In This Review: Our Take | Pros & Cons | Cost & Discounts | Coverage | State Availability | Customer Reviews | Conclusion | Comparison | Company Information | FAQs | Methodology
Your home is your most valuable asset, and protecting it from unforeseen disasters and burglary is a major consideration. It’s important you have the funds to repair or reconstruct your home, or replace your belongings, if an event like that were to occur.
Purchasing a home insurance policy can safeguard your investment. Unfortunately, choosing the best home insurance company for you may take a lot of research—evaluating coverage, discounts, customer service, availability, and more.
The This Old House Reviews Team has created this in-depth State Farm homeowners insurance review to help you determine if it’s the best fit for your home.
To get home insurance quotes in your area, call 855-948-5219 or enter your zip code in our free quote tool:
Our Take on State Farm Homeowners Insurance
State Farm is the largest homeowners insurance company in the country, with 18% market share. It began as an auto insurance company, so bundling is an option that can give customers convenience as well as a discount.
The company has strong financial backing and serves customers nationwide, offering basic coverage, a wide array of optional add-ons, and many discount options. Unfortunately, the discounts vary from state to state. Discounts are especially limited for homeowners in Pennsylvania, North Dakota, South Dakota, New York, and Alaska.
Ultimately, we gave State Farm a high score of 96.60 out of 100 based on various metrics, like coverage, availability, customer service, and more.
On State Farm’s Better Business Bureau profile, common complaints cite issues with billing and discounts; whereas, positive reviews note high levels of professionalism.
Pros & Cons of State Farm Homeowners Insurance
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of State Farm home insurance:
How Much Does State Farm Homeowners Insurance Cost?
The exact cost of State Farm homeowners insurance depends on a variety of factors, including your property value, house size, the materials your home was constructed with, where you live, the coverage limits you select, the insurance deductible you choose, and more.
To give you an example of what plan pricing might look like, we’ve included three sample quotes below for houses in three different cities and states. These insurance quotes are for a 30-year-old male with a clean claims history.
Sample State Farm Premiums
| City and State | Charlotte, North Carolina | Alexandria, Virginia | San Diego, California |
|---|---|---|---|
| House square footage | 1,500 | 1,750 | 1,200 |
| Year built | 1982 | 1947 | 1951 |
| Dwelling limit | $275,000 | $250,000 | $300,000 |
| Personal property coverage | 70% of dwelling | 75% of dwelling | 75% of dwelling |
| Liability coverage | $100,000 | $300,000 | $100,000 |
| All-peril deductible | $1,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 |
| Wind/hail deductible | N/A | $2,000 | N/A |
| Monthly premium | $148.50 | $113.00 | $88.75 |
Discounts Available
State Farm offers several discounts to help lower the cost of your home insurance coverage. Exact amounts and eligibility may vary depending on your home’s details and location, but here are some examples of possible savings opportunities:
- Multi-policy discount: State Farm has one of the best savings opportunities for homeowners who also have auto insurance with the company. The amount varies depending on your home and location, but you could save hundreds of dollars per year with a home and auto bundle.
- Home alert protection discount: Having a smoke detector, fire alarm, home security system, or fire extinguisher in the home can help lower your premium.
- Claims-free history: If you haven’t filed any recent claims, you could qualify for extra savings on your premium.
- Roofing discounts: If your roof is made of certain materials, you could qualify for premium credits on your State Farm home insurance policy. This options is only available to homeowners in the following 26 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
- Higher deductibles: You can also lower your premiums by selecting higher deductibles. However, this could result in more out-of-pocket expenses during a claim, so we recommend finding the right balance between a lower premium and higher deductible on your policy.
