You have bragging rights if you’re an Ohioan — your state is home to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame and the Football Hall of Fame. You can also do a happy dance because your state is almost famous for saving money on home insurance.
We’ve rounded up the 4 best Ohio home insurance companies to help you make wise choices and save time before you go on your next adventure in the Buckeye State.
Best Home Insurance in Ohio
- Allstate: Best Overall
- Progressive: Cheapest Ohio Home Insurance
- Nationwide: Best for Discounts
Homeowners Insurance in Ohio Overview
Ohio residents live through heavy snow, freezing rain and ice storms. You’ll need a solid, affordable homeowners insurance policy to help with big tree limbs that could fall on your roof and water main breaks that might flood your basement.
Whether you’re searching for a new policy to replace the one you have or want to initiate a brand-new policy, here are some things you should know about homeowner insurance in Ohio.
Average Annual Homeowners Insurance Premium in Ohio
Ohio’s annual premiums for homeowners insurance are on the lower side — on average, they’re $819 per year when compared to the nationwide average of $1,173. Your policy rate can vary quite a bit, depending on your home’s size, your assets and your address. You can offset rates by using the discounts many carriers offer. Ask your agent about these discounts that could apply to you:
- Senior discounts: You could qualify for a senior or mature discount if you or your spouse is at least 55. Some insurers offer as much as 20% off your premium.
- Military and veterans: Are you an active duty or military veteran? You can get 5% off with some insurance carriers.
- Burglar/fire alarm: Installing a home security system helps you save money on your annual insurance premium. To get this 15% to 20% discount, you must provide a current alarm certificate from the monitoring company that’s dated within the past year. You could save even more money if you have fire sprinklers.
- Insurance score: An insurance score is a score calculated from information on your credit report. A higher-than-average insurance score can earn you a discount. Ask your agent to check your insurance score to discover how much you can save.
- Loyalty discounts: You can knock 5% off your premiums if you stay with some home insurance carriers for at least 3 to 5 years. Remain a policyholder for 6 years or longer to get a 10% discount.
How are Homeownersowners Insurance Rates Determined?
Your insurance company can base your insurance rates on how likely you are to file a claim. You’ll also have higher insurance premiums if your insurance carrier deems you a higher risk. Carriers determine your premiums by the level of coverage you want, the location of your home, its square footage, type of construction and its age.
Build costs and the likelihood of a disaster like a hurricane in your area also will have an effect on your premium. Your deductible, the local crime rate and your insurance score also factor into your rate.
Homeowners Insurance Coverage Explained
Homeowners insurance is made up of coverages that may help repair or replace your home and personal belongings if they are damaged by theft, fire, flooding or other disasters. The policies also cover any damage you may cause to another person’s property or someone is injured at your home.
Homeowners insurance isn’t required by law but lenders normally require it to protect their investment if your home has a mortgage. Even if you don’t have a mortgage, homeowners insurance is a wise investment because it protects your financial interests in a number of ways. It will repair your home, yard and other structures on your property after unfortunate incidents.
It also pays to repair or replace your personal belongings — and not just for belongings in your home. Let’s say you’re staying at a hotel and your 4-carat diamond ring comes up missing from the nightstand. Your policy can pay to replace it. Or maybe you have a fire and can’t live in your house for an extended period of time. Homeowners insurance will pay for you to rent an apartment or live in a hotel while repairs are being made.
Your homeowners insurance may also pay out if someone gets hurt in your yard or if your dog nips a small neighbor child.
Inclement Weather and Nature-Related Risks in Ohio
You might be at risk of experiencing flood damage if you live in Ohio. Ohio has more than 4,000 square miles of water and is bordered by Lake Erie and the Ohio River. It's estimated that 98% of Ohio's counties could be impacted by damaging floodwaters, including counties that contain the state's biggest cities. Normal homeowners policies do not cover flood damage.
Flood risk adds to your annual home insurance costs. You may purchase a federal policy from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The average NFIP flood insurance policy could cost you about $1,050, compared to $700 nationally.
Tornadoes also pose a huge risk in the Buckeye State. More than 1,000 tornadoes have hit Ohio since 1950. As recently as May 2019, 18 tornadoes hit Dayton, one of Ohio's largest cities, in a single evening. The storm caused more than $1 billion in damages and many homes were destroyed.
