Best and Cheapest Homeowners Insurance in Maryland

Maryland is a unique state in many ways. Despite having no natural lakes, the state has extensive coastlines and is almost split in two by the picturesque Chesapeake Bay. The best way for a Marylander to protect their property is with a homeowners insurance policy.

Key Takeaways:

The average home insurance cost in Maryland is about $1,802 per year for $300,000 of dwelling coverage. This is a few hundred dollars higher than the same amount of homeowners insurance in the nearby states of Virginia ($1,620) and Pennsylvania ($1,499).

Keep in mind, though, that the number is just an average, and your premium can vary based on many factors, one of the most important being how much coverage you need.

The amount of coverage you need depends on the cost of your home, which is your replacement cost. Below are average home insurance rates in the Old Line State at different dwelling coverage levels. 

House insurance in Maryland provides protection in a variety of ways from certain covered perils. Common perils include weather-related damage, fires, and theft. If you suffer damage from a covered peril, your home insurance can help you through one or more of the following coverages.

Dwelling coverage is the part of your policy that financially protects the structure of your house. Your dwelling coverage includes your roof, walls, flooring, patios, decks, wiring, HVAC, and more. Your policy’s dwelling coverage is based on your home’s replacement cost.

Other structures coverage safeguards fixtures and features on your property that aren’t attached to your house. These include sheds, detached garages, fences, pools, and more. Your other structures limit is usually 10% of your dwelling coverage limit on your Maryland property insurance policy.

Personal property coverage covers your belongings in and around your property. Your personal property coverage protects furniture, clothes, electronics, tools, jewelry, and more. A common limit for this coverage is about 50% of your dwelling coverage limit, but you may adjust this depending on the value of your items.

If you must move out of your house after damage from a covered peril, your insurance company can cover the living expenses you incur during this time through loss of use coverage. Your provider can reimburse you for lodging, food, gas, and more while you’re displaced for a certain period of time.

Personal liability coverage comes into play when you or your family member is found legally responsible for an injury to someone else. If that person sues you for money, your liability coverage can cover their medical expenses and your legal fees to limit your out-of-pocket costs. When raising your liability coverage limits, note that your Maryland homeowners insurance rates may rise. 

Medical payments coverage is like liability coverage on a smaller scale. Medical payments coverage is designed to cover minor injuries someone suffers. Liability limits range from $100,000 to $1 million, while medical payments coverage limits usually range between $2,000 to $5,000.

A standard homeowners insurance policy is officially called an HO-3 form. Homes that differ from a standard, single-family home may require a different policy. For example, a mobile home insurance policy is an HO-7 form. 

Mobile and manufactured homes are popular types of housing. You need a separate type of insurance policy for a mobile or manufactured house. Mobile home insurance in Maryland includes many of the same coverages as standard home insurance, although the cost may differ.

HO-3 and HO-7 policies are largely similar, but the HO-7 has slight modifications in coverage to account for the different construction and requirements for mobile homes.

The best home insurance in Maryland varies based on each individual, as insurance is highly subjective based on you, your policy, and your insurer. While the best policy for your needs may put coverage first, the best policy for your neighbor’s needs may place more value on cost. To select the best policy for your needs, you’ll need to keep a few things in mind. 

First, you’ll need to be aware of your policy exclusions. For example, even the most top-rated homeowners insurance in Maryland doesn’t normally cover water backup, flooding damage, and certain high-value items like art and memorabilia. You can purchase riders or endorsements for additional coverage if you want.

You should also know the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value in your policy. When reimbursed for property damage or personal belongings, your provider will account for depreciation and thus lower your payout if you have actual cash value coverage. This contrasts with replacement cost coverage, where your provider will pay the full cost to replace what you lost.

As you might imagine, opting for actual cash value coverage is more commonly associated with cheap homeowners insurance in Maryland than replacement cost coverage. You’ll commonly find these two options in personal property coverage, but you can encounter it in other structures coverage and other areas of your policy at times as well. 

The best policy should be able to accommodate your unique needs concerning price, coverage, and more.

You will need to shop around and compare providers to get a policy from one of the best homeowners insurance companies in Maryland. There are currently over 140 insurers in Maryland to choose from. You should be able to find the policy you need at the price you want while also seeking optional endorsements and potential discounts.

The largest Maryland homeowners insurance companies are:

Combined, these companies make up over 60% of the homeowners insurance market in Maryland. Shopping around among these carriers may be a good place to find the right insurance company in Maryland for your needs. Note, though, that USAA is only available to military members and their families.

In addition to these large, popular providers, you may want to seek out quotes from smaller insurers in your area. Consulting an independent insurance agent with regional know-how and connections may also help. 

Erie and State Farm have some of the cheapest home insurance in Maryland, based on our analysis of some of the top companies. 

Finding the cheapest policy that meets your needs will depend on many factors. Take a look at our chart below highlighting the average rates of the top insurers in the Old Line State for two different dwelling coverage limits. 

As shown in the table above, State Farm and Erie have the lowest overall home insurance rates in the Old Line State. From the insurers we analyzed, Travelers and Chubb were the only two that had above-average rates in Maryland. Allstate Insurance in Maryland had the smallest difference in price when dwelling coverage was adjusted, with premiums differing by about 20%. 

While we analyzed rates from some of the top insurers in the Old Line State, there are plenty of other insurers to choose from. For example, Progressive Insurance in Maryland is one of the larger, national insurers with a large presence in the state. Conversely, Hartford in Maryland and NJM Insurance in Maryland are among the smaller, regional insurers in the state with a large consumer base. 

