The Best Cheap Homeowners Insurance in Georgia

As an independent insurance agency, we wanted to break down everything you should know about homeowners insurance in Georgia to make your shopping experience easier.

Key Takeaways:

Homeowners insurance in Georgia is $2,664 annually for $300,000 of dwelling coverage. Rates vary by property and location, so you may not know your exact premiums until you get quotes. Nevertheless, we can still highlight the average home insurance cost in Georgia based on coverage amount, which is one of the main influences on your premium.

The amount of dwelling coverage you need is typically based on your home’s replacement cost, which is the amount of money it would take to rebuild your house completely based on construction and materials expenses.

Many more factors, which we’ll discuss later, affect Georgia property insurance prices. However, it’s useful to know these averages so you’re not going in blind when you get quotes. Unfortunately, home insurance rates in Georgia have been on the rise in recent years.

Homeowners insurance premiums have been climbing nationwide since roughly 2020 as inflation and supply chain issues worsened by the pandemic have had lasting effects on construction, building materials, and home values.

According to S&P Global, premiums in Georgia have risen 27% from 2018 to 2023. If you currently own a home in the Peach State, you’ve probably seen higher rates reflected in your renewal offers lately, especially if you’re near the coast.

Coastal properties are generally the most prone to wind and flood damage since hurricanes tend to originate in the Atlantic, and these properties are most exposed to them. Because of their higher risk, insurers charge more to protect coastal houses. For example, our internal analysis found that home insurance costs in Savannah are about 4% higher than rates in Macon, a city notably more inland. 

So, finding cheap home insurance in Georgia may not be as easy as it once was, but it’s not impossible. You should always get multiple quotes, as some companies will have lower rates than others.

Based on our findings, Farmers, Cincinnati Insurance, Allstate, and USAA have some of the cheapest coverage in Georgia. Technically, there isn’t always a default most affordable option, as the companies with cheap Georgia insurance will differ by policyholder and property and change over time, which is why it’s so important to get multiple quotes before buying.

The average yearly cost of home insurance in Georgia for $300,000 of coverage was 28% higher than the average home insurance cost at $200,000 of coverage, which comes out to about a $539 difference.

In our table, Cincinnati Insurance had the smallest price increase when jumping to $300,000 of coverage, while Travelers had the largest difference. But, you’ll have to get quotes for yourself for a final say. These are averages and may not reflect your experience when looking for the cheapest home insurance in Georgia.

There are over 180 homeowners insurance companies in Georgia, but the top five by market share are State Farm, Allstate, USAA, Travelers, and Liberty Mutual. Let’s take a look at the market share of each:

Allstate insurance in Georgia has proven popular, evidenced by its nearly 14% market share in the Peach State. Although founded in Massachusetts in 1912, Liberty Mutual has expanded to the sixth-largest property and casualty insurer in the country, and Liberty Mutual in Georgia is popular for home and auto coverage among residents.

Quoting these companies is a good place to start, but you should consult several resources to find the best home coverage in Georgia. You can ask friends, relatives, and neighbors. You can research companies in your area online and check out their reviews. 

Consulting an independent insurance agent can also make the process much easier. Independent agents like us at Clovered partner with several providers in your area and can help you find a policy with one of the best home insurance companies in Georgia for you. You can also consult the state of Georgia’s Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Fire Safety License Lookup tool to confirm that an agent or company is licensed to sell insurance in Georgia.

The best home insurance in Georgia comes from whatever company offers you the best policy at the best price, although it should be an HO-3 policy. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice customer service or satisfaction for affordable rates., and if you take the time to get quotes, you should hopefully be able to find one that suits your needs.

The most common type of homeowners insurance is officially known as the HO-3 form. There are more limited forms of home insurance that are cheaper and cover less, called HO-1 and HO-2 forms. But, the HO-3 form is known as an open-peril policy, meaning it’s much more comprehensive. It’s the type of coverage most homeowners have, and the average rates referenced in this article are for HO-3 plans. 

The coverages in HO-3 policies are as follows:

Dwelling coverage protects your roof, flooring, walls, windows, patios, and more. As we touched on earlier, your home’s replacement cost dictates the amount of dwelling coverage you need. 

Other structures coverage safeguards fixtures and features on your property not attached to your house, such as detached garages, sheds, fences, driveways (in some cases), and more.

Other structures limits are 10% of your dwelling coverage. For instance, if you have $300,000 of dwelling coverage, you’d likely have $30,000 of other structures coverage.

Personal property coverage protects your belongings and valuables in and around your property. This includes furniture, electronics, jewelry, small appliances, tools, bicycles, and more.

Loss of use coverage aids you if you get forced out of your house after it suffers damage from a covered peril, such as a fire, hurricane, or tornado. Your insurer can cover your lodging, gas, food, and more until they finish repairs and you can move into your home again.

Liability coverage protects your finances in case you’re found liable for someone’s injury. Personal liability limits often range from $100,000 to just under a million.

