Best Home Insurance Rates In Ohio

Compare Homeowners Insurance In Ohio

Monday, December 30 2019 By Aaron Besson

Homeowners insurance in Ohio costs an average of $871 a year, according to our research. This is $344 below the national average of $1,215. To help you find the best homeowners insurance rate and get the coverage that's right for you, we studied Ohio's homeowners insurance market in-depth to compare rates, policy offerings and customer satisfaction. Here's what we found:

• Lowest premium: Allstate
• Runner-up for lowest rates: Farmers
• Most popular: State Farm
• Best claims service: Auto-Owners
• Ohio home insurance rates by city
• Ohio home insurance rates by county

How much does homeowners insurance cost in Ohio?

Homeowners insurance rates in Ohio have increased fairly slowly over the last few years. Ohio homeowners currently pay an average of $871 a year for insurance, or about $73 a month. As you can see, the rate of increase between 2016 and today is less than the increase between 2016 and 2015.

Homeowners insurance rates may vary between providers. We recommend that you compare rates before you buy homeowners insurance. Below, you will find out how rates from the biggest companies in Ohio compare.

Average yearly cost of homeowners insurance in Ohio

Average rates of home insurance in Ohio

Best homeowners insurance companies in Ohio

Allstate, Farmers, State Farm and Westfield rise to the top as our choices for the best homeowners insurance companies in Ohio. Here's why.

Allstate: lowest rates

Allstate homeowners insurance policyholders in Ohio pay an average of $752 yearly. This is almost 14% less than the average homeowners insurance in the state of $871.

J.D. Power awarded Allstate three out of five stars for claims service and settlement, as well as overall customer service satisfaction. Furthermore, Allstate owns almost 11% of the homeowners insurance market in Ohio, second only to State Farm.

In regards to Allstate's financial strength, A.M. Best gave the company an A+ for financial backing. S&P Global gave Allstate an A- rating and Moody's Investor Services awarded the insurer an Aa3 rating for financial backing strength. This shows an excellent balance between providing low rates and a strong capability to back claims.

Farmers: runner-up for lowest premiums

Although Allstate has the cheapest rates in Ohio, according to our research, Farmers isn't far behind, with an average premium of $778. And they're still well below the average rate in Ohio.

On top of cheap rates, Farmers offers some potential money-saving benefits. For instance, they won't raise your homeowners insurance rate on a claim if you are claim-free for five years or more. You can also earn $50 a year towards your deductible every year your policy is active.

Farmers received three out of five stars for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power's 2019 homeowners insurance study and 0.16 in the NAIC Complaint Index. The index measures the number of complaints an insurer receives compared to its size. The national complaint index is always 1.00, and a lower index value means better performance. This combination of low price, discounts and few complaints gives Farmers a strong footing in Ohio.

State Farm: most popular

State Farm, the biggest homeowners insurer in Ohio, has 20.9% of the market in the state, almost twice the market share of the second-highest, Allstate. Additionally, NAIC gave State Farm 0.2 on its complaint index, the lowest rating of the companies we studied in Ohio.

State Farm's popularity with Ohio homeowners insurance policyholders is further reflected in J.D. Power's 2019 U.S. homeowners insurance study, in which it received four out of five stars for customer satisfaction.

With an average homeowners insurance premium of $881 a year, State Farm is slightly above the state average. However, it offers many discounts to help offset the cost. If you bundle auto or life insurance policies with your homeowners policy, you can save a fair amount on both premiums. Also, if you use impact-resistant materials on your roof (not a bad idea, given Ohio's extreme weather patterns) you can get a discount.

Auto-Owners: best claims record

Auto-Owners is Ohio's standout homeowners insurance company for best claims services. The insurer received four out of five stars from J.D. Power in its 2019 customer satisfaction study. Auto-Owners takes pride in its "No Problem" claims service plan.

Auto-Owners' claims service department is on hand on weeknights, weekends and holidays to help with your claim 24/7, 365 days of the year. It also has an online claims center where you can track your claim activity and get updates any time. Due to Ohio's trends of tornadoes and floods, Auto-Owners is prepared with Mobile Response Vehicles and storm teams to get to you in order to quickly expedite your claim after a catastrophe.

Biggest homeowners insurance companies in Ohio

Here's a breakdown of the homeowners insurance market in Ohio:

To see how these insurers rank nationally, see our best home insurance companies as listed on our site.

Homeowners insurance rates in Ohio by city

Homeowners insurance premiums in Ohio average out within a $300 range. Mentor, Ohio, has the lowest premiums, with average homeowners insurance rates around $714. Dayton, Ohio, has the highest rates, with an average premium of $954.

Homeowners insurance rates in Ohio by county

Here's how homeowners insurance rates compare across counties in Ohio:

Homeowners insurance perils in Ohio

Weather trends may affect homeowners insurance rates in Ohio. Here are some of the bigger weather risks that Ohio homeowners have to deal with:

Snowfall

Northern Ohio tends to get more extreme snowfall than the southern part of the state. Portsmouth, Ohio, may only see an average of 9.5 inches of snow per year. On the other end of the spectrum, Cleveland can see an average of 68 inches of snow a year.

Heavy snows are a serious danger to your roof. If too much snow accumulates on your roof, the weight can cause it to collapse. This type of damage is usually covered by homeowners insurance, but it is in your best interest to prevent a claim in the first place. A hole in your roof in the winter is not something you want to try to live with for any amount of time.

Another danger snowfall presents for Ohio homeowners is accumulated ice. If the temperature drops enough to freeze, ice can turn walkways around your house into danger zones. If someone slips and falls on your property because of ice, you could find yourself responsible for a hospital stay or involved in a lawsuit if they sue.

Homeowners insurance provides liability coverage to deal with these instances. It can pay medical bills or cover legal fees and award payouts resulting from a lawsuit due to an accident on your property. Much like taking care of snow on your roof, prevention is the key with liability issues due to ice on your premises. Keep your sidewalks shoveled and salted to help avoid making a claim in the first place.

Tornadoes

According to the National Weather Service, Ohio had 18 tornadoes in 2018. The damage a tornado can do to a home can easily run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even a total loss.

Most homeowners insurance policies cover tornado damage. A good way to help reduce the potential damage a tornado can do to your home is to install storm windows; reinforce the roof and remove freestanding items like lawn chairs, potted plants and other yard items that can become projectiles during a tornado.

Flood

In 2018, the Ohio River rose to over 60 feet, making it the worst flood Cincinnati had seen since 1997, when it rose to almost 65 feet, causing more than $155 million in damages to Southern Ohio alone.

Flood damage is not typically covered by homeowners insurance. However, flood insurance is available through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Many Ohio homeowners insurance providers and some independent agents take part in the NFIP and can help protect your home against flood.

Depending on what kind of flood zone your home is in, your mortgage provider may require you to have flood insurance. You can check the FEMA flood zone map to see what kind of risk your home may face.

Methodology

We compiled quotes for every ZIP code in Ohio from seven of the top insurers. We based our analysis on Allstate, Auto-Owners, Farmers, Grange Mutual, Nationwide, State Farm and Westfield policy data. Quotes were for a home worth $161,544, built in 1969 and owned by a 58-year-old. These are the median home value, construction date and homeowner age in Ohio.

We picked the insurers for our study using S&P Global Market Intelligence, which ensures results as localized to Ohio as possible. The largest subsidiary in Ohio of every insurer was taken as a representative for the company.

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