Getting the right homeowners insurance at an affordable price can give you the peace of mind of knowing your home is protected. But finding the best insurance company for you is difficult, whether you’re purchasing your first home, switching companies to save money or just exploring your options.
We studied the landscape of homeowners insurance in New Jersey to help make the process easier. We considered the top companies in the state and rated them based on their affordability, customer satisfaction reviews, coverage and availability. These companies stood out to us as the best in New Jersey:
New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance (NJM) is our pick for the best homeowners insurance company in New Jersey because it offers low rates, great customer service and industry-standard coverage. NJM was founded in 1913 as a workers’ compensation insurance company and has grown to become the second-largest insurer of homes in New Jersey.
NJM’s average rate is $844 a year according to our research, which is a very affordable rate for New Jersey. Additionally, NJM only had one formal complaint filed against it in 2018, according to the NAIC’s database. That indicates a high overall level of customer satisfaction.
Customers can expect the coverage they would get with another company, but with more affordable premiums. NJM, like every company on our best list, covers your home, the other structures on your property and your belongings, and provides valuable liability and loss of use protection.
We recommend considering State Farm if you’re looking for the cheapest homeowners insurance. We found its average yearly premium was $773 in New Jersey, making it the most affordable company we saw in our research. State Farm is also the largest homeowners insurance company in New Jersey, meaning it will be an option for many people.
Where you live affects your rates, but State Farm remains affordable across the state relative to its competition. Here are State Farm’s average rates across the state.
Switching companies to find your best rate is a great way to save money on homeowners insurance. To give you more ideas, we wrote a complete guide for how to save on homeowners insurance.
Homeowners in New Jersey should consider Allstate for its cheap rates and best-in-class online resources. Our study found that Allstate’s average yearly rate was $825 a year, making it one of the cheapest we saw. You won’t have to sacrifice coverage for those cheap rates either, as Allstate offers industry-standard coverage.
For people who value a digital experience, Allstate’s online resources are some of the best. Customers can go online to get quotes, change their existing policy, pay their bill or file a claim. Allstate’s robust online resources make managing and understanding your policy easy and quick, skipping the step of getting in touch with an agent.
Travelers makes our list of the best home insurance companies in New Jersey because of its cheap rates and options to save even more with discounts. We found that an average Travelers home insurance policy costs $894 a year, which is 23% below the state average. However, Travelers has below-average customer satisfaction, according to J.D. Power’s 2019 home insurance study, with a 2/5 rating.
Travelers extends many discounts to its customers, meaning most people can find a few ways to save on their policies. Its discounts include savings for:
There is a mix of large, national insurance companies and smaller regional companies in New Jersey. Below are the most popular companies in the state, meaning you’ll likely have many of these companies as local options.
Company | Market share | J.D. Power customer satisfaction rating | NAIC Complaint Index (lower is better) | Average annual premium |
---|---|---|---|---|
State Farm | 11% | 4/5 | 0.19 | $773 |
NJM Insurance | 10% | — | 0.03 | $844 |
Allstate | 9% | 3/5 | 0.28 | $825 |
Liberty Mutual | 9% | 2/5 | 0.32 | $1,775 |
Chubb | 7% | 2/5 | 0.16 | $817 |
Travelers | 5% | 2/5 | 0.22 | $894 |
American Family | 5% | 3/5 | 0.62 | $2,161 |
USAA | 4% | 5/5 | 0.31 | $1,079 |
Plymouth Rock of New Jersey | 4% | — | 0.12 | $1,384 |
Note: Average rates are based on non-binding estimates provided by Quadrant Information Services. Your rates may vary. |
The average cost of homeowners insurance in New Jersey is $1,161 a year or $97 a month. That puts New Jersey’s average cost of home insurance at 4% below the U.S. average of $1,215 a year.
Average annual rate | Average monthly rate | |
---|---|---|
New Jersey | $1,161 | $97 |
U.S. | $1,215 | $101 |
Note: Average rates are based on non-binding estimates provided by Quadrant Information Services. Your rates may vary. |
The graph below shows how much rates can vary between top home insurance companies. We saw rates as cheap as $773 a year with State Farm and as high as $2,161 with American Family.
The average company rates from our research can help you understand the general trends in New Jersey, but to find your best rates, we recommend comparing multiple quotes.
New Jersey’s unique mixture of geographies means rates swing widely between counties. The general trend we found is that the counties along the Atlantic coast like Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic and Cape May have the most expensive rates.
In contrast with the coastal counties, the northern and northwestern counties of New Jersey enjoy the cheapest rates in the state. For example, the most populous county in the state, Bergen County, has some of the lowest average home insurance rates at $991 a year on average.
County | Average rate |
---|---|
Atlantic | $1,536 |
Bergen | $991 |
Burlington | $1,166 |
Camden | $1,201 |
Cape May | $1,658 |
Cumberland | $1,237 |
Essex | $1,131 |
Gloucester | $1,186 |
Hudson | $1,129 |
Hunterdon | $923 |
Mercer | $1,034 |
Middlesex | $1,049 |
Monmouth | $1,407 |
Morris | $919 |
Ocean | $1,543 |
Passaic | $1,046 |
Salem | $1,160 |
Somerset | $938 |
Sussex | $963 |
Union | $1,004 |
Warren | $919 |
Note: Average rates are based on non-binding estimates provided by Quadrant Information Services. Your rates may vary. |
We’ve analyzed tens of thousands of quotes in our studies of homeowners insurance for every state. Check out our national average cost of home insurance study to see how New Jersey compares with other states.
New Jersey’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean means it can experience devastating hurricanes. Hurricane Sandy alone damaged more than 346,000 homes in the state according to the New Jersey government. Homeowners insurance policies typically include some protection from hurricanes, but you may not be completely covered.
Hurricanes can threaten your home in a number of ways — high winds, rain and storm surge can cause structural damage and flooding. Homeowners insurance only covers some of this damage, however. For example, home insurance typically covers wind damage, but not flooding. We recommend every homeowner in New Jersey contact their insurance agent for details on their hurricane coverage.
With temperatures below freezing for long stretches during the winter months, homeowners in New Jersey have frozen pipes, snow accumulation and slippery walkways to worry about. Fortunately, homeowners insurance covers many of the dangers that cold winters bring.
For more information on what protection home insurance provides from winter weather perils, check out our comprehensive article on what homeowners insurance covers.
Home insurance does not cover flooding — for protection, you’ll have to purchase a separate flood insurance policy. Most homeowners find coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is a government-funded insurance program that underwrites flood insurance policies.
Flooding can cause serious damage: In 2012 alone, the year Hurricane Sandy hit, the NFIP paid out more than $3.6 billion in flood insurance claims. No matter where you live in the state, we recommend every homeowner in New Jersey purchase flood insurance.
Our study of homeowners insurance in New Jersey aggregated 1,089 quotes from the following 10 companies: Allstate, Chubb, Travelers, Plymouth Rock of New Jersey, Homesite (American Family), Liberty Mutual, NJM Insurance, New Jersey Skylands, State Farm and USAA.
We included every ZIP code in New Jersey in our analysis. The quotes we collected were for a sample home, which was based on the median value and home build year in the state — $356,411 and 1969, respectively.
We collected market, geographic and demographic data from S&P Global.
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