Let's cut to the facts about homeowners insurance shopping.
- Only some carriers have tech sophisticated enough to be in comparative raters.
- Those that aren’t are tech savvy enough are still great carriers but an agent is the only one that can quote them.
- Bundling is sometimes a great option but there isn’t a bundling rater that is consumer friendly that exists today. You have to quote auto and then home.
- Step 1 – Car insurance is where most savings for the average consumer comes from, so first quote car insurance to see if you can find savings or are close to what you pay today. Again, not all carriers allow for consumers to quote so if you don’t see a savings through the comparative raters, that doesn’t mean that one of our independent agents can’t find you savings.
- Step 2 – If you are able to find savings or the car insurance quote is close to what you pay today, then call our call center 1-877-865-2111 (Se Habla Español) to have an agent who specializes in homeowners in your state find the best combo deal for you.
Why home insurance comparison shopping is not as simple as car insurance comparison shopping
For auto insurance, the main factors which develop price are
- The driver (your driving record, credit score, etc.)
- The area you live (some states have less competitive markets, more or less theft, weather, etc.)
- The vehicle itself (cost to repair, horsepower, etc.)
- Unlike cars, homes are stationary and therefore the ratings are more around the geographic risk in your area (weather, earthquake, etc.)
- Homes appreciate in value where most cars depreciate in value
- Homes are built to be unique unlike autos which are produced in mass and thus build and repair costs can vary
- Because homes are built to be unique, the quote applications for some carriers can be long and tedious as they as many, many questions.
What is the process for comparing Home Insurance?
Whether you go at it alone using our comparative website or call our call center to speak with a licensed independent insurance agent, you’ll need the following to get started.
Our tech can pull lots of public information to speed up the process of quoting. All you need is your name, contact info, the number of people in the household.
Our tech can pull a bunch of data from public records like building permits but you’ll need to be ready to provide additional info about your house like
- Year built
- Square footage
- Number of stories and bathrooms
- Attached or detached garage and additional buildings on property
- Roof and exterior wall materials including the age of the roof
- Presence of wood fireplaces and stoves
- Pet information (some carriers have dog bread exclusions)
Estimate of how long you’ve been insured, how long you’ve been with your current insurance carrier
To get an accurate insurance quote, you’ll need to provide claim history for the last 5 years. Yes, even the claims where you weren’t at fault are needed.
What is covered by Home Insurance?
Homeowners policies are typically broken down into the following sections
The house and any attached structures such as a garage
Any stand alone structures such as a carport or shed that isn’t attached to the home
This coverage covers the repair or replacement of belongings or property that is stolen or damaged from a covered event
This coverage helps cover the additional cost you incur due to your house no being livable due to a covered loss
Coverage for costs of another party’s injuries on the insured party’s property (or offsite) as well as claims against an insured for property damage
This coverage is for medical costs incurred on the property by those not listed as residents of the household, regardless of fault.
What are the common limits by coverage for Home Insurance?
Varies based on many factors but should be the value of the house to rebuild
10% of Dwelling Coverage
50% of Dwelling Coverage Limit but if you have really nice things in a less expensive house, you might want to have more for this coverge
20% of Dwelling Coverage Limit
Varies but if you do alot of entertaining, a house that isn’t kept up, pool, trampoline, or other more risk type things you might want higher coverages here. Also a personal umbrella is nice for added protection.
Some things to watch out for with Home Insurance
Make sure you are aware of the base deductible and the wind/hail deductible as sometimes they are different. The wind/hail deductible can sometimes be bought down to reasonable levels with additional premium paid
Some of the carriers with cheaper prices have those lower prices due to offering Actual Cash Value on the roof which means that if your roof is 15 years old and the life expectancy of the roof is 30 years, the insurance company will only pay you 50% of the cost to replace the roof if it is ruined due to hail, wind, etc.
We believe that all consumers should get replacement cost on the roof to better protect you against large outlays of cash in the event of hailstorms, tornados, etc.
- Named Peril – All the hazards and threats to your property that will be covered will be explicitly listed on your policy.
- Open Peril – All the hazards that are not covered will be listed. This is a much broader form of coverage.
If you can afford it, we suggest an Open Peril policy that you are comfortable with what is listed that isn’t covered.
Your next question is probably “Which coverage/policy types are Open Peril?”
