Best and cheapest homeowners insurance companies in California in 2024

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Many factors determine the price you will pay for homeowners insurance in California. No two homeowners have identical situations, so the best insurer for you might be different from the best insurer for your neighbor.

On average, Allstate offers the best deal on homeowners insurance in California with an average rate of $886 annually. Unfortunately, Allstate isn’t currently offering new home insurance in California, but it’s worth including this rate for comparison purposes. The next cheapest company is Travelers at $1,907 a year.

Cheap isn’t everything, and we analyzed third-party ratings to determine the best home insurance company in California; our rankings found Travelers at the top.

Key Takeaways

In California, Allstate offers the cheapest homeowners insurance coverage, at $74 a month, or $886 annually.
Overall, the best home insurance company in California is Travelers based on our analysis of rates and third-party ratings.
Shopping around and comparing quotes is the best way to save on homeowners insurance in California.

Our take: The best homeowners insurance in California of 2024

Travelers is the best insurance company in California overall, based on rates, AM Best rating and National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaints data. All of these points show that Travelers is financially stable, has a solid reputation and offers affordable home insurance.

Affordability isn’t the only factor to keep in mind when purchasing insurance. It is also important to make sure your policy offers the coverage you need, and that the insurer you choose has a solid reputation for excellent customer service. Although Allstate is the cheapest company in California of those we compared, it currently doesn’t offer new home insurance policies. Travelers is the cheapest of the companies we ranked where new policies are available.

Insure.com’s choice: Compare the best homeowners insurance companies in California

When purchasing insurance in California, it’s important to compare providers. The right insurance company for someone else might be the wrong insurer for you.

Here are our picks for the top insurance companies in California.

Company group	Annual premium	AM Best rating	NAIC rating	Overall rating (out of 5)
Travelers	$1,097	A++	0.54	5.00
Allstate	$886	A+	0.90	4.68
Auto Club Enterprises (AAA)	$1,325	A+	1.05	3.93
Nationwide	$1,417	A+	0.87	3.92
State Farm	$1,552	A++	0.95	3.74
CSAA Insurance (AAA)	$1,324	A	1.23	3.73
Farmers	$1,715	A	0.54	3.62
Mercury Insurance	$1,388	A	2.35	2.88

A closer look at the top homeowners insurance companies

Travelers

Travelers landed in the No. 1 spot for home insurance in California with a 5 out of 5 score overall. The average cost of a Travelers home insurance policy in California is $1,097 a year.

Travelers has an A++ rating with AM Best for financial stability and a low 0.54 complaint ratio with the NAIC.

Allstate

Our rankings found Allstate in the No. 2 spot for home insurance in California. Allstate isn’t currently writing new home insurance policies in the state, but we have included it in the rankings to allow current Allstate customers to see how their insurer stacks up with the other options.

Allstate has an average annual rate of $886 a month in California, making it an affordable choice, and scored 4.68 out of 5 in our ranking. It has an A+ with AM Best and a 0.9 complaint ratio with the NAIC.

Auto Club Enterprises

Auto Club Enterprises, a AAA insurance company, lands at No. 3 for home insurance in California with an average annual rate of $1,325 a year and a score of 3.93.

Auto Club Enterprises has an A+ score for financial stability with AM Best and a slightly above-average NAIC complaints score of 1.05.

Nationwide

The No. 4 home insurance company in California is Nationwide, with a score of 3.92 out of 5. Nationwide’s average annual rate for homeowners insurance in California is $1,417.

Nationwide has a rating of A+ with AM Best and a complaint ratio of 0.87 with the NAIC.

State Farm

Like Allstate, State Farm has suspended writing new home insurance policies in California, but is still a major insurer in the state. To help current State Farm customers compare it to other companies, we have included it in our ranking. State Farm earned a score of 3.74 out of 5 for fifth place.

State Farm has the best possible AM Best score of A++ and a just-below-average NAIC complaint ratio of 0.95. The average cost of home insurance is $1,552.

How we picked Insure.com’s top-rated home insurance companies

We used sample rates from Quadrant Data Services for coverage of $300,000 for both dwelling and liability coverage and a $1,000 deductible. We analyzed more than 20 million quotes from 82 companies.

We also gathered AM Best financial stability scores for each insurance company as well as each company’s NAIC complaint ratio, examining how many complaints that company receives from consumers compared to the average.

We used these data points to create a score out of five. Only companies for which all three data points are available were included in the comparison.

Home insurance rates vary from one city to another. But with Insure.com, finding the right home insurance policy is easy. Learn more about homeowners insurance costs for different cities below.

Home insurance rates in California by city

Cheapest home insurance carriers in California

While Allstate offers the cheapest insurance nationwide, the cheapest insurer can vary from state to state. Here are the cheapest insurance companies in California.

Company group	Annual premium	Monthly premium
Allstate	$886	$74
Travelers	$1,097	$91
CSAA Insurance (AAA)	$1,324	$110
Auto Club Enterprises (AAA)	$1,325	$110
Mercury Insurance	$1,388	$116
Nationwide	$1,417	$118
State Farm	$1,552	$129
Farmers	$1,715	$143
USAA	$1,305	$109

What is the average cost of homeowners insurance in California?

The average homeowners insurance cost in California is $1,405. That’s $1,196 lower than the national average of $2,601. Your rates will vary based on your location within the state and personal factors, including the size and construction of your home.

Annual premium	Monthly premium	Difference compared to national avg.
$1,405	$117	$1,196 less

Estimate cost and get homeowners insurance quotes in California

Insure.com’s home insurance calculator can help you gather quotes and estimate how much a homeowners insurance policy might cost.

The estimates are based on several important factors, such as the amount of coverage you intend to purchase, the deductible you choose and where you live.

