9 Best Homeowners Insurance Companies In Pennsylvania of 2023
If you're a homeowner in Pennsylvania, you're lucky to enjoy many benefits like affordability, beautiful natural landscapes, and easy access to two iconic American cities - Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. However, being a homeowner in this state also comes with its own set of unique challenges. To navigate these challenges effectively, having the right homeowners insurance coverage is essential.
As a homeowner in Pennsylvania, it's crucial to choose an insurance provider that understands the region's specific conditions, challenges, and climate. With a tailored approach to your needs, you can rest assured that your home is adequately protected. This will enable you to enjoy the benefits of owning property in this charming corner of the Northeast.
Compare the coverage and cost of the best homeowners insurance providers in Pennsylvania picked by PropertyNest expert editors:
Best Homeowners Insurance Companies In Pennsylvania
- Allstate: Best For Homeowners On A Budget
- Lemonade: Best For Fast Online Service
- CHUBB: Best For Flood-Prone Properties
- State Farm: Best For Bundling
- Nationwide: Best For Straightforward Coverage
- Branch Financial: Best Newcomer Home Insurance Company
- USAA: Best For Veterans
- Erie Insurance: Best For High Customer Satisfaction
- Farmers Insurance: Best For Homeowners Who Want to Go Green
Allstate: Best Home Insurance For Homeowners On A Budget
Across the board, many people are highly impressed with the overall results of this company. They’re good for most groups.
With Allstate, looking at their supplemental riders is a good idea. It can significantly affect what you get when a disaster hits.
With that said long wait times for disbursement have been reported.
So, if you’re worried you’ll need your money tomorrow, it’s time to look at other options.
Read a full Allstate homeowners insurance review.
One of the ways Allstate helps homeowners save is by offering a number of discounts.
Below is a list of typical discounts you can expect from Allstate.
Allstate Homeowners Insurance Discounts
- Multi-policy discount: Save money when you get more than one type of coverage. For example, bundling a car insurance policy from Allstate with your homeowners insurance.
- Responsible payment discount: Policyholders can save money when they pay on time and/or type of payment. For example, if you pay your premium in full or put it monthly in escrow.
- Claim-free discount: Policyholders who have not previously filed claims can get a discount.
- Loyalty discount: A discount for switching over to Allstate and renewing insurance with them year after year.
- New homebuyer discount: Discount available for recent homebuyers and homebuyers of new construction.
- Auto-pay discount: Get up to 5% off for enrolling in automatic payments.
- Security device discount: Discounts for fire prevention and home security system installation.
- Early sign-up discount: Policyholders save when they sign up at least seven days before their current policy expires.
| J.D. Power (out of 1,000) | 815 |
|---|---|
| A.M. Best - Financial Strength Rating | A+ |
| NAIC Complaint Index | 2.05 |
| BBB | A- |
Lemonade: Best Home Insurance For Fast Online Service
Are you a fan of everything mobile-related? If you’re the type of person who wants to have a good handle on everything via an app, you’re going to love Lemonade.
This well-designed app will give you instant quotes, let you add to your policy, and even file a claim.
Admittedly, they are still hammering out issues with customer service as options to speak to a live person are limited.
However, the vast majority of people have great experiences, especially when it comes to filing a claim and a fast turnaround for payment disbursements.
Lemonade's already low-cost insurance offers a few additional discounts for policyholders.
Lemonade Homeowners Insurance Discounts
- Bundling discount: Having multiple policies with Lemonade helps you save.
- Construction material discount: Homeowners get a discount if their homes are constructed with fire-resistant materials.
- Home protection discount: Discounts for homeowners with security devices and smoke detectors are available.
- Fire protection discount: Having extinguishers or a sprinkler system can get you a discount.
- Gated community/security discount: Extra security, such as living in a gated community, qualifies for an additional discount.
| J.D. Power (out of 1,000) | 870 |
|---|---|
| BBB | B+ |
| NAIC Complaint Index | 1.94 |
CHUBB: Best Homeowners Insurance For Flood-Prone Properties
CHUBB is a name that most people recognize, especially in the Pennsylvania area.
