Compare Homeowners Insurance In Iowa
The Hawkeye State is the birthplace of President Herbert Hoover and five Nobel Prize winners. However, America’s largest corn producer is also the home of some significant homeowners insurance hazards.
Average Iowa Homeowners Insurance Rates
How much is home insurance in Iowa? Homeowners insurance rates in Iowa are higher than the rest of the US. The average cost of home insurance in the state of Iowa was $919. That's much lower than the national average of $1,173. Only 14 states have lower average home insurance rates than Iowa.
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa Annual Average | $832 | $853 | $919 |
| Iowa Price Per Month | $69 | $71 | $76 |
| US Annual Average | $1,096 | $1,132 | $1,173 |
| US Cost Per Month | $91 | $94 | $98 |
| National Rank | 40 | 40 | 37 |
| Source: https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-homeowners-and-renters-insurance | |||
The graph below shows the change in average Iowa home insurance rates from 2011 to 2015, the most recent year the data is available. According to the III, Iowa homeowners insurance rates increased from $713 in 2011 to $919 in 2015, a jump of $206 dollars, or 28.89 percent.
Choosing a homeowners insurance company in Iowa should be easier. Actually, it’s already easy. The key to finding the best homeowners rates is to get a homeowners insurance quote comparison in Iowa from multiple companies.
Best Iowa Home Insurance Companies
Last year, these were the 10 most common home insurance companies reported by QuoteWizard users living in the state of Iowa. Out of the 7,768 Iowa homeowners that used QuoteWizard to request insurance quotes last year, 429 had no home insurance.
- Progressive
- Allstate
- American Family
- Farmers
- Nationwide
- Geico
- Liberty Mutual
- AAA
- Country Financial
- MetLife
Why contact every insurer in Iowa you want a homeowners quote from? You can just answer a few questions about your home and desired coverage, and get competing quotes. Save time and money with QuoteWizard.
Top 10 Iowa Home Insurance Company Market Share
| Rank | Company | Direct Premiums Written (in thousands) | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. | $480,45 | 8.0% |
| 2 | Iowa Farm Bureau Group | $358,282 | 6.0% |
| 3 | Ace American Insurance Co. | $265,315 | 4.4% |
| 4 | Progressive Group | $243,912 | 4.1% |
| 5 | EMC Insurance Co. | $197,596 | 3.3% |
| 6 | Farmers Mutual Insurance Group | $191,927 | 3.2% |
| 7 | Travelers Companies Inc. | $180,239 | 3.0% |
| 8 | American Family Insurance Group | $176,786 | 2.9% |
| 9 | QBE Insurance Group | $173,476 | 2.8% |
Financial Strength Ratings of Top Iowa Home Insurers
Source: A.M. Best (Ratings as of 8/23/2015)
- Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.: A+
- Iowa Farm Bureau Group: A
- Ace American Insurance Co.: A++
- Progressive Group: A+
- EMC Insurance Co.: A
- Farmers Mutual Insurance Group: A
- Travelers Companies Inc.: A++
- QBE Insurance Group: A
Iowa Property & Casualty* Insurance Company Market Share
| Rank | Company | Direct Premiums Written (in thousands) | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nationwide Mutual Group | $480,451 | 8.0% |
| 2 | Iowa Farm Bureau Group | $358,282 | 6.0% |
| 3 | ACE Limited Group | $265,315 | 4.4% |
| 4 | Progressive Group | $243,912 | 4.1% |
| 5 | EMC Insurance Co. | $197,596 | 3.3% |
| 6 | Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. | $191,927 | 3.2% |
| 7 | Travelers Companies Inc. | $180,239 | 3.0% |
| 8 | American Family Insurance Group | $176,786 | 2.9% |
| 9 | QBE Insurance Group | $173,476 | 2.9% |
| *Represents both home and auto insurance | |||
Home Insurance Rate Factors
Many different factors come into play when insurance companies calculate the cost of homeowners insurance. Some, like the age of your home, are within your control. Others, like crime rates or natural disasters, are beyond your control. Here are some of the factors that affect the cost of homeowners insurance in Iowa.