Homeowners insurance rates by state calculator

See how the average annual home insurance rates vary with the options chosen.

State

Average Annual Home Insurance Rates In California

$1,313 Average rate

$3,598 Highest
rate

$585 Lowest
rate

Home insurance companies in California

Company	Average annual rate
Allstate	$839
Travelers	$1,057
Auto Club Enterprises (AAA)	$1,300
USAA	$1,305
CSAA Insurance (AAA)	$1,309
Mercury Insurance	$1,388
Nationwide	$1,410
State Farm	$1,527
Farmers	$1,680

Things to consider when shopping for homeowners insurance

Your mortgage lender will require you to purchase replacement cost homeowners insurance coverage. That means you will have enough coverage to rebuild your home at today’s prices. Standard home insurance policies provide this coverage, but it’s important to make sure the replacement cost calculation is accurate.

When shopping for coverage, gathering several quotes from various insurance companies is the best way to find the policy you need at the best possible price.

It’s also important to remember that price isn’t everything; check up on the reputation of the insurance company before you buy a policy. Start with our list of the best home insurance companies.

The most common natural disasters in California

The risk of natural disasters varies from state to state. While it can seem obvious on the surface – California residents worry about wildfires, homeowners in Oklahoma face tornadoes and in Florida hurricanes wreak havoc – the biggest risk may surprise you.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the natural disaster most likely to strike in California are Drought, Earthquake, Heat wave, Landslide and Wildfire.

Make sure you have the coverage you need in the event of a natural disaster. Risks like floods and earthquakes are not covered by standard home insurance.

Natural hazard(s)	Expected annual loss
Drought, Earthquake, Heat wave, Landslide and Wildfire	Very High

Frequently asked questions

Does home insurance cover windstorms in California?

Homeowners insurance typically covers wind damage. However, in some states – particularly those vulnerable to damage from hurricanes – your homeowners policy might have a separate deductible for storms such as hurricanes or tropical storms.

These deductibles are often much higher than the deductible that applies to the rest of your homeowners insurance coverage. California doesn’t allow separate deductibles for hurricanes and windstorms.

In some cases, windstorm coverage has to be purchased separately; make sure to ask when you buy a policy.

Do I need flood insurance in California?

If you live in a high-risk flood zone in California, you need to purchase flood insurance. A standard homeowners insurance policy does not cover damage from floods. You can check your flood zone on FEMA’s flood maps.

About 90% of all natural disasters include flooding, according to the federal government’s National Association of Insurance Commissioners, so all homeowners should consider flood insurance.

How can I save on homeowners insurance?

The best way to save on homeowners insurance is to shop around and compare quotes from a handful of insurance companies. That way, you can find the coverage you need at the best possible price.

Raising your deductible can also lower your premium costs. However, remember that if you file a claim, you will have to pay your deductible in full before the insurance company will begin to reimburse you for the claim.

Most insurance companies also offer many different types of discounts to eligible policyholders. For example, one way to save is to bundle your policies by purchasing more than one type of insurance with the same insurance company.

Another way to save money is to install smoke detectors and security systems, says Theresa Breunig-Silbernagel, head of strategy and experience at Main Street America Insurance.

“Smart home systems such as motion sensors, video doorbells and water leak sensors will send you an alert on your cell phone so you can handle the issue before it becomes a real problem,” she says. “Often, these installed devices can result in discounts.”

Methodology

Insure.com commissioned home insurance rates from Quadrant Data Services in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C. with coverage levels of $300,000 for dwelling and liability and with a $1,000 deductible. Average rates were calculated using quotes from 82 insurance companies. To rank insurance companies, we used the average rate in the state along with NAIC complaint ratios and AM Best financial stability ratings.

Natural disaster data was drawn from FEMA’s National Risk Index.

State Farm and Allstate are not currently offering new home insurance in California, but still have home insurance policies in force. Data for both companies has been included for comparison purposes.

Sources

National Association of Insurance Commissioners. “Flood Insurance/National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).” Accessed April 2024.

Best and cheapest home insurance in other states

Alabama$3,147/Year

Alaska$1,708/Year

Arizona$2,490/Year

Arkansas$3,958/Year

Colorado$4,099/Year

Connecticut$2,231/Year

Delaware$1,384/Year

Florida$4,419/Year

Georgia$2,302/Year

Hawaii$613/Year

Idaho$1,961/Year

Illinois$3,062/Year

Indiana$2,991/Year

Iowa$2,654/Year

Kansas$4,843/Year

Kentucky$3,326/Year

Louisiana$3,594/Year

Maine$1,391/Year

Maryland$1,715/Year

Massachusetts$1,640/Year

Michigan$2,411/Year

Minnesota$2,420/Year

Mississippi$3,380/Year

Missouri$3,543/Year

Montana$3,289/Year

Nebraska$4,800/Year

Nevada$1,467/Year

New Hampshire$1,221/Year

New Jersey$1,526/Year

New Mexico$2,647/Year

New York$1,816/Year

North Carolina$2,941/Year

North Dakota$3,147/Year

Ohio$2,160/Year

Oklahoma$5,858/Year

Oregon$1,755/Year

Pennsylvania$1,911/Year

Rhode Island$1,950/Year

South Carolina$2,678/Year

South Dakota$3,390/Year

Tennessee$3,060/Year

Texas$3,851/Year

Utah$1,802/Year

Vermont$1,263/Year

Virginia$2,151/Year

Washington$1,612/Year

Washington, D.C.$1,342/Year

West Virginia$1,911/Year

Wisconsin$1,662/Year

Wyoming$1,897/Year

Chris Kissell

Contributing Researcher

Chris Kissell is a Denver-based writer and editor with work featured on U.S. News & World Report, MSN Money, Fox Business, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Money Talks News and more.