This is one of the highest-rated insurance companies for homeowners who demand good coverage.
Amazingly, this includes matters involving floods—an increasingly costly and difficult-to-obtain choice.
CHUBB might be the best choice for flood-prone people.
It’s one of the only insurance companies to offer flood insurance as a complementary part of its coverage.
CHUBB also offers its Masterpiece coverage for homeowners with valuable assets, such as a home worth a lot.
It's considered some of the very best coverage you can get.
This is important because some insurance companies are not able to insure homes over a certain value.
CHUBB's Masterpiece policies not only offer extensive coverage but also offer an extensive list of discounts.
CHUBB Homeowners Insurance Discounts
- Multi-policy discount: Save 10% for bundling homeowners and auto insurance. Get another 10% off for purchasing additional coverage for jewelry or valuables.
- Superior protection discount: Qualify for up to 25% discount when you employ means and devices that maximize security and disaster prevention, such as a CCTV system, motion detection, 24-hour security, perimeter gate, water leak detection, automatic water shutoff valve, etc.
- Additional discounts for fire and security: Additional discounts for additional measures such as sprinkler systems, living in a gated community, alarms routed to a central station, homes built with non-combustible materials, etc.
- New construction or renovation discount: Get a discount if your home is seven years old or younger or if it's been renovated in the last six years.
- New home loyalty discount: If you purchased insurance for a new home and had insured another home with CHUBB for three years.
- No-claims discount: If you haven't filed a claim in 3 years with CHUBB, get up to 105 off.
| J.D. Power (out of 1,000) | 809 |
|---|---|
| A.M. Best - Financial Strength Rating | A++ |
| BBB | D- |
| NAIC Complaint Index | 0.21 |
State Farm: Best Homeowners Insurance For Bundling
State Farm doesn't score a perfect 10 when their customers have something to say, but overall they have good customer service as well as decent quality of coverage.
With homeowners insurance, they also avoid having too many waivers in their basic packages.
What sets them apart from others is their bundle discounts.
If you already use them for car insurance or insurance on specific items, then it’s a no-brainer.
You can save almost up to $1,000 a year. That's no small sum!
They do offer a unique bonus that is the full replacement cost of your roof with standard coverage--no extra deductible is required.
Since we've named State Farm as the best for their bundling discount, this is certainly a major discount offered by the insurance giant.
However, they offer some other discounts that might help save big.
State Farm Homeowners Insurance Discounts
- Bundling discount: Save up to $965 dollars when you bundle home insurance with car insurance.
- Home security discount: One or more home monitoring systems, such as fire, smoke, or security, can qualify you for a discount.
| J.D. Power (out of 1,000) | 829 |
|---|---|
| A.M. Best - Financial Strength Rating | A++ |
| BBB | A+ |
| NAIC Complaint Index | 1.77 |
Nationwide: Best Homeowners Insurance For Straightforward Coverage
- Available in 44 states & Washington, D.C.
- Quote access: Online & by phone
Are you looking for all-around good coverage without too many bells and whistles?
If so, then you are going to appreciate Nationwide.
Everything about this insurance company is made to make your needs for basic coverage a cinch.
Nationwide is on your side when you don’t necessarily need anything too extreme but still want a good deal. Besides, they have some pretty neat discounts.
Nationwide offers a few of the popular discounts you might see being offered by other insurers.
Nationwide Homeowners Insurance Discounts
- Bundling discount: Like with most other insurance companies, you can find savings with Nationwide when you bundle policies.
- New home purchase: This discount applies to policyholders who've purchased their home within the last 12 months.
- Protective device: Discounts for smoke detectors, home security systems, fire alarms, etc.
- New switch-over customers: This discount is available for new customers who have switched over from a different carrier.
- Claims-free: Potential discounts for homeowners who have not previously filed a claim.
- Gated community: Homeowners who live in a gated community with either security personnel, keycards, or other locking devices can get a discount.
- Home renovation: Discounts for renovating your home's plumbing, heating and cooling system, electrical, etc.