- HO-3 policies are open peril on Property coverage only
- HO-5 policies are open peril on property and personal property
An HO-2 policy is a basic form of homeowners insurance. It only covers personal property and insured structures in the event of named perils, including the following:
- Fire
- Lightning
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Windstorms and hail
- Damage caused by vehicles
- Damage from aircraft
- Weight of ice, snow and sleet
- Freezing of household systems
- Riots
- Explosions
- Falling objects
- Volcanic eruptions
- Water damage: overflow or discharge
- Damage from artificially-generated electrical current
- Sudden tearing, cracking or bulging of home
The HO-3 policy type is the most common in the U.S., covering a dwelling and other structures on an open-peril home insurance policy and the contents of the property on named peril coverage.
The next tier of home insurance coverage is HO-5. This coverage level includes coverage of both dwellings and personal property on an open-peril basis. Most insurance companies won’t insure against natural disasters like flooding, earthquakes, and landslides, and also occurrences of mold, infestations, wear-and-tear, nuclear hazards or government actions, regardless of homeowners insurance policy type. Depending on where you live, coverage against wildfires may also be restricted.
There are always exclusions in what homeowners insurance will cover. Make sure to understand the exclusions as each carrier’s policy can be different.
Utilize our call center for homeowners as our agents are familiar with many of the carriers and can speed up the process for you. 1-877-865-2111 (Se Habla Español)
What are some things home insurance may cover that you might not expect
Homeowners insurance may cover unexpected things in addition to the above perils. Some examples are
- Homeowners insurance follows you even while you’re not at home: as an example, if you lose your luggage while traveling, your personal property coverage can help replace your lost items.
- Home insurance may cover the belongings of a child away at college (typically only if they reside in on-campus housing).
- Home insurance may cover your parents’ belongings if they depend on you while living in a nursing home or assisted living facility.
- Home insurance may include property and liability coverage for tombstones or cemetery plots of loved ones.
- Home insurance may include coverage for trees, plants and shrubs in your garden.
It is all dependent on the policy you purchase.
What are some things home insurance probably doesn't cover
The following perils are commonly excluded from home insurance and are not covered, but could be amended by adding a policy endorsement which comes at an additional cost.
- Freezing pipes and systems in vacant dwellings
- Damage to foundations or pavements from ice and water weight
- Theft from a dwelling under construction
- Vandalism to vacant dwellings
- Latent defects, corrosion, industrial smoke, pollution
- Settling, wear and tear
- Pets, other animals and pests
- Weather conditions that aggravate other excluded causes of loss
- Government and association actions
- Defective construction, design and maintenance
Whether you have an open peril or named peril policy, damage from the below are never covered by homeowners insurance:
- Enforcement of building codes and similar laws
- Earthquakes*
- Flooding*
- Power failures
- Neglect (failure to take reasonable steps to protect your property)
- War
- Nuclear hazard
- Intentional acts
*We have options for these natural disasters coverages which are sold separately.
Using insurance comparison sites like Brigade Insurance
A large benefit of using online insurance comparison sites is to avoid the painful task of going through the quoting process for many different companies and having each of them reach out to you.
Before you use other sites, definitely be careful. Many of the other and more popular sites are lead aggregators that sell your data to insurance companies who contact you directly, relentlessly in pursuit of your business.
Brigade Insurance is not a lead aggregator but a marketplace with partnerships that make quoting and buying insurance easy. We are effectively a 50 state independent agency with access to over 50 carriers to server your needs. By working with us, you avoid spam emails, texts and phone calls, from many sources and instead receive support to help you along your shopping and buying experience. What can we say, we are just nice people. As a nationwide (50 states) Independent agency, we are licensed and authorized to write policies for multiple insurance companies.
With our comparison tool can you fill out 1 quote form to get multiple quotes — Our team of 200+ independent insurance agents in our USA based call center partner with over 50 partnerships across the US.
Together, we can help you compare options for balancing price and how much car insurance coverage you want..
Brigade Insurance isn't like the rest
Brigade Insurance does not partner with any lead generators. We never sell your information.
We earn money by helping you get insured.
You can start the home insurance shopping process online or reach out by phone 1-877-865-2111 (Se Habla Español) to speak to one of our licensed agents as our in-house agency is licensed to write policies for many of the top insurance companies.