What does home insurance cover state farm

A century of experience and financial strength allows State Farm to offer great homeowners insurance at affordable rates. Find out if it’s right for you.

In this article: Pros and Cons | At a Glance | Policy Coverage | Cost | Discounts | Customer Reviews | Conclusion | FAQs | Methodology

With a century of experience and an “Excellent” financial strength rating from AM Best, State Farm can reliably pay out claims. While it started as a car insurance company in 1922, State Farm now offers many insurance products, including property, life, disability, pet and personal liability insurance.

We at the Home Media reviews team have analyzed and scored State Farm’s homeowners insurance offerings based on coverages, add-ons, customer satisfaction, availability and more. Keep reading to see how it compares to our list of best homeowners insurance companies.

Pros and Cons of State Farm Home Insurance

State Farm stands out for its financial strength, personal feel and online resources for new homeowners. It’s easy to get an online quote in 15 minutes and to customize coverage options with local agents. State Farm also features a robust library of online resources to help policyholders understand their needs.

Several features stood out to our team as notable pros and cons of State Farm home insurance:

​​+ Fewer than average complaints to state insurance departments

​​+ Nationwide availability

​​+ Online library of educational resources

– Discounts limited in some states

– Online quotes unavailable in some states

State Farm Homeowners Insurance at a Glance

State Farm Policy Coverage

Standard coverage from State Farm includes the following protections:

• Dwelling: Pays for damages to your home caused by any covered peril, such as burglary, fire or windstorm.
• Personal property: Personal property coverage includes items such as clothing, electronics and furniture for covered losses, whether the items are in or out of your home. Your State Farm agent can help you adjust this coverage up or down based on your needs.
• Other structures: If you have a detached garage or gazebo, this covers structures on your property that don’t physically connect to your home.
• Loss of use: Also called additional living expenses, this coverage pays for food, shelter and other expenses incurred when a covered loss displaces you from your home.
• Personal liability: If you cause property damage or injure someone, liability coverage can help offset legal and medical bills.
• Medical payments: This coverage pays for health care costs for guests who suffer an injury on your property.

Additional Coverage

With State Farm, additional home insurance coverage options depend on where you live. Plus, some add-ons may be bundled into your standard policy for no additional fee. State Farm offered the following options when we inquired about coverage and requested an insurance quote.

• Additional dwelling: When your dwelling amount equals or exceeds your estimated replacement cost, State Farm offers additional coverage of up to 25% of your original dwelling amount limit.
• Backup of sewer or drain: This covers you for clogged sewers or drains, including sump pumps, sump pump wells or other systems designed to remove subsurface water.
• Earthquake: This coverage pays for damage to your home or its contents due to an earthquake or volcanic eruption.
• Fortified roof upgrade: After a covered loss that damages your roof, State Farm will pay the additional cost to replace it using materials and construction methods that qualify for the Insurance Institute for Business and Safety’s Fortified Roof designation. It also covers fees to secure the Fortified Roof certification.
• Identity restoration: This pays for case management services and expense reimbursement after an incident with identity theft. 
• Sinkhole collapse: This pays for specific physical loss to your home caused by the sudden settlement of the earth from underground voids created by water eroding limestone or similar rock.
• Special computer coverage: This coverage includes additional perils for computer hardware, software, networks and operating systems.

Further endorsements may be available through your local agent. For our sample home in Charlotte, we could choose these options:

• Additional insured
• Depreciated loss settlement provision
• Home sharing endorsement
• Incidental occupancies
• Nurses’ professional liability
• Off-premises structures
• Other structures — increased limits
• Other structures rented to others
• Personal injury liability
• Rental to others — theft coverage
• Windstorm or hail exclusion
• Personal articles policy
• Personal liability umbrella policy

State Farm Cost

Americans pay a national average of $1,272 per year for homeowners insurance, according to the most recent insurance rates in a 2022 report published by the Insurance Information Institute (III). 