- Roofing material: Find savings based on your roof's age and surface material.
| J.D. Power (out of 1,000) | 816 |
|---|---|
| A.M. Best - Financial Strength Rating | A+ |
| BBB | A+ |
| NAIC Complaint Index | 0.88 |
Branch Financial: Best Newcomer Home Insurance Company
While Branch is not one of the typical national heavyweights, we thought they were worth a mention. Similar to Lemonade, Branch uses tech and automation to save their policyholders money.
Branch's whole model and origin story have to do with saving customers money and bringing savings and community into the insurance game.
Branch is currently only offered in 13 states, Pennsylvania being one of them.
In many states, Branch can save members by underwriting and covering through their reciprocal insurance company, Branch Insurance Exchange.
Think of it as insurance coverage owned by the subscribers who pool their money together and is managed by Branch Insurance Exchange.
Branch was designed as a low-cost insurance company. However, there are still additional ways to save.
Branch Homeowners Insurance Discounts
- Bundling discount: Homeowners can bundle home and auto for savings.
- ADT partnership discount: Savings of up to 29% is possible with the installation of ADT along with homeowners, auto, or umbrella bundle.
| A.M. Best - Financial Strength Rating | A+ |
|---|---|
| BBB | A |
USAA: Best Homeowners Insurance For Veterans
If you are a member of the US Armed Forces, you have many options that other people might not—especially regarding homeownership.
USAA is one of the only companies exclusively catering to people in the forces and their families.
Their rates are low, their customer service is legendary, and they have lightning-fast disbursement. You really can’t get better than that.
USAA Bank also offers financial services and insurance coverage to family members of veterans and active-duty members.
Just make sure you have a USAA membership card if you’re a family member of a serviceperson who wants to share the wealth with you.
USAA has some classic discounts that can help members and families of the U.S. Armed Forces save.
USAA Homeowners Insurance Discounts
- Bundling discount: Save when you also insure your car with USAA.
- Protective device discount: As with many other insurance companies, having smoke detectors and home security monitoring devices can qualify you for a discount.
- Claims-free discount: Discounts are offered for policy purchasers who haven't filed a claim in 5 years.
| J.D. Power (out of 1,000) | 882 |
|---|---|
| A.M. Best - Financial Strength Rating | A++ |
| BBB | A+ |
| NAIC Complaint Index | 0.88 |
Erie Insurance: Best Home Insurance For High Customer Satisfaction
- Available in 12 states & Washington, D.C.
- Quote access: By phone only
In most cases, homeowners tend to have at least one or two reasons to go for a national chain as far as their insurers go.
Most of the time, it’s because it’s a name they recognize, mainly from advertising.
However, smaller companies shouldn’t be overlooked because they might also have a lot of value to add to a homeowner’s experience.
Erie Insurance is based out of Pennsylvania, and that’s good for Pennsylvanians.
Indeed, Erie is now offered in over ten states, but the local insurance companies often understand local needs best.
Their customer service, payouts, and rates are phenomenal.
Erie Insurance's stance is that they start from a place of savings, but policyholders are offered high value compared to their competitors.
Nonetheless, Erie still has some discount programs to save customers more money.
Erie Homeowners Insurance Discounts
- Protective device installation: Customers can get credit for installing fire alarms, burglar alarms, or sprinkler systems.
- Multiple policy discount: It's the usual discount offered to customers who need more than one type of insurance coverage.
- Early bird discount: If you get a quote for a new policy 7-60 days before your old policy renews, you can qualify for a discount.
| J.D. Power (out of 1,000) | 835 |
|---|---|
| A.M. Best - Financial Strength Rating | A+ |
| BBB | A+ |
| NAIC Complaint Index | 0.65 (Average) |
Farmers Insurance: Best Home Insurance For Homeowners Who Want to Go Green
Farmers Insurance is another reputable national insurance company known for its excellent customer service and fast turnaround for claims processing.
However, they aren't known for the lowest premiums when it comes to insurance, especially compared to some other large competitors.
What you get, in turn, is great coverage and access to knowledgeable local agents.
Farmers Insurance also knows how important it is to go green and offers a unique option.