While floods and tornadoes pose the biggest weather threats in Ohio, the Buckeye State also has severe winter storms that lead to flooding and expensive recovery. But what may be surprising about Ohio’s hazardous weather is the threat of earthquakes.
Northeast Ohio, east of Cleveland, has experienced active earthquakes in recent years. A large-scale regional earthquake is a threat because of the New Madrid, Missouri fault line that runs through the state — it could cause significant damage to portions of Ohio’s southwestern region.
Most Affordable Cities for Homeowners Insurance in Ohio
Living in one of these Ohio cities means you’ll enjoy some of the most affordable home insurance rates in the Buckeye State:
- Wadsworth – $685
- Hinckley – $691
- Kirtland Hills – $694
- Avon – $696
Most Expensive Cities for Homeowners Insurance in Ohio
You’ll pay the highest home insurance rates in the state if you live in one of these cities:
- Stout – $1,266
- Otway – $1,253
- Waterloo – $1,242
- McDermott – $1,236
Best Homeowners Insurance Providers in Ohio
We reviewed dozens of the best home insurance providers in Ohio and these 4 rose to the top: Allstate, Progressive, the Cincinnati Insurance Co. and Nationwide. Here’s why we teased these providers out as the top performers.
- No Recent Claims
1. Best Overall: Allstate
Allstate is our first choice in Ohio because it offers low rates on home insurance and lots of options for discounts.
The carrier has an edge over its competition with its online resources and tools. Allstate can give you standard coverage on your ranch, condo or older home as well as lots of choices for add-on coverage to protect and replace the items that are most valuable to you.
Its additional coverage will repair or replace your musical instruments, expensive sports equipment, business property and electronic data. You can also customize your protection with options like flood coverage and identity theft.
2. Cheapest Homeowners Insurance in Ohio: Progressive
You’ll get some of the lowest homeowner insurance policy premiums in Ohio with Progressive on your side. You can also look forward to solid coverage options for tailoring your policy. Progressive offers Guaranteed Replacement Cost and its Inflation Guard Endorsement automatically adjusts your home insurance limits so it covers 80% or more of your home’s replacement cost.
- Access to vetted companies
Progressive’s low-cost policies mean you can cover valuables normally not covered by a standard policy, and you can increase coverage for identity theft and credit card fraud-related expenses.
Progressive offers some common discounts but it misses some price breaks like discounts for new and recently renovated homes. Shop elsewhere if these extra discounts are important to you.
3. Best for Discounts: Nationwide
Nationwide is a popular Ohio homeowners insurance carrier because it consistently offers affordable and reliable coverage.
- Customizable policies
A standard Nationwide homeowners policy protects your home, contents, other structures and personal property, and you can add on coverage such as Nationwide’s Brand New Belongings option. You can replace damaged or destroyed items at no additional cost to you.
What may be most impressive is the array of discounts the company offers. You can save up to 30% based on your home’s age and 20% for bundling policies. You’ll save another 15% if you’re 60 or older and another 5% if you’re married.
Get the Best Homeowners Insurance in the Buckeye State
A good homeowners insurance policy protects everything that matters to you most. It’s important to know every aspect of your coverage — what it covers and what it doesn’t — so you’re never surprised by a home disaster. Be sure you understand your deductible and all aspects of homeowners insurance. You’ll be glad you took the time to learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Q: If I drop my computer, will home insurance cover the cost of replacement?
Home insurance policies usually cover personal property for a specific list of risks, called named perils. These perils might include fire, theft, burst pipes, and more, but dropping your laptop or TV or spilling soda on your new game console isn’t covered. See the best home insurance providers for a custom quote.
2) Q: How long will it take for my homeowners insurance claim to be processed?
It depends on the company, but you can expect an initial response between 24 and 48 hours.
3) Q: What does home insurance cover?
Most modern home insurance policies cover your home for nearly all risks. However, every policy has exclusions, among which you’ll find things like neglect, wear and tear, and ordinance or law. Land movement, including earthquakes, and floods are excluded as well but can be insured with a separate policy. Personal property and liability coverage is also part of most home insurance policies. Get the best policy quote here.