Selecting a national or regional insurer is a matter of personal preference. National insurers generally have a tried-and-true way of doing things like underwriting and processing claims, whereas regional insurers may understand their policyholders’ needs better and may offer a more personal customer experience. 

Your location is a major factor in homeowners insurance average costs in Maryland. Carriers can’t discriminate based solely on where your house is, but different areas have different factors, such as crime rates, home values, and susceptibility to natural disasters, that influence premiums.

For instance, in Maryland, homes in Baltimore City and Allegany and Garrett counties tend to have cheaper rates, while Anne Arundel, Carroll, and Howard counties can be more expensive for homeowners insurance.

Getting cheap home insurance in Maryland is possible for many policyholders, even those who maintain high levels of coverage. There are a few ways homeowners can lower their rates, some riskier than others.

For example, lowering your coverage limits will always lower your premiums, especially your limits on dwelling and liability coverages. While adjusting these coverages will certainly help you save on your premiums, this may end up costing you more in the long run if you don’t have enough coverage to repair damage to your home. 

Conversely, applying discounts to your policy can help you save on your premiums without jeopardizing your coverage. Insurers on the standard market offer discounts for many policyholders, like those who have a security system installed in their homes or for those over a certain age. When collecting Maryland home insurance quotes, our quoting tool checks to see what discounts you may be eligible for.

Similarly, adjusting your deductible is an excellent way to lower your premiums without sacrificing your coverage. Your deductible is the amount of money you’ll owe during the claims process before receiving your insurance benefits, and your premium is the fee you pay to have your coverage. 

Essentially, when paying more upfront, you pay less later, and vice versa. Thus, when lowering your deductible, your premiums rise, and when raising your deductible, your premiums lower.

Some of the most critical factors that influence homeowners insurance rates in Maryland include:

Your deductible is a critical aspect of your policy that affects your rate. Choosing a higher deductible is an easy way to lower your premiums. Also, some policies in Maryland will have wind or hurricane deductibles. Homes susceptible to hurricane damage, like those on the Atlantic coast, may have higher premiums than homes where hurricane damage is less of a risk.

Owning certain dog breeds can raise your rates. Many providers are wary of pit bulls, rottweilers, and other breeds with a history of aggression. If you have one, an insurance company of Maryland may charge you more, exclude the pet from coverage, or not offer you a policy altogether.

Certain features about your home can increase your premiums, too. Some features that increase your liability risk, known as attractive nuisances, are pools, trampolines, and playground equipment. Some carriers will raise your rates for having these on your property.

The insurer you bind with can also affect your rates. If you’re unable to bind a policy with an insurer on the standard market, you may have to select an insurer from the Maryland regional property insurance programs. These insurers, like the Maryland Joint Insurance Association can help you insure your home with a government-backed Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plan.

These policies are a last-resort option for those who can’t find a policy on the standard market and, thus, are more costly than an average plan. 

There are several additional factors that affect your rates that you may not realize. If your rates are vastly different from the state average, it could be attributed to a number of details about you or your home. 

When getting your homeowners insurance quote in Maryland, you may notice your policy doesn’t provide coverage for flooding. That’s because homeowners insurance, wherever you go in the country, doesn’t cover flood damage. Instead, you can bind an additional policy for flood insurance in Maryland.

While Maryland doesn’t have any inland lakes, its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean puts homeowners at risk of experiencing harsh Nor’Easter storms and the effects of tropical storms and hurricanes, all of which may cause flooding. Thus, homeowners searching for protection should check out the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or a private insurer for a flood insurance policy. 

No, homeowners insurance isn’t required by law in Maryland. However, if you have a mortgage, your lender will require you to carry home insurance on the property. If you don’t get or maintain the coverage provided by the average homeowners insurance in Maryland, your lender can force place insurance for you.

Mortgage lenders often require homeowners insurance as a requirement for their loans to protect their investment in a property. Thus, if your house gets damaged or destroyed somehow, you and your lender can recoup the value of your home from the insurance company.

If you don’t get your own policy, your lender can force place insurance on you. Force-placed insurance is more expensive and less comprehensive than a policy you can get yourself, so be sure to shop around and have the right policy ready when it comes time to close on your house.

The state of Maryland, like every state in the country, places regulations and rules on insurers to have a uniform set of procedures for carriers and consumers. Many of the mandates relate to coverage and communications between Maryland insurers and their policyholders.

For instance, in Maryland, carriers must offer you water backup coverage by law. Water backup coverage covers damage from sewer and drains backup. Some providers may include it by default, while for others, it may cost extra. You don’t have to purchase it. It may have a separate deductible from your standard all other perils (AOP) deductible.

The underwriting period in Maryland is 45 days from the start date of your policy. During this time, an insurer is double-checking all aspects of your coverage to verify that you’re an acceptable risk. If they find something that nullifies your coverage, your provider can cancel your policy as long as they provide a 15-day notice before doing so.

After the underwriting period, a carrier usually must wait until policy renewal before ending your coverage rather than canceling it outright, excluding circumstances like nonpayment or fraud.

Getting home insurance quotes in Maryland from multiple companies is the only way to know you’re getting the best bang for your buck. To make this process easier, we created an online quoting tool that enables you to get quotes from some of the top insurers in the state. We’re an independent insurance agency created with the goal of simplifying insurance for all.

Our team of licensed agents would be happy to help if you have any questions along the way. Feel free to call us between business hours at 833-255-4117. You can also email us anytime at agent@clovered.com.