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The Best Homeowners Insurance Companies in Texas
In the second-largest state in the United States, by size and population, it’s no wonder homeowners insurance costs are Texas-sized too. Based on 2019 Insurance.com estimates, Lone Star State residents pay an average annual homeowners premium of $3,429, $657 above the national average, making Texas the fifth most expensive state in which to insure a home.
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Because of Texas’s size and population distribution, there are huge disparities in rates geographically, so the amount you’ll pay for homeowners insurance depends on the location of your home. With that in mind, we set out to find Texas’ best homeowners insurance providers. For a personalized Texas homeowners insurance quote, use our quote app above.
Best homeowners insurance companies in Texas
Best discounts and standard coverages – AAA
AAA has been a trusted friend of motorists for generations, but it also offers homeowners insurance.
AAA’s standard homeowners policies come packed with protection, including dwelling, liability, loss of use, other structures, personal property and personal liability coverages. Best of all, AAA homeowners include guaranteed rebuilding cost and guaranteed replacement cost coverages.
AAA also extends numerous discounts to reduce your rate. You can save up to 40 percent when you purchase a newly constructed home and up to 35 percent if you install a hail-resistant roof. Remain claims-free for three consecutive years to earn up to a 13 percent discount and up to 23 percent when you renovate your home’s major systems. Retirees and seniors 55 years of age and older can save up to 10 percent on AAA home insurance and homes equipped with protective devices, like burglar alarms and smoke detectors, could qualify for discounts up to 15 percent.
Best optional coverages – Allstate
Allstate offers multiple discount options that you can discuss with an agent at one of hundreds of Allstate offices throughout Texas. Allstate also has a top-notch online portal with educational tools and resources to help you understand your policy.
Allstate’s standard policies include dwelling, guest medical expense, liability and personal property coverages. What impresses us the most is Allstate’s fantastic portfolio of optional coverages. Water backup and scheduled personal property coverages are common, but Allstate also offers addons that specifically cover expensive musical instruments and sports equipment. Allstate’s electronic data recovery coverage will come in handy the next time your hard drive crashes.
Unlike some companies, Allstate underwrites all its Texas homeowners insurance policies, which ensures consistent risk assessment and price rating.
The provider’s green improvement reimbursement coverage helps pay costs related to replacing damaged home components with energy efficient items and its yard and garden coverage helps pay the cost of restoring landscaping following a covered loss.
Best premium homeowners insurance – Amica
Some people need extra coverage for expensive items such as jewelry or musical instruments, while others need added protection for home office equipment. Most insurance companies offer optional coverage or riders to meet these special needs, but Amica provides a premium plan that rolls a bevy of coverages into a nice, neat package.
Amica’s Platinum Choice Home package includes dwelling and personal property replacement cost coverages, along with personal liability coverage up to $500,000 and medical payments coverage up to $5,000. Platinum Choice also offers higher personal property limits than Amica’s standard policies, plus a loss assessment plan that covers property that you don’t solely own, like common areas in a condominium complex. The plan also provides $5,000 of coverage for fraudulent credit card charges, computer coverage to pay for damaged laptops, phones and tablets, plus extended coverage up to $5,000 to pay for damaged business property you keep in your home.
Best coverage for military members – USAA
USAA offers its members one-stop shopping for financial products, offering insurance policies, banking services, investment funds, home mortgages and retirement plans.
Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, USAA offers its products to active-duty military personnel, members of the United States National Guard, military cadets, midshipmen, reservists, veterans and their eligible family members.
Standard USAA homeowners policies include dwelling, loss of use, other structures, personal liability and personal property coverages. USAA also includes earthquake, home sharing and replacement cost coverages in its standard policies, at no additional cost.
Through its partnership with ADT Home Security Systems, USAA offers exclusive home security deals that include a price lock guarantee, lifetime battery replacement and monitoring service credits when you deploy. And, when you install an ADT system, you could earn a discount on your USAA homeowners insurance rate.
The Advice Center on the USAA website offers free resources and financial planning tools, many specific to military life, to ensure policyholders receive the guidance and information they need about home buying, filing taxes, purchasing a car and planning for retirement.