That said, every home and homeowner is different, leading to varying insurance coverages and premiums across the country and even among neighbors. We obtained a quote for a home in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a single 30-year-old man with a clean insurance claim history. Our sample policy costs $1,306 per year, which is $203 more than North Carolina’s average home insurance rates as reported by the III.

Here are some of the most significant factors that affect your State Farm insurance cost:

• Location: Regionally, your location could put you at elevated risk for extreme weather or natural disasters. Locally, your premiums may suffer due to a high crime rate or construction costs.
• Estimated replacement cost: Not to be confused with your home’s purchase price or market value, this is the estimated dollar amount of what it would cost to rebuild your home today using equivalent building materials and construction techniques. State Farm considers your home’s age, size, build quality, construction details, HVAC systems, number of bathrooms and bedrooms, and more to calculate an appropriate level of dwelling coverage based on your estimated replacement cost.  
• Roof: Your roof is often your home’s first line of defense regarding weather-related incidents and can lead to costly repairs when damaged. When writing your quote, your insurance company will look closely at your roof’s age and materials. State Farm offers a fortified roof upgrade for an additional premium.
• Claims history: Filing a claim after a covered loss, even with a past insurer, makes you riskier to insure in the eyes of your provider. If you have filed a claim within the last five years, you’d likely pay more for coverage with State Farm.
• Homeowner credibility: State Farm requests your Social Security number or tax ID number when you apply for a quote. While this is optional, it provides the most accurate quote possible by allowing State Farm to review your credit score.
• Renovations: Recent updates to your home’s heating, electrical and plumbing systems give insurance companies more confidence in their longevity and reason to lower your premium. Likewise, the presence of hazardous home features such as wood-burning fireplaces and stoves can increase the cost of your policy.
• Safety features: Outfitting your home with security devices reduces your insurer’s risk. For example, if you have sprinkler systems installed, they could put out a fire before substantial damage occurs. If you have a burglar alarm, the chance of recovering stolen property improves. State Farm offers better rates for deadbolt locks, fire extinguishers, automatic sprinklers, smoke detectors, fire alarms and burglar alarms.
• Policy customization: State Farm offers a variety of ways to customize your policy to get the coverage and the price you need. Whether adding special endorsements or selecting a higher deductible to reduce premiums, there are plenty of options to create the right policy for you.

With so many risk factors impacting the cost of your home insurance policy, it’s essential to get a customized quote from State Farm. In most states, you can do this online. Contact your local insurance agent for more information if online quotes are unavailable where you live.

State Farm Discounts

State Farm offers a relatively standard set of homeowners insurance discounts, such as bundling policies, remaining claims-free and installing home security systems. While the options are great ways to save money on your premiums, it was disappointing not to see any novel offerings. Plus, discount availability, savings and eligibility vary by state.

Depending on your location, you could be eligible for the following: 

• Bundling discount: Bundling your home insurance or other property insurance lines with an auto insurance policy can save up to $1,127 per year when you switch to State Farm. 
• Claims-free discount: The longer you go without filing a claim, the less risky you appear in the eyes of your insurance provider. This allows State Farm to offer you coverage at a slightly lower rate. 
• Home security insurance discount: Installing a home monitoring system helps to reduce the risk of a loss and can lower your premiums when you purchase a policy with State Farm.
• Roofing discounts: When you replace your roof with a qualifying impact-resistant material, you could be eligible for a premium reduction. This discount is only available in 26 states.
• Higher deductibles: Another way to save money on your policy is by choosing a higher deductible. Because you will take on more financial responsibility in the event of a loss, the insurer is willing to offer you lower monthly premiums. Our secret shoppers were given four deductible options — $1,000, $1,500, $2,500 and $5,000 — for our sample property with $181,000 dwelling coverage. However, State Farm provides higher deductible options for homes that require more dwelling coverage.

After analyzing more than 100 State Farm homeowners insurance customer reviews, our team understood how the company holds up in the eyes of policyholders. We noticed several common threads across the positive and negative sentiments customers had.

