Mississippi | Missouri | Nebraska | Nevada | Oklahoma | Tennessee


Reviews of Shelter Insurance

Shelter is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau but holds an A+ rating from the organization. There are only two available reviews on its profile, and they show a 1-star rating and 5-star rating.

Darla C. said:

“Great company! They always are so helpful!!!”

CTW said:

“Worst agent I’ve ever dealt with -— cancelled a vehicle that we did not ask to have cancelled then wanted to blame us. Told us we would have insurance back that day and learned a week and one day later, from our new agent, that we do not have coverage on this vehicle. Never use these people!!!”


Our Conclusion

Shelter Insurance offers all basic home insurance options, alongside many endorsements. Some are more common, like increased personal property coverage and protection from inflation, while others are less common—docks and piers, certain farming activities, and certain watercraft activities, for example. Shelter home insurance is likely best-suited for people with these niche concerns because these protections are hard to find elsewhere. Unfortunately, coverage is only available in 14 states. Overall, we give Shelter home insurance a score of 85.25 out of 100.

When choosing a home insurance provider, we recommend that homeowners get quotes from multiple companies that serve their area:

Compare Homeowners Insurance Policies
Answer a few simple questions and we’ll take care of the rest.

Comparison

See how Shelter stacks up against some of its top competitors on key metrics.

Shelter Home Insurance vs Competition

ProviderShelterLemonadeAmica®

Our score

$85

83.5

96.6

State Availability

$14

27*

48 (not available in AK and HI)

BBB Rating

A+

B+

A+

Years in Business

$74

5

113

24/7 Claims Service

X

Protective Devices/Safety Features Discount

Bundling Discount

Mobile App

X

*Lemonade home insurance is available in AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, GA, IL, IN, IA, MD, MA, MI, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI


Company Information

  • Company name: Shelter Insurance
  • Company type: Public
  • CEO: Matt Moore
  • Year founded: 1946
  • Headquarters: 1817 1 Broadway, Columbia, MO 65218
  • State availability: 14
  • BBB rating: A+

Other Homeowners Insurance Resources


Frequently Asked Questions

How good is Shelter Insurance?

Shelter home insurance is a solid option, offering all basic insurance coverage in addition to many valuable and specialized endorsements, like protection from inflation, water backup, earthquake coverage, docks and piers, and more. However, most Americans do not have access to Shelter as it is only available in 14 states.

What states have Shelter Insurance?

States that have shelter insurance include Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

Does Shelter offer home insurance discounts?

Yes, Shelter Insurance offers several home insurance discounts, including companion policy, protective devices, claim-free, new home, and heating system.

Does Shelter Insurance have good ratings?

Unfortunately, the company’s Better Business Bureau profile is extremely limited when it comes to both complaints and reviews.


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.