Homeowners Insurance in Decatur, Alabama (2024)

For homeowners, life gets even better. Homeowners insurance in Decatur, Alabama is more affordable than in many other places across the country. Averaging just $1,351 per year for a $150,000 house and $2,134 per year for a $300,000 house, Decatur is also on par with nearby Alabama cities.

The average cost of homeowners insurance in Decatur, Alabama tips the scale at about $1,745 per year. But the cost of your home is the biggest determining factor in premiums, with more expensive homes requiring more insurance. That brings the average cost to $1,351 for a $150,000 house and $2,134 for a $300,000 house.

One of the other biggest factors is the company you choose. Below, you’ll find that Travelers, one of our many partners with which we can secure a homeowners policy for you, is by far the most affordable. It’s averaging just $749 per year — $534 and $964 for the aforementioned values of a house.

Next up are Allstate, Safeco — also one of our partners — and Farmers rounding out the top four. The companies, however, are just the tip of the iceberg. Sure, you can get a cheap policy, but will it cover what you need?

We’ll dive into everything you need to know about your homeowners insurance policy in this article. But first, let’s take a look at the full breakdown of average costs and some of the key Alabama Department of Insurance rating factors used to determine these prices.

The rates in this article are sourced from the Alabama Department of Insurance, which provides real premiums from several companies in the state. These are average annual premiums for an HO-3 policy, which is the most common type of homeowners insurance plan.

As you can see from above, there are four different categories of rating factors used by the Alabama Department of Insurance. This is fairly common, and similar factors are used in the nearby states of Georgia and Florida. But there are more factors you need to know about before getting into a more in-depth breakdown.

Things like natural disasters, particularly the more common tornadoes in the area, influence rates heavily. Insurers must calculate the potential damage those tornadoes could cause to one single town and the area as a whole. If an insurer has many policies in a single city and other policies sparsely populated throughout the state, the chances of paying more for premiums increases.

This is because the risk taken on by the insurer is higher because one big natural disaster in the town could cause many claims at once. That’s why large insurers diversify in as many cities and states as possible, mitigating their risk of having to pay out large sums of money at once.

That’s also why we partner with large insurance companies. It allows us to decipher their costs and only choose the partners who can provide affordable policies that meet the needs of homeowners. Things like your converge amounts, deductibles and many other factors are also at play.

Before we dive any deeper into coverages, let’s take a look at the average cost of homeowners insurance in Decatur, Alabama for homeowners with $150,000 and $300,000 houses.

The numbers in this article are actual figures of real homeowners insurance policies. Each year, the state’s largest insurers are required to provide data to the Alabama Department of Insurance for transparency measures. It’s up to us to sift through these numbers, break them down and provide them to you, the person who will actually need the policy.

As an agency, we have many insurance partners in Alabama ready to provide you with a policy today. All you need to do is enter a few details about your home into our proprietary online quoting engine, then we’ll work some magic and pair you with an affordable policy that meets your coverage needs.

While we’d love for you to get a policy through us, we care more about providing you with the necessary measures and premiums to go out there and get the best policy for you. If that’s through us, welcome to the team. If it’s not, we hope these numbers and this article helped you better understand the ins and outs of homeowners insurance in Decatur.

While we don’t have partnerships with companies like State Farm, Farmers or Nationwide, we do have partnerships in place with companies like Travelers, Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company and Hippo — some of the best insurers in the country. Let’s take an even closer look at the numbers and companies on the list.

State Farm Insurance: State Farm averages $2,573 per year for premiums, breaking it down even further to find that its average for $150,000 houses is $2,136 and $3,010 for $300,000 houses. That’s good for fifth-most affordable on each list, respectively.

Farmers Insurance: Farmers is just ahead at fourth-most affordable for each category, averaging $1,520 for a $150,000 house and $2,761 for a $300,000 house.

Allstate Insurance: Allstate is the second-most affordable provider on the list, falling to only our partner Travelers. It provides average rates of $895 for a $150,000 house and $1,562 for a $300,000 house — nearly half of State Farm’s averages.

Alfa Insurance: Alfa Insurance, headquartered in Montgomery and known as one of the largest insurers in the Heart of Dixie, is the second-most expensive carrier on the list. Rates average $2,314 for a $150,000 house and $3,914 for a $300,000 house. Those numbers are primarily due to a heavy insurance presence in just Alabama, which increases risk if a major disaster hits the state.

Travelers Insurance: One of our many partners, Travelers submitted the lowest average rates in the state, coming in at just $534 for a $150,000 house and $964 for a $300,000 house. That’s nearly half the cost of any other insurer on the list.

Nationwide Insurance: As the most expensive carrier on the list, Nationwide provides policies at an average of $2,920 for a $150,000 house and $3,323 for a $300,000 house.

With a standard homeowners insurance policy, you’ll get coverages A through F. Those coverages protect against a certain subset of perils, which are simply matters of damage and disaster that can occur. Let’s take an in-depth look at these coverages and a few example scenarios that should be covered.

Dwelling: This is the structure of your home, including things that are built into it or attached to it and deemed necessary. Dwelling coverage extends to things like your home’s roof, the windows, doors, flooring, hot water heater and also the major systems in your home, like the air conditioning unit, HVAC system and electrical wiring.

Other Structures: This is geared to protect any structures on your property that aren’t attached to your home, such as sheds, carports, detached garages and fencing. The amount of coverage you receive is typically 10% of your home’s dwelling coverage, which is the amount your house is actually insured for. So homeowners with a $250,000 house may have up to $25,000 in coverage for the structures on their property if they need to file a claim for damage.

Personal Property: This will help protect your furniture, clothing, electronics and much more if your home is damaged or destroyed by a covered peril. It also covers high-value items like jewelry and collectibles, but in a much different fashion with lower maximums — unless you schedule them with your insurer.

To determine how much coverage you need, start a home inventory list of all your belongings and their values, noting which items you need to schedule and for how much.

Loss of Use: This protects your finances if your home is damaged or destroyed and you’re forced to temporarily move out while it’s being repaired or rebuilt. It’s geared to reimburse you for additional living expenses you incur in that scenario. Things like a rental home of equivalent value, storage fees and pet boarding are some of the most common things covered.

Liability: This is designed to help cover medical bills and legal fees if someone is injured on your property and you’re found liable, damage you cause to another home, or if your dog bites someone on or off the property.

Things like a tree falling from your yard onto your neighbor’s roof can be covered. As can incidents like your dog biting someone off your property. Coverage typically comes standard at $250,000 per claim, but high-net-worth individuals are encouraged to purchase supplementary umbrella coverage to extend their maximums.

Medical Payments: Similar to the aforementioned liability portion, medical payments to others coverage can help pay for minor medical expenses if someone is injured on your property — whether or not you’re found liable.

Homeowners insurance doesn’t cover flooding, so you’ll need a separate flood insurance policy for that. Fortunately, getting an Alabama flood insurance policy is extremely easy. All you need to do is fill out our online quoting form and one of our licensed flood insurance agents will get back to you with a policy that fits your needs and your budget.

Since Decatur sits along the banks of the Tennessee River, much of the city is within one of FEMA’s designated flood zones. But it’s mainly properties along the Dry Branch and Betty Rye Branch that are most susceptible to flooding, as some of these are high-risk flood zones.

Getting a homeowners insurance quote is easy as ever with Clovered. Our online quoting platform is simple to use, extremely intuitive and can compare the premiums of some of Alabama’s top insurers, so you get the best policy at the best price.

We’re always here to help. If you’d rather speak to a licensed agent on the phone, just call 833-255-4117 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Or you can email us anytime at [email protected].