Multiple reviewers praised State Farm for its personable and dependable agents and its quality customer service. Others pointed to difficulties getting State Farm to approve a roof replacement or repairs. State Farm didn’t respond when we reached out for comment.

Here’s what policyholders had to say about their experience with State Farm in reviews filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

“Fair with my home damage claim. Able to replace my roof and siding from hail damage. Very time consuming though [the] process 2 months to complete but understand situations from storm. Adjuster treatment was excellent and personal. [The] adjuster was very fair in his estimate.” — Chris C via BBB

“I changed insurance from state farm to Allstate. State farm was sent [an] authorized letter to cancel my [homeowners] insurance on June 1, 2022 but they canceled it on May 31st instead. Not happy. Now my mortgage company says I need to prove insurance for [the] day of May 31st, 2022. My new insurance from Allstate started on June 1st, 2022.” — Lora T via BBB

“Have had my [homeowners] policy for 4 years and [an] auto policy for about 7 years. Never had a claim. I was informed by 2 different roofing companies that I need a new roof due to the wind/ hail storm this year. I was told by both companies that state farm almost never approves a roof and they [were] right. The contractors suggested switching to a different insurance company, think I will. Cheap rates but why have insurance if you can’t use it. Feels like I’m throwing money away.” — Ryan H via BBB

“Have had 3 roofing companies inspect our roof for hail damage. They all have found it obvious hits on shingles, soffit, gutters, chimney topper, etc. on both the house and our shed. The shed had shingles off as well. We have had 2 State Farm adjustors out to look at the damage, and both had questionable takes on the roof (How can obvious hail damage be classified as normal wear and tear?). State Farm has denied the claims of many in this area of Wisconsin from this hail storm whereas other insurers have been making good on their customers getting roof replaced. I am at the point where I can no longer trust State Farm to cover our home and cars. I will likely need to go through the process of finding a new insurer after this and my next step is to file with the state insurance commissioner and potentially finding legal representation. Our agent, Erik Hosking, has worked hard on this and is in no way at fault in this issue. I never had issues like this from my prior insurer, **** **** *******” — Matt M via BBB

The Bottom Line: State Farm

If you’re shopping for homeowners insurance for the first time, State Farm is a great option. Its straightforward quote process takes just 15 minutes to complete, provides helpful explainers on coverage types along the way, and allows users to save quotes for later access. In addition, the provider’s strong financial backing and positive consumer sentiment make it a top choice, even if you’re a seasoned homeowner.

However, we recommend comparing multiple quotes before purchasing a homeowners insurance policy. Lemonade, Allstate and Liberty Mutual are also worth looking into as top options based on our reviews.

Frequently Asked Questions About State Farm

Methodology: Our System for Ranking the Best Home Insurance Companies

Our team surveyed dozens of home insurance providers and created a scoring system to judge each company’s quality and service. We reach out for sample quotes, both over the phone and on the internet, to simulate an authentic customer experience. Here are the factors that account for our provider reviews:

• Coverage (20%): We analyze each provider’s coverage options, policy endorsements, and coverage limits to determine the quality of coverage.
• Customer service (15%): We also evaluate each company’s customer service options such as live chat, a customer support phone line and access to agents.
• Technology (15%): Similarly, we scored providers based on their digital resources, such as a mobile app, online comparison tools and quote process.
• Reputation (15%): We gauge reputation by evaluating consumer reviews and third-party financial strength and customer experience ratings.
• Additional benefits (15%): Additionally, we weigh each company’s added benefits, including discounts and policy endorsements.
• Cost (20%): Last, we compare cost data for homes across the nation to assess how competitively priced each provider is.

Companies with the best customer service exhibit 24/7 availability, educational resources on their website, useful digital tools and a seamless claims-filing process. Providers that offer extensive discount options, endorsements, customizable coverage options and unique features score significantly higher than those that don’t, putting them toward the top of our recommendations to readers.

Ratings listed in this article are accurate as of October 2022.

AM Best disclaimer

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