Average cost of homeowners insurance in Texas
Texans pay an average annual homeowners premium of $3,429, which is fifth-highest in the country, compared to the national average of $2,305. The state’s vulnerability to hurricanes and flooding can make Texas insurance prices unpredictable.
In 2017, Category 4 Hurricane Harvey dumped 50 inches of water on Houston and caused up to $20 billion in damages in all affected areas, according to the Insurance Information Institute. In 2019, Tropical Storm Imelda produced 49-foot waves and pounded Beaumont and Houston with 16-24 inches of rain.
To make matters worse, Texas ranks first in the nation for tornado activity. In 2019, more than 188 tornadoes touched down in Texas, leaving behind piles of rubble in Lone Star State neighborhoods and business districts. Insurance companies don’t like taking risks, so due to the frequency and severity of storms affecting Texas, its homeowners pay higher than average insurance rates.
Texas rate factors
Texas homeowners pay an arm and a leg for homeowners insurance due to the state-wide risk of severe weather. However, Texas homeowners should go one step further and purchase a flood insurance policy, especially if your home lies in a flood zone.
Standard homeowners insurance policies don’t cover flood-related damage. If your home was damaged or destroyed in a flood, you would be financially responsible for the cost of repairs or reconstruction. With flood insurance, you have peace of mind knowing that your home and belongings are covered from any flood-related losses.
Most private insurance companies sell flood insurance policies, especially in high-risk states, like Texas. Or, you can purchase the coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program, a FEMA organization.
Most expensive cities in Texas for homeowners insurance
Texas is the second-largest state in the United States. There are hundreds of cities, towns and villages that are home to almost 30 million people. When it comes to homeowners insurance, the rates are based on location.
A homeowner living in Galveston, on the Texas coast, will pay a very different premium than someone living in Houston, which is inland. Based on data from Insurance.com, these are the most expensive cities in Texas for homeowners insurance:
- Houston: $4,363
- San Antonio: 2,944
- Dallas: $3,876
Home Insurance FAQs
No. Due to the frequency and severity of storms that plague Texas, residents pay the fifth highest homeowners insurance rates in the country, $3,429 per year, on average.
Most standard homeowners policies don’t cover flood damage, but many companies offer flood insurance as an optional coverage. You can also purchase flood coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program.
Some do. San Antonio-based USAA provides homeowners policies exclusively for military members and their families. USAA offers discounts for bundling homeowners insurance with an auto policy, as well as claims-free and protective device discounts.
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Methodology
The SimpleScore is a proprietary scoring metric we use to objectively compare products and services at The Simple Dollar.
For every review, our editorial team:
- Identifies five measurable aspects to compare across each brand
- Determines the rating criteria for each aspect score
- Averages the five aspect scores to produce a single SimpleScore
Here’s a breakdown of the five aspect scores and their rating criteria for our reviews on home insurance.
Why do some brands have different SimpleScores on different pages?
To ensure the SimpleScore is as helpful and accurate as possible, we developed unique criteria for every category we compare at The Simple Dollar. Since most brands offer a variety of financial solutions, their products and services will score differently depending on what we’re scoring on a given page.
However, it’s also possible for the same product from the same brand to have multiple SimpleScores. For instance, if we compare State Farm’s home insurance according to our criteria for the best home insurance, it scores a 3.8 out of 5. But when we compare State Farm according to the criteria for the best auto insurance, it scores higher, since the features the company offers can vary by the type of insurance.
Discounts
We looked at the number of discounts each company offers – more discounts mean a higher score.
Coverage Options
We awarded higher scores to the companies that offer more coverage options.
Support
We awarded higher scores to companies with the most channels for customer support.
Customer Satisfaction
We leveraged the J.D. Power 2019 Home Insurance Satisfaction Study℠ to see how customers rated their experience with each company. (If a company wasn’t included in J.D. Power’s study, we skipped this aspect and averaged the four remaining aspect scores.)
Accessibility
We looked at the level of accessibility of each company – the more resources they have the higher their score
Reviewed by
Aylea Wilkins
Aylea Wilkins is an editor specializing in insurance for The Simple Dollar. After getting a degree in European studies and editing from Brigham Young University, she worked as a writer and editor for a variety of small websites before transitioning to the insurance field.