Medical payments coverage is designated for minor injuries or small accidents someone can suffer. Limits are typically between $2,000 to $5,000.Liability coverage might pay for surgery and physical therapy for someone breaking their arm after a slip and fall. In contrast, medical payments coverage may pay for some stitches after someone cuts their hand.

Your plan should cover you and your property sufficiently, which may require some adjusting while you’re quoting. For instance, you may raise coverage limits or add endorsements to enhance protection.

Note that HO-3 plans won’t cover mobile or manufactured dwellings. Mobile home insurance in Georgia calls for an HO-8 policy, which contains some minor coverage differences. An HO-8 plan also suffices for manufactured home insurance in Georgia.

While shopping around is the best way to save money and find cheap homeowners insurance in Georgia, you can also lower your premiums by raising your deductible and qualifying for discounts.

Raise your deductible: Your deductible is the amount of money you must pay out of pocket in an insurance claim before your carrier can step in and pick up the rest of the tab. You can’t file a claim if the damage doesn’t exceed the deductible amount. 

You choose your deductible when quoting, and the options usually range from $500 to $2,000 or more. If you choose a higher deductible, you lower your odds of filing a claim and increase your personal financial responsibility. This reduces your risk to your insurer, lowering your premiums.

Raising your deductible is an effective way to lower costs of hurricane insurance in Georgia, but be careful not to set yours too high that you can’t afford it if needed.

Watch for discounts: Always ask about discounts for which you may be eligible. Discount extent and type vary by company, so you may get better discounts, such as loyalty or claims-free rewards, at some carriers than others. You can receive discounts at the best home and auto insurance companies in Georgia for several aspects of your life, such as occupation, house security, and bundling. Also, wind mitigating your house has the potential to help you greatly save on insurance premiums, and the discounts may expand in 2025.

The typical homeowners insurance cost in Georgia ranges from $1,531 to $3,187 for most people. Insurers look at several variables when underwriting to determine the viability of a policy. A company can only write a plan if it is financially wise for them, or they could go out of business. 

Providers must manage risk. As a result, higher-risk policyholders will pay higher premiums. Some of the most significant factors that affect the best homeowners insurance rates in Georgia include:

Houses on Georgia’s coast will likely pay higher premiums due to the increased likelihood of hurricane damage. Tornadoes are also a major risk statewide. This is evidenced as recently as January 2023, when tornadoes caused serious property damage in several counties. These risks of wind damage raise Georgia home insurance rates for residents.

Older houses also tend to have higher premiums than newer ones. Outdated piping, wiring, and roofing increase the odds of property damage in older homes. Also, older dwellings may not be built up to the latest safety codes, which can complicate matters and raise costs when rebuilding after damage.

Homeowners insurance isn’t required by law in Georgia. But, if you have a mortgage, your lender will require you to have a policy that covers the mortgage loan amount at least. They might recommend a provider, but you’re not obligated to choose their suggestion. It’s better to shop around.

If you don’t keep coverage on your home, your lender can force-place insurance on you. Force-placed insurance is more expensive and less comprehensive than home insurance you can get for yourself. Avoid force-placed insurance by making timely payments on your policy and not letting it lapse.

Other than needing coverage when having a mortgage, many Georgia homeowners insurance requirements involve filing claims. During a claim, you need to act promptly by notifying your carrier as soon as possible after you suffer damage. You may need to take temporary measures to mitigate the damage so it doesn’t get worse, but don’t make major repairs. Your insurer will need to inspect it.

Read your policy carefully to understand exclusions, requirements, and other procedures specific to your company. 

Unfortunately, there’s one peril house insurance in Georgia won’t cover: flooding. Floods are the country’s most common and costly natural disaster, and all homeowners insurance plans exclude flooding by default. You’d need a separate flood insurance policy in Georgia to guard against floods, which can result from thunderstorms, hurricanes, storm surges, and more.

Georgia flood insurance is typically provided by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the nation’s largest flood insurance provider. You may be required to get flood insurance by your mortgage lender if your house is in a federally designated high-risk flood zone.

In Georgia, companies must acknowledge receipt of your claim within 15 days from when you file. Although there’s no time limit for how long a claim can take, a carrier must pay you within 10 days after coverage is confirmed and the full amount of the claim is determined. 

On the consumer side, you must not knowingly withhold anything from your insurer when quoting. Your provider needs to know everything about you to cover you sufficiently. Withholding certain information can be troublesome if you file a claim, and you could be committing insurance fraud.

You should compare several options in your area when getting home insurance quotes in Georgia. With Clovered, you can use our online quoting platform to compare quotes from top Georgia home insurance companies. 

If you’d rather speak to someone or during the quoting process, one of our licensed team of in-house agents can assist you. Call us at 833-255-4117 during business hours, or email us any time at [email protected]. We want to make it as easy as possible to get Georgia homeowners insurance quotes.