Policyholders who want to replace damaged areas of their home with new "green" or environmentally-friendly materials or appliances can receive up to $25,000 more in claims payouts.
It's a huge plus and makes sense for an insurance company to help combat climate change.
Some special perks few companies offer are "Claims Forgiveness," credit towards your deductible, and extra cosmetic coverage.
If you've been claim-free with Farmers for five years, you won't get penalized for filing a claim.
Furthermore, Farmers credits $50 towards your deductible every year you renew your policy.
Lastly, standard with their coverage comes extra coverage for cosmetic damage when a policyholder files a claim for functional damage.
Farmers offer different types of discounts that vary from region to region, so be sure to inquire exactly what discounts are available for our area.
Here's a list of a few of the standard discounts they offer.
Farmers Homeowners Insurance Discounts
- Claims-free discount: Get a discount for being claims-free for three or more years.
- Multi-policy discount: Discounts for having multiple policies covered by Farmers. These include auto, umbrella, life, recreational, and business insurance.
- Smoke-free discount: Qualify for a discount if no one in your household smokes.
- Protective device discount: As with many other insurance companies, you can get discounts when you install protective devices such as fire/ burglar alarms, etc.
Read a full Farmers homeowners insurance review.
| J.D. Power (out of 1,000) | 792 |
|---|---|
| A.M. Best - Financial Strength Rating | A |
| BBB | A- |
| NAIC Complaint Index | 0.56 |
How We Selected Our Homeowners Insurance Companies in Pennsylvania
Choosing the right company for homeowners insurance is rough, let me tell ya. We decided to take a look at the following issues.
Payout Speed
A home that’s destroyed is not going to be an inconvenience. It’s a life-destroyer. You do not have time to wait for a payout when you have a major calamity. You might not even have a place to live without money. Speed is a critical factor.
Handling of Claims
The whole purpose of a good insurance company is to ensure that you can rely on them when you need them. When an urgent incident can traumatically affect your life, you want to know that your insurance company is working hard for you. While investigating insurance fraud is a serious matter, you don't want to feel like your insurance company is scrutinizing every penny before handing it over.
Customer Service
Customer service is a huge deal, too. We’ve all heard of bad customer service that involved a lot of arguments, begging, or awkward calls. Let’s try to avoid that, right?
Price Tags
Different companies are going to charge different rates for the same coverage. With that said, we will have to ensure that the price matches the coverage.
Client Reviews
Finally, there’s the most prominent issue: client reviews. We want to make sure that people are happy using that service. Bad reviews are a clear sign something is wrong.
Location
We've researched and compared the home insurance averages and data in Pennsylvania's largest cities, such as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Reading, and more.
Do You Need Homeowners Insurance?
If you have a mortgage, then the answer is generally yes.
If you don’t, you aren’t legally required to purchase insurance, but it would be unwise not to have insurance coverage for your home.
Homeowners insurance is what pays for repairs when natural disasters occur, when someone decides to drive their car right into your home, or when leaky pipes cause water damage.
Read on: The Best Homeowners Insurance Companies Nationwide
Even if you are a renter, you should seriously consider getting renters insurance if you haven't purchased a policy already.
Your landlord is not obligated to compensate you for any damage or loss due to natural occurrences.
Important Insurance Coverage for Homes in Pennsylvania
Understanding the environment you live in is integral to getting the right coverage for your home.
Climate change is creating more scenarios in the Northeast that would increase the number of insurance claims filed.
Pennsylvania is experiencing warmer and wetter weather over time, according to Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection.
This means certain areas are now far more vulnerable to flooding.
Even if you don't live in a potential flood zone, it could also mean more fallen trees, tornadoes, and power outages in your area.
Learn more about the homeownersfire insurance coverage.
Flood Insurance Should Be On Your Mind
Since the Northeast is now experiencing a lot more flooding, purchasing flood insurance should be a critical consideration for any homeowner in Pennsylvania.
Most standard homeowners insurance policies do not cover damage from floods and only water damage caused by non-weather-related flooding.
Why Doesn’t Homeowners Insurance Typically Cover Floods?
