The Best Homeowners Insurance Companies in Tennessee
Homeowners in Tennessee face a couple of notable weather and terrain challenges — including vicious tornadoes. Residents of western Tennessee are also close to the New Madrid Fault Line, which means earthquakes are a concern. The good news? Lower-than-average property values offset these potential hazards. Tennesseans pay an average of $1,147 a year for their homeowners insurance, which is right on par with the national average.
Of course, the age of your home and its specific location will affect your personal premium. Do your research to find the policy that fits your home best, giving you the coverage you need in the event of an emergency at a price you can afford. We recommend getting started with our roundup of the five best Tennessee homeowners insurance companies.
How We Found the Best Homeowners Insurance Companies in Tennessee
We started by taking a careful look at Tennessee’s five largest providers by market share: State Farm, Tennessee Farmers Mutual, Allstate, USAA and Liberty Mutual. Then, just as we did for our national homeowners insurance review, we considered financial scores from Moody’s, A.M. Best, and Standard & Poor’s to be sure that each provider was financially stable enough to pay out on any claims you might make. We also considered customer satisfaction reports from J.D. Power, an agency that tracks consumers’ happiness with each provider’s handling of things like claims and billing. Finally, we took into account how easy it was to get quotes from each provider (and what those quotes looked like), whether they offered resources like educational tools or mobile apps, and the range of discounts available.
The 5 Best Homeowners Insurance Companies in Tennessee
Best Tennessee Homeowners Insurance Companies
Allstate
Allstate is our top choice in Tennessee — and not just because it provided the lowest sample quote. Allstate shines for its excellent website and customer service. No matter your question or concern, Allstate will give you an answer you can understand. We especially like the company’s Common and Costly Claims tool, which gives insights into the most common reasons for claims in your neighborhood. In Nashville’s Davidson County, for instance, the most common reason for filing a claim is for wind damage. This type of information is incredibly useful when trying to figure out what types of extra coverage you might need. Allstate also has an easy-to-use home inventory tool that allows you to catalog your belongings and estimate value and replacement cost.With these great online features already in place, it’s no surprise that Allstate also offers an excellent online quote tool. Allstate was one of the only providers to automatically pull public records on the properties we requested quotes for, which brings any past claims to light. Because of this, its quotes are more accurate than the other providers we assessed: When we called an agent for a quote, we were given one nearly identical to the one we received online. Our experiences track with Allstate’s solid customer satisfaction scores — a 3/5 from J.D. Power and 80 from Consumer Reports.
When it comes to financial strength, Allstate fares decently. It boasts a solid A+ from A.M. Best, which isn’t the A++ you’ll see State Farm and USAA bringing to the table, but it’s still reassuring to know Allstate has a solid reputation of paying out claims.
State Farm
State Farm, the national standby, ranks in the top tier for financial stability from A.M. Best, earning an A++ to edge out Allstate. It also garners high ratings similar to Allstate’s for consumer satisfaction from J.D. Power (4/5) and Consumer Reports (82).We found State Farm’s online quote process straightforward and accessible. Its website also provides useful information about assessing your home’s value, with articles explaining different insurance concepts, such as the difference between market value and replacement cost.
Our quote from State Farm online was higher than the others we received, although more discounts may be available by speaking directly with a representative. When we called a local State Farm agent in Nashville, they offered up all available discount information and asked us deeper questions about our property’s construction to determine if we’d qualify for other discounts, like impact-resistance roofing. This experience reflects the consistently high ratings State Farm receives for customer satisfaction from Consumer Reports, but it means the quote process isn’t quite as breezy as Allstate’s.
USAA
USAA is offered exclusively to active and retired U.S. military members and their families and is the fifth largest provider in the state. But the company is known for its solid customer service and financial stability ratings across the board. With a 92 from Consumer Reports and an A++ from A.M. Best, USAA is one of the most well rounded providers in our lineup.While there aren’t many, there are a few minor downsides to USAA. Its website is a tad lacking when it comes to resources and transparency when it comes to policy details. If you qualify, though, we highly recommend pulling a quote from USAA.