Average Home Listing Prices
Home prices can greatly affect the cost of insurance in any given state. A higher average home price generally means higher premiums in that state. For Iowa, the average listing price is $175,757 as of July 2015, much lower than the national average of $284,748.
Average Burglary Rates
Burglary is a serious and sometimes violent property crime. States with higher average burglary rates generally have higher average home insurance premiums. That's because the likelihood that someone will need to file a claim is higher. In 2013, Iowa’s average burglary rate was 513.5 per 100,000 people. That's a bit lower than the national average of 610.0 per 100,000.
States with more law enforcement per capita tend to be safer than states with fewer policemen and women. In Iowa, there are 29.8 law enforcement personnel per 100,000 total citizens, which is just slightly lower than the national median of 32 per 100,000.
Home Insurance Hazards
Iowa, like much of the Midwest, is known for extreme weather. The largely humid climate gives way to hot and humid summers, cold, snowy winters, and thunderstorms in the spring—all of which can be homeowners insurance hazards.
Cold winters: Iowa’s winters are stereotypically cold. As a state that experiences all four seasons, winter generally begins in December and lasts until March. January, the coldest month of the year, sees temperatures far below freezing. The average January high is 29.5 degrees, and the average low is 11 degrees. This extreme cold is coupled with heavy snowfall. Iowa winters average 33 inches of snow annually, and snow can fall as late as April. Temperature and snowfall are somewhat uniform throughout Iowa, although further north, it tends to be colder.
A cold and snowy winter can be an insurance hazard for a number of reasons. When temperatures drop, people crank the furnace, causing a spike in energy costs and trapping in moisture that may lead to mold development. In freezing temperatures, pipes can crack and leak due to extreme cold.
Thunderstorms: The spring and summer experience extreme weather. It's caused by the same humid climate that produces heavy snow in the winter and humidity levels around 75% in the summer. Iowa averages 50 days per year of thunderstorms, 85% of which occur between April and June. The mostly flat terrain allows these destructive storms to spread quickly. But western and northern parts of the state receive much less rain than the rest of the state. Southeast Iowa is the rainiest part, averaging about 39 inches of rain per year. But northwest Iowa only averages about 26 inches of rain annually.
Heavy spring rains with lightning can pose a serious safety hazard, and can cause hail, wildfire, flash floods, and even tornadoes. Floods are extremely dangerous, and occur every few years. Floods are most common in June, as it is the rainiest month. They are also probable in March, as the snow melts at the end of winter. While standard home insurance policies cover damage from severe thunderstorms, the only way to obtain flood insurance is through the National Flood Insurance Program. Learn more about the NFIP here.
Tornadoes: Tornadoes are the most violent kind of storm, involving high winds that can cause considerable damage to property. They often accompany other storms, usually occurring alongside thunderstorms that can bring about heavy rain, strong winds, lightning, hail, and floods. Tornadoes are highly localized and extremely destructive. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Iowa averages 35 tornadoes per year. The National Weather Service ranked Iowa as the #7 most tornado-prone state in 2012.
Iowa Office of the Insurance Commissioner
- Website:
- Homepage
- Insurance Commissioner:
- Nick Gerhart
- Insurance Hotline:
- (515) 281 - 5705
- Office Hours:
- Monday - Friday
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
- File a Consumer Insurance Complaint
- Complaint Page
Sources:
- A.M. Best Insurance Carrier Ratings
- NAIC--Home Insurance Market Share in Iowa
- Average Home Insurance Rates in Iowa
- Average Home Listing Price in Iowa
- Most Tornado-Prone States
- Temperature and Precipitation Data: Iowa
- NOAA Iowa Climate Data
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