Home insurance calculator

Home insurance is priced by risk, not home value

Home insurance premiums vary 10x across the US — not because expensive states have expensive homes, but because insurers price for expected loss. Florida, Louisiana, and Oklahoma pay 3–4x what New Hampshire or Vermont pay on identical homes. The driver is catastrophe risk: hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, hail, and flood zones.

Post-2020 premium increases have been historic. Many states have seen 40–100% premium increases in the past 3 years driven by climate losses, reinsurance cost spikes, litigation abuse (especially Florida), and labor/materials cost inflation on rebuilds. State Farm and Allstate have stopped writing new policies in California. Citizens Insurance (Florida's state-backed insurer of last resort) covers millions of previously privately-insured homes.

What home insurance actually covers

A standard homeowners policy (HO-3) has six core coverages:

• Coverage A — Dwelling:rebuilding your house if it's destroyed. Should equal full replacement cost, not purchase price or market value.
• Coverage B — Other Structures: detached garage, shed, fence. Usually 10% of dwelling coverage.
• Coverage C — Personal Property: contents. Usually 50–70% of dwelling coverage. Covers theft even outside your home.
• Coverage D — Loss of Use: hotel, meals, temporary rent if your home is uninhabitable after a covered loss. Usually 20% of dwelling.
• Coverage E — Personal Liability: lawsuits if someone is injured on your property. Standard is $100K; bump to $300–500K.
• Coverage F — Medical Payments: minor medical bills for guests hurt on your property. $1K–$5K typical.

What home insurance does NOT cover

The most expensive misunderstanding in insurance:

• Flood damage. Not covered by standard policy — at all. Even if pipes burst upstream and water enters from outside. Requires separate NFIP flood insurance or private flood policy.
• Earthquake damage. Not covered standard. Requires separate earthquake endorsement or policy, especially important in CA, OR, WA, MO.
• Sewer backup. Usually requires separate endorsement ($50–$150/year). Worth it — sewer backups are common and expensive.
• Mold (beyond limited coverage). Most policies cap mold remediation at $5K–$10K.
• Wear and tear, aging roofs, pest damage, gradual leaks. Insurance is for sudden and accidental, not maintenance failures.

Replacement cost vs. actual cash value

The single biggest pricing decision:

• Replacement Cost Value (RCV):pays to rebuild or replace with similar quality at today's prices. If your 10-year- old roof blows off, RCV pays for a new roof. More expensive premium, much better coverage.
• Actual Cash Value (ACV): pays depreciated value. That same 10-year-old roof might pay only 40% of replacement cost. Cheaper premium, potentially catastrophic at claim time.

Always get RCV on dwelling and ACV on contents. Some insurers now push ACV roof endorsements at renewal, especially for roofs over 15 years old — read your declarations page carefully at every renewal.

Deductibles: the trade-off

Raising your deductible from $1,000 to $2,500 typically saves 10–15% on premium. Raising from $1,000 to $5,000 saves 25–30%. Over 10 years of no-claim ownership, a $5,000 deductible beats a $1,000 deductible by thousands. But if you file a claim in year 2, you're significantly out of pocket.

Decide based on your financial cushion: can you easily absorb a $5,000 loss? If yes, take the higher deductible. In hurricane-prone states, watch for separate (much higher) hurricane deductibles — often 2–5% of dwelling value, paid per named storm event.

Factors that drive your premium

• State and ZIP code. Largest factor. Varies 10x across US.
• Replacement cost of dwelling. Bigger/nicer home = more to rebuild.
• Age and condition. Older roof, older wiring, older plumbing = higher premium.
• Roof type and age. Some insurers won't write shake roofs. Roofs over 20 years require inspection.
• Distance from fire hydrant and station. Rural = more expensive.
• Claim history (yours and neighborhood). CLUE report lookups.
• Credit score. Insurers use credit-based insurance scores in most states.
• Dog breeds. Several breeds can raise premium or disqualify entirely.
• Pool, trampoline, wood stove. All raise liability risk.

How to lower your premium

1. Bundle with auto. Saves 10–25% at most carriers.
2. Raise your deductible. 15–30% savings.
3. Install monitoring/alarm. 5–15% savings on monitored alarms, smart leak detectors, smart smoke detectors.
4. Upgrade the roof. Impact-resistant shingles discount 10–25% in hail-prone areas.
5. Maintain good credit. 10–30% premium difference between good and bad credit in most states.
6. Shop every 2 years. Insurance pricing is relationship-free; loyalty is punished, not rewarded. Get 3+ quotes at renewal.

Florida, California, and the insurance crisis

If you're buying in Florida, California, Louisiana, or coastal Texas, insurance availability is part of your closing risk. Many carriers have pulled out, private markets have thin or no offerings, and state insurers of last resort (Citizens in FL, California FAIR Plan) have long waits and sharp limits.

Before closing in these states:

• Get a bindable insurance quote before you remove your financing contingency
• Verify the carrier is still writing new business in that ZIP
• Read hurricane/wildfire deductible carefully
• Expect 50–100% premium increases over 3–5 years — budget accordingly

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Pair this with our mortgage payment calculator for full PITI including insurance, and the property tax calculator for the other major escrow line item.