Name: State Farm
Item: State Farm
Rating: 4.8
Author: Michelle Megna

Our Expert Take

We like State Farm’s decent prices and that it has the best average discount for bundling home and auto insurance among the companies we evaluated.

States Available In

Pros

Average 23% savings when you bundle home and auto insurance.
Offers optional extended replacement cost coverage, expanding your insurance limit when rebuilding costs are more than your dwelling coverage amount.
No banned dog list.

Cons

Doesn’t provide optional guaranteed replacement coverage, which increases dwelling coverage to replace your home after a problem covered by your policy, regardless of house rebuilding costs.
State Farm agents will be knowledgeable about the company’s products but won’t help you compare other insurers.

Table of Contents

States Available In

State Farm sells home insurance in all 50 states and Washington, DC.

State Farm Home Insurance Cost Comparison

State Farm made Forbes Advisor’s list of best home insurance companies and offers very competitive home insurance rates compared to many of its top competitors.

Home insurance company	Annual average cost for $350,000 coverage	Dollar difference from national average of $1,678
Progressive	$729	-$949
Nationwide	$1,157	-$521
Erie	$1,256	-$422
USAA*	$1,270	-$408
State Farm	$1,298	-$380
Source: Quadrant Information Services. *USAA home insurance is open only to members of the military, veterans and their families.

About State Farm Homeowners Insurance

State Farm Insurance sold its first insurance policy in 1922. State Farm is the No. 1 seller of auto and homeowners insurance in the United States. The company is headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois.

State Farm’s home insurance policies provide the standard types of coverage you’d want:

Dwelling coverage pays for damage to your house and attached structures, like a deck or back porch.
Other structures coverage pays for damage to other structures on your property such as a shed or detached garage.
Personal property coverage pays out if your personal property is stolen or damaged.
Liability insurance pays for lawsuits brought against you, such as a neighbor who gets injured on your property and sues you.
Additional living expenses pays for extra costs such as hotel bills and restaurant meals if you cannot live in your home due to a problem covered by your policy, such as a fire.
Medical payments coverage pays the medical bills of people who blame you for accidental injuries, without regard to fault. Coverage is typically in small amounts, such as $1,000 to $5,000.

State Farms sells several other types of home-related insurance including coverage for condos, renters, rental property and manufactured homes.

Options for State Farm home insurance add-ons include:

Increased dwelling coverage provides an extra amount of coverage for your house structure if repair costs exceed the insurance amount stated in your policy. This type of coverage is good to have and important if local construction costs rise suddenly, such as after widespread storm damage.
ID theft insurance. If a thief steals your identity, you’ll get help to maneuver your way through the recovery process for up to a year, plus up to $25,000 in reimbursement for expenses related to recovering your identity.
Personal articles policy. Everything from jewelry to sports equipment is covered by this policy. A personal articles policy doesn’t have a deductible and will cover the replacement costs of your items.
Umbrella insurance. Another policy to consider with a homeowners policy is umbrella insurance. An umbrella insurance policy will cover liability claims that are greater than your home insurance policy limits.

State Farm Homeowners Insurance Discounts

You can save money on your home insurance with State Farm discounts such as:

Multiple line discount. Also known as “bundling,” you can get a discount for buying multiple policies with State Farm. When you bundle a home insurance policy and an auto policy you can save an average of 23%.
Home security insurance discount. If you have fire and burglar alarms in your house, you may qualify for a discount.
Roofing discounts. State Farm offers roofing materials discounts such as a price break for using hail-resistant shingles.
Loyal customer discount. State Farm offers lower rates for customers who have been with the company consecutively for a certain number of months.
Utilities discounts. You may qualify for a discount for updated plumbing, electrical and heating and cooling.
Dwellings under construction. The company offers lower rates for houses under construction.

Home Insurance Complaints Against State Farm

State Farm has about an average level of home insurance complaints compared to the industry average. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners tracks complaints made to state departments of insurance. A complaint level can signify a company’s customer satisfaction and State Farm’s results show an average complaint ratio for the past few years.

State Farm and ADT Partnership to Provide Smart-Home Tech

State Farm and ADT Inc. are partnering up to offer homeowners smart-home technology that can help detect water, fire and theft risks—and ideally help prevent the incidents from happening.

With a $1.2 billion equity investment, State Farm now owns 15% of ADT Inc. The two companies plan to work together with Google to build a home monitoring system. State Farm also kicked in $300 million to help fund the new home security and risk detection product. The goal is for customers to file fewer claims, which reduces costs for both homeowners and State Farm.

ADT in 2020 joined forces with Google to build a series of Nest smart home security systems. The newly cemented deal with State Farm will build off this relationship and combine security with risk-mitigation features.

Methodology

To find the best home insurance we scored companies based on these factors:

Home insurance rates (50% of score): Based on average rates for each insurance company for homes with dwelling coverage of $200,000, $350,000, $500,000 and $750,000.
Complaints (20% weight): Based on complaints about home insurance that were upheld by state insurance departments. Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Availability of extended and/or guaranteed replacement cost coverage (20% of score): Extra dwelling coverage is valuable in the event of large disasters when construction materials and labor costs tend to spike. We gave points to companies that offer either extended or guaranteed replacement cost coverage. Source: Forbes Advisor research.
Banned dog lists (10% of score): Banned dog breed lists can make homeowners ineligible for coverage. (A company’s banned dog list might not be applicable in all states.) While any homeowners insurance company could potentially ban any dog with a biting history, not all put a ban on specific breeds. Source: Forbes Advisor research.