Getting a good price on home insurance is a great way for homeowners to save money. The best way to find the coverage you need at the lowest rates is to comparison shop. We evaluated average rates for large home insurance companies in Arizona to help you find an affordable policy.

Cheap Home Insurance in Arizona Cost Comparison

Home insurance quotes can vary greatly from one home insurance company to the next. Comparison shopping will help you find the best rates for your specific situation.

Company Average annual cost in Arizona
$723
$927
$932
$1,174
$1,192
$1,306
$1,366
Farm Bureau
$1,451
$1,505
$1,834
$3,457
Source: Quadrant Information Services, based on dwelling coverage of $300,000

Homeowners Insurance Cost Factors in Arizona

Obtaining cheap home insurance in Arizona depends on many rating factors when offering home insurance quotes, including:

  • The materials your home is constructed of
  • The cost to rebuild your home
  • The age of your home
  • The fire rating of your location
  • The claims history of your location
  • The coverage amount and policy limits
  • Your deductible amount
  • Your personal claims history
  • Your credit

What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover in Arizona?

Even true for most cheap home insurance, a typical home insurance policy (referred to as an HO-3) is all-risk coverage. That means it covers your house for any problem that isn’t excluded in the policy. Standard exclusions include power failure, flooding, sinkholes, earthquakes, nuclear hazard, war, wear and tear, termite or vermin infestations.

Your personal property is covered for specific hazards (perils) in a standard homeowners insurance policy. Theft, vandalism, fire, lightning and explosions are a few of the issues covered by home insurance.

In general, your average home insurance policy will include these main coverage types, which pay up to the limits in your policy:

  • Dwelling: This pays to repair or rebuild your home if it’s harmed. It also provides coverage for attached structures, like a garage or deck.
  • Other structures: This pays to repair or replace structures that are not attached to your home (sometimes called adjacent structures), like a shed or gazebo.
  • Personal property (contents coverage): This pays to repair or replace your personal belongings after a covered event, like fire or theft. Your personal belongings include goods like your clothing, furniture, electronics, jewelry, appliances and other household items.
  • Liability: This pays for property damage and injuries you or household members accidentally do to others. For example, your home liability insurance can pay for the repair if your kids accidentally break your neighbor’s window with a ball. If an incident leads to a lawsuit, liability can also pay for a court judgment against you, including your legal defense expenses.
  • Medical payments to others: This covers minor injury claims of people not in your household, regardless of who was at fault. For instance, if a guest at your memorial day barbecue receives slight burns from your grill, medical payments coverage could pay for their visit to urgent care. Coverage amounts tend to be small, such as $1,000.
  • Additional living expenses: If your home is uninhabitable due to damage covered by your policy, such as a fire, additional living expenses coverage pays for extra costs you incur like restaurant meals, hotel expenses and other vital services, like a laundry service.

What’s Not Covered by Homeowners Insurance in Arizona?

Usual exclusions stated in an average home insurance policy include issues and events such as floods, sinkholes, earthquakes, power failure, insect and vermin infestations, nuclear hazard, war, wear and tear and intentional loss.

It’s wise to read through your homeowners policy closely to know what exactly is excluded from coverage.

Flood Insurance in Arizona

The average homeowners insurance policy doesn’t cover flood damage. With the severe storms Arizona receives, flooding could be a real concern, so consider flood insurance if your property is potentially at risk.

The burn scars left from previous wildfires make some areas especially prone to flooding because the ground can’t soak in the rain as it once could. An unusually severe monsoon season makes flooding of Arizonans’ homes even more likely.

Financial assistance from the government after a flood may be limited. It’s better to have your own flood insurance policy to depend on. Most homeowners with flood insurance purchase it through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a federal program. Private flood insurance is also an option.

If you qualify, FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP) can provide monetary and direct assistance after an emergency or major disaster. This program helps people find housing after an issue directly caused by a disaster, and that isn’t covered by insurance or other sources.

Earthquake Insurance in Arizona

Arizona is not known for earthquakes like a few of its neighbors, such as California, but tremors do occur in the Grand Canyon State. According to the Arizona Geological Survey, there are around 100 faults in Arizona and “a distinct seismic belt that runs from north-northwestern to the southeastern part of the state.”

While small earthquakes occur without much notice, every so often, a moderate earthquake shakes the state. Within the seismic belt, “there have been multiple events above M3.0 [magnitude 3.0] with an M5.0 occurring nearly every 10 years or so,” notes the Arizona Geological Survey.

If you want to be prepared for any possible earthquake damage, you’ll need to obtain a separate earthquake insurance policy. The average home insurance policy doesn’t cover earthquakes.

Earthquake insurance typically covers:

  • Dwelling
  • Other structures
  • Additional living expenses
  • Personal property

Earthquake insurance has a separate deductible from your homeowner insurance. It runs between 10% to 25% of the dwelling’s policy limit.

Tips for Buying Homeowners Insurance in Arizona

Whether you’re about to close on your first house in Arizona or switching insurance companies, you’ll want to buy a home insurance policy at a good price without sacrificing coverage. Here are recommendations for both newcomers and longtime homeowners:

  • Determine your rebuilding costs. Chat with a trusted contractor or your insurance agent about the price of rebuilding your home with comparable materials based on labor costs in your area. You want your dwelling coverage amount to be at least equal to this estimate.
  • Evaluate your liability coverage. You should choose an amount that corresponds to the value of your assets. Experts recommend at least $300,000.
  • Consider add-on coverage. If you have precious items, antiques or expensive equipment you should consider scheduling personal property for those pricey possessions.
  • Evaluate policy for coverage gaps. Some home insurance providers offer add-on benefits, for instance, to help pay for damage from water backups or provide higher limits for landscaping such as trees and shrubs damaged in a fire.
  • Review benefits of replacement cost vs. actual cash value. Consider replacement cost coverage for your home and belongings. It gets you the amount you need to replace your damaged items with new ones instead of actual cash value, which only pays you a depreciated amount.
  • Explore financial ratings. Check financial strength ratings from companies such as Standard & Poor’s and A.M. Best. Some institutions may not finance your mortgage unless your insurance company has a financial strength rating of at least an “A.”
  • Ask for discounts. Make certain you’re receiving all the discounts that you’re eligible for with your insurance company. See if you’ll get a discount for obtaining a home security system, or for bundling car and home insurance with the same company.
  • Compare quotes from multiple insurance companies. The premium for the same policy can vary considerably among insurance providers in Arizona. If you don’t shop around, you won’t find out how much you can save.