Best Home Insurance for Senior Citizens

If you're an older homeowner and looking to find the best insurance policy for your home, many home insurance providers have offerings geared toward you. Between specific discounts for senior citizens and protection plans that help with identity theft or fraud, there are many benefits out there to help keep your home safe in your golden years.

Best home insurance companies for seniors

When looking at your options for a home insurance policy as a senior, a key factor to look at is an insurer's track record of fulfilling homeowners insurance claims. While policy cost, discounts and coverage offerings are all important factors when buying a policy, the provider's ability to pay out on your claim when you file for a covered problem is going to be where it all comes together.

Below is a table showing the top 10 companies in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study. The study rates insurance providers' capability in regard to:

• Customer interactions
• Policy offerings
• Policy information
• Billing
• Claims

Hartford

The AARP home insurance program through Hartford provides credit on your home insurance premium if you're either retired or if you work fewer than 24 hours a week. You can save up to 20% on your home insurance if you bundle your auto and home policies with Hartford, too. Hartford also has a high customer satisfaction rating. It earned a score of 839 out of 1,000 in J.D. Power's latest home insurance study, which is the third-highest score in the study.

Chubb

If you have a high-end home, Chubb is the best choice for insuring it. Chubb's Masterpiece coverage includes the following:

• Extended replacement cost coverage to rebuild your home after a total loss, even if the cost exceeds your policy limit.
• Cash payout if you decide not to rebuild your home.
• Complimentary home appraisals.

Chubb also offers affordable rates at an average annual rate of $1,615. However, Chubb has a low customer satisfaction rating of 809 in J.D. Power's 2022 home insurance study.

Is home insurance more expensive for seniors?

The average cost of home insurance in the U.S. is $159 a month. Your age may affect your home insurance rate, however there are other factors that will have a more notable impact on your final quote. These factors include:

• Construction materials used
• Age of the home
• Your ZIP code
• Personal claim history

Best home insurance discounts and benefits for seniors

Many homeowners insurance providers have discounts and policy offerings for senior citizens. Comparing home insurance quotes from multiple insurers allows you the chance to compare different coverages and discounts. They include:

Retiree discounts and credits

It is not uncommon for a home insurance company to offer a discounted premium for retired homeowners. Discounts on insurance policies are often connected to lower risks. Retirees tend to stay home more. This means less chance of a claim filed for an issue, such as a fire or leak that can be spotted quickly.

Loyalty discounts

Many insurance companies offer loyalty discounts if you continue to be a customer for at least a certain amount of time. With Allstate, you can get a loyalty discount of up to 10%, which remains as long as you carry your policy.

Identity theft and fraud protection

Identity theft is mostly aimed at senior citizens, being the most common targets of telephone and internet scams. Many home insurance companies offer identity theft and fraud protection that can help cover the costs associated with being a victim of fraud. This includes:

• Identity and credit score repair costs
• ID document replacement
• Notary and certified mail fee associated with credit repair
• Administrative or legal fees

Recommended home insurance coverage for seniors

Especially if your home is your retirement investment, getting the right home insurance limits is important. There are three main coverage types in a homeowners insurance policy seniors should know about:

Dwelling

Your dwelling coverage takes care of repairs to or the replacement of your home if it is damaged or destroyed. For that reason, it is important that you have an accurate value for your home's replacement cost. This is the cost to totally rebuild your home. If the rebuild of your home costs more than the replacement cost value of your policy, the difference comes out of your pocket.

Personal property

You can acquire many belongings during the course of your life, and the actual value of all of your personal property may not be accurately reflected in your home insurance policy unless you take precautions. In order to make sure your personal property coverage is enough to cover the full replacement of your belongings in the event of a fire or other peril, make an inventory list. This list should include the make, model and replacement cost of these items.

Liability

If someone is injured on your property, or if you are responsible for damaging someone else's property, liability coverage helps with the cost associated with injuries or damage repairs. Liability usually is set at a minimum of $100,000. This may seem like a considerable amount, but a prolonged hospital stay or court case can quickly eat through that limit, leaving you to cover any other costs out of pocket. To avoid that, we recommend increasing your liability limit to at least $300,000.

Homeowners insurance riders

If you own valuable art and/or jewelry, talk with your home insurer to make sure they are properly covered. Sometimes valuables are covered at specific, lower limits than other items under standard personal property coverage. Home insurance companies usually offer riders to make sure your valuables are properly covered.

A rider is an optional add-on that helps you insure your valuables for their full value instead of the limit set by your standard home insurance policy. Below are belongings that you may want to take extra care to protect.

• Jewelry, watches and furs
• Antiques and art
• Firearms
• Instruments
• Water craft
• Valuable rugs
• Camera equipment
• Stamp collections or rare coins

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