Nationwide offers the cheapest homeowners insurance in Houston, with rates averaging $110 a month. Price is important, but there are additional factors to consider when it comes to protecting your investment in your home, including factors that may be unique to you. Here’s the information you need to find the best home insurance in Houston for your specific needs.
In this article
What is the average cost of home insurance in Houston?
The average cost of home insurance in Houston is $270 a month, which is 11% less than the statewide average of $302 a month.
Insurance companies review a number of factors about you and your home to determine your rate. The most common include:
- The age, location and construction style of your home
- The estimated cost of rebuilding your home
- The presence of unique risk factors, such as a pool, trampoline or exotic pets
- Your credit-based insurance score and insurance claims history
- Recent insurance claims filed by the occupants of a home you plan to buy
- The number and rate of any discounts you qualify to receive
Since insurance companies tend to place different weights on each of these factors and offer different discounts, you may qualify for a considerably lower rate with one company than you do with others.
Learn more about the cost factors insurance companies analyze to determine your rate.
How can I save on home insurance in Houston?
Comparing quotes from multiple companies, bundling your home and car insurance with the same company, making sure you receive all the discounts you are eligible to receive and choosing high deductibles are among the ways to save money on home insurance.
Get free home insurance quotes from top Houston companies
Which companies offer the cheapest home insurance in Houston?
Our analysis of home insurance quotes from Houston’s 10 largest home insurance companies shows that Nationwide offers the city’s cheapest average rate, $110 a month. The next cheapest rates are available from Farmers, $146 a month, and Progressive, $147.
| Company | Average annual rate | Average monthly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | $1,320 | $110 |
| Famers | $1,750 | $146 |
| Progressive | $1,766 | $147 |
| Texas Farm Bureau | $2,503 | $209 |
| Chubb | $3,143 | $262 |
| City average | $3,236 | $270 |
| Amica Mutual | $3,482 | $290 |
| Allstate | $4,397 | $366 |
| UPC | $4,494 | $375 |
| State Farm | $4,531 | $378 |
| Travelers | $4,972 | $414 |
| Note: Average rates are based on non-binding estimates provided by Quadrant Information Services. Your rates may vary. | ||
Houston’s best home insurance companies
Nationwide offers the best combination of rates and product offerings among Houston’s insurance companies. Amica Mutual and Chubb have the best customer service ratings, and Chubb is best for high-value homes.
Best overall home insurance company: Nationwide
In addition to charging considerably lower rates than its competitors, Nationwide’s product offerings help make it the best overall home insurance company in Houston.
With Nationwide, you can choose from a selection of endorsements to customize upgrades to your homeowners coverage. For example, Nationwide’s Brand New Belongings endorsement upgrades the coverage on eligible belongings to their replacement cost value, which is the price of new items with no deduction for depreciation.
Learn more about replacement cost coverage for your personal property.
Nationwide also offers opportunities for one-stop insurance shopping. Not only can you bundle your home and auto insurance with Nationwide, and receive a discount in the process, you can also purchase flood insurance, earthquake endorsements and even pet health insurance from a Nationwide insurance agent.
Best customer service scores: Amica Mutual and Chubb
Among Houston’s leading home insurance companies, Amica Mutual has the highest overall satisfaction score from J.D. Power, while Chubb has the best rating on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Complaint Index.
J.D. Power’s overall satisfaction index rankings are based on customer surveys rating insurance companies on interaction, policy offerings, price, billing process, policy information and claims.
Amica Mutual’s score of 854 on a 1,000-point scale ranks highest among all qualifying insurance companies nationwide. The next highest ranking companies serving Houston include State Farm, 835, and Allstate, 829.
Texas Farm Bureau and UPC are not included in J.D. Power’s rankings.
The NAIC Complaint Index compares insurance companies by confirmed complaints, which is a complaint that leads to a finding of fault by the insurance commissioner in the state in which it was filed.
The National Complaint Index is 1.0. A 2.0 Complaint Index rating indicates a company has twice as many confirmed complaints as expected for a company of its size, while a 0.5 rating reflects half as many.