State Farm Homeowners Insurance Coverage
State Farm offers industry-standard coverage in addition to several types of optional coverage to round out your homeowners insurance plan.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Dwelling + dwelling extension | Covers your home’s structure, both interior and exterior, as well as detached structures like garage or shed |
| Personal property | Covers personal property inside and outside the home in case of covered loss, including furniture, clothes, and electronics |
| Loss-of-use/Additional living expenses | Covers costs associated with temporarily living outside of your home if it is untenable due to covered damage or destruction, including hotel expenses and meals out |
| Personal liability | Covers legal and medical bills if you are sued for injury or personal property damage to a guest while they are on your property |
| Medical payments coverage | Covers the medical expenses of a guest who is injured at your home, regardless of fault |
State Farm Additional Coverage
State Farm also offers a wide range of additional coverage.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Full replacement cost | Pays for the cost to rebuild your home at current prices, which may be greater than the home’s value |
| Umbrella coverage | Supplements liability coverage if the covered loss’ cost exceeds the limit of the underlying policy |
| Energy efficiency upgrade | Pays to replace a damaged or destroyed appliance with a more energy-efficient alternative |
| Home systems | Pays to repair or replace permanently installed systems (air conditioning, water heater, etc.) post-failure |
| Water backup and sump pump | Pays for damage caused by a drain backup or a failed sump pump |
| Service line | Pays to repair or replace underground electrical, water, sewer, and data lines |
| Off-premises structures | Provides coverage for buildings you own that are not on your property |
| Depreciated loss | Pays for repair or replacement of damaged property, minus depreciation, at the time of loss (excluding specific items) |
| Personal injury liability | Increases personal liability coverage to protect against lawsuits from injuries to others |
| Cyber event, identity restoration, and fraud loss | Provides coverage for legal fees and lost income from fraud, identity theft, or cyberattack |
| Loss assessment | Pays for amount assessed for HOA fees or repairs |
State Farm State Availability
Unlike many other top players in the industry, State Farm home insurance is available in all 50 states and is an ideal provider for homeowners who want to keep their insurer when moving. It also makes it a perfect option for those who want the same provider for both auto insurance and homeowners insurance.
Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
In addition to being one of the best insurers nationwide, we found it to be one of the best home insurance companies, specifically in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, and Virginia.
Reviews of State Farm Homeowners Insurance
State Farm is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau but holds a B- rating from the organization. Its profile notes just over 1 out of 5 stars from customer ratings*. Here’s what some real customers had to say about their experience with State Farm.
Toni S. said:
“This is the best insurance company I have ever dealt with. I am so happy with the services they provide. They are always happy to answer any questions I have and they are always there to guide me in the right direction.”
Marylin P. said:
“2 major claims in last 11 years. Agent, claims adjuster and claims liaison were amazing. Settled in less than 48 hrs and consistently guided us to protect our own interest. No problem contacting any of them.”
Julie S. said:
“It is absolutely disgusting that being a customer with multiple policies with State Farm for over 20 years means absolutely NOTHING to this company. You have basically stolen thousands and thousands of dollars from us over these 20 years, that you NEVER had to pay out until 3 years ago when I had my very first accident. And now you are considering NOT renewing my policy next year because of this. Horrible!”
*BBB information accurate as of August 2022
Our Conclusion
State Farm has a solid reputation and industry-best financial backing as the largest home insurance provider in the country, covering nearly one in five Americans’ homes. The insurance provider offers all basic coverage, in addition to optional coverage for energy efficiency upgrades, water backup, identity theft, and more.
The downside to State Farm depends on where you live. In general, many discounts are available to State Farm home insurance policyholders. However, if you live in New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, or Pennsylvania, the discounts might be more limited.
We gave State Farm a score of 96.60 out of 100.
To ensure you find the right provider for your needs, we recommend getting quotes from multiple home insurance companies that serve your area by calling 855-948-5219 or entering your zip code in the tool below:
State Farm Homeowners Insurance vs The Competition
See how State Farm stacks up against some of the top Home Insurance providers.
*Lemonade home insurance is not available in AK, AL, AR, DE, FL, HI, ID, KS, KY, LA, ME, MN, MY, NE, NH, NM, NC, ND, RI, SC, SD, UT, VT, WA, WV
For more in-depth comparisons, refer to the following resources:
- State Farm vs. Allstate Home Insurance
- State Farm vs. Progressive Home Insurance
- State Farm vs. Liberty Mutual Home Insurance
- State Farm vs. USAA Home Insurance
- State Farm vs. Farmers Home Insurance
Company Information
- Company name: State Farm
- Company type: Public
- CEO: Michael L. Tipsord
- Year founded: 1922
- Headquarters: 1 State Farm Plz, Bloomington, IL 61701
- State availability: 50
- BBB rating: A+
Other Homeowners Insurance Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
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.