Liberty Mutual
Although satisfaction ratings for Liberty Mutual are average, this nationally known provider has another great website and online quote system. Because the questions on its online claim form are more detailed than most, we had more confidence in our estimated quote’s accuracy. Liberty Mutual took the time to inquire about details like improvements to our home’s utility systems, plus lifestyle questions about pets and trampolines.
Liberty Mutual’s mobile app is particularly noteworthy. The clean, contemporary design made scrolling and filling out forms very easy, even on a mobile screen. Its additional features, like helpful information for how to file a claim, were easy to locate and navigate. You can use the app to make payments, submit claims, and even view your ID card should you lose it. You can do all these things with the apps from State Farm and Allstate, but we found Liberty Mutual’s easier to navigate, and reviewers on the App store seem to agree. Its app is the highest-rated of our top insurers’, with an impressive 4.8-star average.Satisfaction ratings for Liberty Mutual were among average, with a 3/5 from J.D. Power and 83 from Consumer Reports. A.M. Best gave Liberty Mutual’s financial stability a solid A.
Tennessee Farmers Mutual
Tennessee Farmers Mutual is a local insurance provider, which means it has a unique advantage over larger companies. With a centralized focus on one state, it’s familiar with the area’s nuances and more capable of providing attentive customer service. For example, Tennessee Farmers Mutual has a blog with some useful information about home safety — and all of it is Tennessee-specific, such as space heater do’s and don’ts when it comes to the state’s changing spring weather. This adds a nice local flavor and could be useful if you have property or landscape issues related to your home’s specific region.The online quote process is pretty straightforward and quick (we had a quote within five minutes when we tested.) The company sends you an email to further review your quote, which you can then use to reference when speaking to an agent. Do keep in mind, though, that these quotes aren’t based on significant details, so we’re unsure of their accuracy. To find any detail about discounts and other coverages, you will have to call an agent, as the website doesn’t offer a plethora of information in these areas.
Because of its region-specific service, J.D. Power and Consumer Reports don’t cover it in their ratings. However, the company’s financial stability rating is a solid A+ from A.M. Best.
Guide to Homeowners Insurance Companies in Tennessee
Consider sinkhole coverage
Homeowners insurance providers in Tennessee are required to offer sinkhole coverage. It’s only one of two states in the nation where this is true (the other state is Florida). Sure, a sinkhole is a pretty rare event, but it’s more common in Tennessee thanks to limestone in the soil, which allows water to run through and can lead to caverns beneath the ground. If you’re concerned about this risk on your property, you should definitely check with your prospective insurance provider about the cost of adding this coverage.
You may need flood insurance
Flooding is a real issue in some parts of Tennessee, as devastating floods in Nashville within the last ten years have shown. If you’re considering flood insurance, just know that you’ll likely need to purchase it separately through the National Flood Insurance Program, not your insurance provider. You can learn more about flood insurance and even do a quick, easy flood-risk assessment through the National Flood Insurance Program’s website.Tennessee Homeowners Insurance FAQ
How much is homeowners insurance in Tennessee?
On average, Tennessee’s annual homeowners premiums are $1,147. In order to narrow in on our top picks, we did a quote analysis on the state’s biggest providers. The home that we used for our sample quote was a modest single-family house with a yard in the greater Nashville area. Our sample home had a monitored alarm system, standard fire safety features, and a newer impact-resistant roof (which netted us a discount with every provider). The home’s value was $275,000.
Our quotes varied by as much as $307 per year, showing just how important it is to shop around. Remember that cheaper isn’t always better, though: It’s important to consider the amount of coverage you’re getting (and the deductible, which is what you’ll have to pay out of pocket before insurance kicks in).
How can I save money on homeowners insurance in Tennessee?
Discounts can make a big difference, too. For example, the presence of burglar alarms and various fire protections can reduce your premium by up to 20%. No matter what, you’re likely to qualify for at least one type of discount. For instance, all the Tennessee homeowners insurance providers we reviewed offer a discount if you have other plans with the company, such as car insurance.
How accurate is my online quote?
The short answer: not as accurate as you’d think. Online quotes are not set in stone, and speaking to an agent could also get different results. When we made calls to individual representatives, we found that they often asked more specific questions about our home’s history and construction than we found via online quote forms, leading to more accurate quotes.
The Best Homeowners Insurance Companies in Tennessee: Summed Up
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