Among the companies serving Houston, Chubb had the lowest possible Complaint Index rating, a perfect 0.0, followed by Texas Farm Bureau, 0.02, and Farmers, 0.04.
| Company | Overall satisfaction index ranking | Complaint Index |
|---|---|---|
| Allstate | 829 | 1.23 |
| Amica Mutual | 854 | 0.12 |
| Chubb | 801 | 0.0 |
| Famers | 813 | 0.04 |
| Nationwide | 812 | 0.59 |
| Progressive | 821 | 0.16 |
| State Farm | 835 | 0.08 |
| Texas Farm Bureau | Not included | 0.02 |
| Travelers | 800 | 0.13 |
| UPC | Not included | 10.59 |
| Segment average/National Complaint Index | 825 | 1.0 |
| Sources: J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Home insurance Study, National Association of Insurance Commissioners (2021 data) | ||
Best for high value-homes: Chubb
Chubb’s Masterpiece homeowners insurance package caters to customers with high-value homes by providing a raft of features that many other companies only offer by endorsement.
For example, Chubb promises to pay the entire cost of rebuilding a Masterpiece policyholder’s home after a total covered loss, even if the cost of doing so exceeds the policy’s dwelling coverage limits. Your home’s replacement cost value is the estimated price of rebuilding your home after a total loss, which is different from its market value.
Masterpiece customers can typically receive complimentary home appraisals. Chubb's consultants are also available to provide advice on home security and fire prevention.
Home insurance for hurricanes, floods and windstorms in Houston
If you’re new to Houston or home ownership, you should know that standard homeowners insurance does not cover floods, including hurricane storm surges. In parts of the Houston area, standard homeowners insurance does not cover extreme winds.
Since the most severe damage from hurricanes are caused by flooding and windstorms, here’s a look at how home insurance can protect your home from these specific perils.
Flood insurance in Houston
Although standard homeowners insurance does not cover damage from floods of any type, you can purchase flood insurance separately to protect your home from this risk.
Most flood insurance is purchased through the government-backed National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), but certain private insurance companies also offer it.
The average cost of NFIP insurance in Houston is $57 a month. However, those in high-risk areas tend to pay more than those in low- and moderate-risk areas.
NFIP flood insurance can provide up to $250,000 in coverage for the structure of your home and up to $100,000 in contents coverage, but no loss of use, which covers temporary living expenses if your home is uninhabitable while undergoing repairs for flood damage.
Some private flood insurance companies offer higher limits than available from NFIP insurance and/or loss of use coverage. Some private companies offer excess flood insurance, which kicks in for claims that exceed the limits of an NFIP policy.
If you apply for a mortgage for a home in a high-risk flood zone, your lender is likely to require you to carry flood insurance. Considering the potential costs of flood damage, flood insurance is worth considering when you don’t have a mortgage or if your home is in a low- or moderate-risk area.
“A major flood occurs somewhere in Harris County about every two years,” the Harris County Flood Control District states on its website. The organization also notes that 68% of the structural damage caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 occurred outside of high-risk flood zones.
Windstorm insurance in Houston
In portions of Houston and Harris County nearest Galveston Bay, homeowners insurance excludes coverage for damage from wind and hail. In these areas, you have to buy windstorm insurance separately to protect your home from these perils.
In the rest of Harris County, which includes most of Houston, wind and hail typically are covered by standard homeowners insurance. However, you should check your quote when you shop to make sure.
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Frequently asked questions about home insurance in Houston
How much does home insurance cost in Houston?
The average cost of home insurance in Houston is $3,236 a year, or $270 a month.
How much is flood insurance in Houston?
The average cost of flood insurance in Houston is $683 a year, or $57 a month, for policies obtained through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Is home insurance or flood insurance required in Houston?
There is no legal mandate to purchase home insurance in Houston, but if you have a mortgage, your lender will require you to purchase it. If you have a mortgage on a home in a high-risk flood zone, your lender is also likely to require flood insurance.
Methodology
We obtained quotes for a standard HO-3 homeowners insurance policy on a typical home in every ZIP code in Houston. Unless otherwise noted, standard policies included the following limits and deductibles:
- Dwelling coverage: $275,000
- Other structures: $27,500
- Personal property: $137,500
- Loss of use: $55,000
- Liability: $100,000
- Medical payments: $5,000
Sources:
Home insurance by city
- Houston
- Dallas
- Austin
- San Antonio
- El Paso
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