Flooding is one of the most devastating things that can happen to your home, and unfortunately, it’s also one of the most common.
If you live in a flood zone, your home is a high liability to insurers since filing a claim might be inevitable.
So, in order to maintain affordability, most insurers opt out of covering it.
If you need flood insurance, you will have to buy it separately and specifically through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
What Is the National Flood Insurance Program?
The NFIP was set up by the Federal government in order to help American homeowners in flood-prone areas to purchase flood insurance.
If it were up to the private sector, flood insurance would probably not be available, and if it was, not at any affordable rates.
Floods can cause insurmountable damage, and the claim payouts can be high.
FEMA underwrites the flood insurance policies offered through the NFIP.
Why Do You Need Flood Insurance If FEMA Gives Grants For Damaged Homes?
Homeowners without flood insurance can apply for a FEMA grant post-flood incidents through the Individuals and Households Program (IHP). However, the payouts are small compared to what you might get with full flood and home insurance.
While a grant can be over $30,000, the average grant payout is from $7,000 to $8,000.
This is very small compared to the average national flood insurance claim, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III), which was over $40,000 just a few years ago.
And depending on the year and the damage done, the average can go over $90,000.
If your home and property are damaged in flood, $8,000 would be a drop in the bucket.
In perspective, after Superstorm Sandy hit Pennsylvania, the average payout from flood insurance was over $66,000 (double the maximum FEMA could grant you).
What Factors Go Into Homeowners Insurance Pricing?
The size and value of the home are the two biggest.
However, the area you live in, your credit score, and the local environmental risks can all play key factors.
Below is a table of the most important considerations insurance companies make when determining your total cost.
| Credit Score | In some states, insurers are allowed to use your credit score to complete an "insurance score." Others use it to determine if you'll pay your premiums on time. |
|---|---|
| Location | Where your home is one of the top factors in determining price, it doesn't just have to do with climate and the terrain, safety, and the average claims filed in that area. |
| Size of Your Home | The insurance companies look at the square footage and the number of rooms/areas and types. |
| Your Home's Age and Last Renovations | Insurance companies want to know how old your home is and what condition the home and parts of your home are currently in. The owner of an older home would be more likely to file a claim. |
| Materials Your Home is Constructed With | High-quality materials used for your home's structure, foundation, and roof would mean a more solid construction and perhaps lower risk of claims being filed. |
| Deductibles | Deductibles directly affect your premium. The higher your out-of-pocket costs, the lower the premium. |
| Extra Coverage/Policies | Extra coverage means higher premiums. |
| Cost to Replace Vs. Cash Value | Cost to replace will result in a high premium but you would be able to rebuild your home in the case that it's destroyed versus cash value. Cash value will give you the cash value of your home plus depreciation. |
| Bundling | Bundling your home insurance with other policies like auto, boat, etc. can help you save money. |
| Usage | If you are operating a business out of your, depending on what it is, it can affect your premiums. Also, insurance for vacation homes are typically higher in cost. |
| Family Members/Pets | Liability coverage for the number of family members, children, and types of pets can affect your estimate. |
| Value of Your Possessions | Standard policies cover your possessions, however, if you have highly valuable possessions you should let the insurance company know you want cover or purchase extra insurance for them. |
| Discounts | Different insurance companies offer different types of discounts that can save you money. So, you'll need to check with each one. Some companies don't offer any discounts. |
Why Do Mortgage Lenders Require Homeowners Insurance?
Mortgage lenders and banks can legally require you to show proof of insurance coverage for your new home-to-be before closing on your home.
Lenders are allowed to do this because they are investing in the property with you. There is a lot of risk they are buying into.
If the home is damaged or destroyed, they need to ensure that you will be able to continue to pay your monthly mortgage payment and that they are not interrupted because you're busy paying for repairs.
Secondly, because they hold a lien on your title, it's not in their best interest if the value of a property goes down should they need to foreclose and sell the home.
If you stop paying for homeowners insurance while you still have a mortgage, they may have the right to foreclose on your home or add penalties to your mortgage price.
