Homeowners Insurance in Duluth, Minnesota (2024)

Located along Lake Superior in Minnesota’s St. Louis County, Duluth is home to nearly 90,000 Minnesotans. Whether these Northern Minnesotans are hunkering down for the long winters accompanied by lake-effect snow or getting out on the water to bask in the summer sun, they’ll want to know how Minnesota homeowners insurance protects them.

A home insurance policy can help Duluthians protect their property and belongings in a disaster, like a fire or theft. Let’s see what else these midwesterners need to know about their coverage.

Homeowners insurance in Duluth, Minnesota, costs about $1,958 annually, or about $30 above the state average. Early on, it’s important to note that these averages don’t represent exactly what you can expect from your homeowners insurance premiums. They’re just that – averages. 

Many aspects of your insurance policy are subjective, like your premiums, coverages, and more. Premiums are highly subjective based on each policyholder because insurers calculate rates based on how likely you are to file a claim, and this likelihood changes with each individual. 

Insurers use a combination of factors to assess one’s risk of filing a claim, as claims can be filed for damage caused by all sorts of perils like fire, theft and robbery, vandalism, and much more. 

One of the primary factors that insurers consider when calculating your premiums is how much dwelling coverage you have on your policy. Dwelling coverage is one of the most expansive and expensive parts of your policy, as it covers most of the elements that make up the main structure of your home. So, if a covered peril causes damage to the structure of your home, you’ll file a claim to receive coverage from this part of your policy.

Since dwelling coverage is such a major part of your policy, your limit of dwelling coverage alone can greatly impact your premium rates. Let’s see how premiums change based on dwelling coverage limits in Duluth, Minnesota.

In this example, when dwelling coverage is adjusted by $100,000, premiums differ by about $680 annually. The amount of dwelling coverage you have on your policy greatly affects your premiums. 

Additionally, there are several other factors insurers consider when calculating your premiums:

All these factors, and many more, can help insurers pinpoint potential risks of you filing a claim. The crime rates in your area can indicate how likely property crime like theft and robbery might be, the attractive nuisances you have on your property may indicate if a guest is likely to suffer an injury on your property, the list goes on. 

While you may be inherently susceptible to some of these risks, meaning your premiums are on the higher end, all hope for affordable rates isn’t lost. Keep reading to discover how you can save on your premiums. 

While the average premium for Duluth home insurance is right on par with Minnesota’s state average, saving on your expenses can always be helpful. Binding a policy from one of the top insurers in the state, like AAA, Farmers, or Travelers, may be a good way to start saving on your premiums. These insurers have average rates far below Minnesota’s average, so if you’re a low-risk policyholder, you may score a sweet deal with one of these insurers. 

Additionally, you can bring your premium down in several ways to better suit your budget. Let’s go over three ways you can lower your premiums.

Utilize your insurer’s discounts: Insurers offer a wide variety of discounts to their policyholders, covering several categories and offering nearly 20% off your premiums. 

Generally, insurers offer discounts based on one of three categories:

For example, many insurers offer discounts to those with security or anti-theft devices installed on their property. Similarly, insurers commonly offer discounts for those who elect to pay their premiums annually instead of monthly or for military members. 

Adjust your deductible: Adjusting your deductible can directly affect your premium. Typically, if you raise your deductible, your premium will lower. Remember that your deductible is the amount you’ll owe after filing a claim before your coverage kicks in. So, just ensure your deductible amount always makes sense for your budget.

Customize your coverage: Insurance is highly subjective when it comes to your coverage limits. Evidently, more coverage means higher premiums, while lower coverage limits may help you lower your premiums. There are a few coverages on a standard policy you can lower to a minimal amount without risking financial ruin in the event of a covered peril.

Your dwelling coverage, which makes up most of your policy, can be lowered to cover only 80% of your home’s replacement cost. Similarly, insurers typically only require policyholders to maintain $100,000 in liability coverage, while most opt for about $300,000 to $500,000.

By adjusting your coverage limits, you may see significant savings on your premiums. But, with lower coverage limits comes a notable risk of financial ruin if a covered peril were to cause major damage to your home. Always remember that customizing your coverage limits requires compromising on your protection.

While home insurance in Duluth isn’t required by law, it may be required if you finance your home with a mortgage. Mortgage lenders require homeowners to maintain a policy to ensure their investment in your property is protected against an accident. 

If you default on your payments, cancel your coverage, or your insurer drops you while you’re still making payments on your mortgage, your mortgage lender will get a policy for you. This is called force-placed insurance and is often more expensive than the policy you would choose for yourself, as it will serve the mortgage lender’s best interest in protecting your home. 

If your home is paid off or if you paid for it in cash, you technically don’t have to have a policy. However, you may need one. It’s wise to maintain a policy so you don’t face financial ruin during a disaster, whether it’s required of you or not.

While homeowners insurance can be highly subjective, the types of coverage found on a standard policy in Duluth will generally remain the same. The most popular type of policy, an HO-3 policy, has six standard coverages, leaving room for policyholders to customize their coverage limits or any optional coverages they wish to add. Let’s see what these Minnesotans can expect from their policies. 

Dwelling coverage will help you repair or replace the elements that make up the structure of your home if a covered peril on your policy damages them. So, if your roof is damaged by the weight of ice or your siding is damaged by an errant firework, the dwelling portion of your policy should help you fix this damage. 

Other structures coverage can help you protect the structures on your property that aren’t attached to your main dwelling. You could use this coverage to help you rebuild your fence if it was damaged during a robbery or your shed if debris from a tornado completely ruined it. 

While dwelling and other structures coverages protect the structures on your property, both attached and unattached to your main home, personal property coverage helps protect the belongings you store in your home or on your property. So, if your jewelry and laptop are stolen during a break-in or your lawn equipment is damaged by a fallen tree after a big storm, this is the coverage you would invoke to repair or replace what’s damaged. 

If you and your family are displaced because a covered peril on your policy renders your home a total loss, you may be able to use your loss of use coverage to help you pay for basic necessities while your home is repaired. You can use this coverage for temporary housing, gas, groceries, pet boarding, and storage fees. 

If your liability comes into question when a guest suffers an injury on your property or when someone else’s property is damaged, you may be able to use your personal liability coverage to cover expenses. It can be used for your legal defense fees if you’re found liable or for a guest’s medical expenses. 

Medical payments coverage is very similar to liability coverage but has some key differences. Medical payments coverage can only be used to cover expenses for a guest’s minor injury that occurs on your property and doesn’t require fault to be assigned. 

With harsh winters and recent major flooding in St. Louis County, Duluth residents should strongly consider purchasing a flood insurance policy. Unfortunately, residents who want protection against flood damage will need a flood insurance policy, as homeowners insurance doesn’t cover damage caused by floods. 

A Minnesota flood insurance policy will help protect residents against overflowing bodies of water, heavy storms that bring heavy rains, and events of major snowfall that pose the threat of significant flooding. 

The insurance marketplace can be overwhelming, making it difficult to know if you’re choosing the right insurer and policy. Luckily, there isn’t one “best” homeowners insurance policy or insurer in Duluth, as insurance is subjective based on each policyholder. What works best for you may not work best for your neighbor, and vice versa. 

To determine the best policy for your needs, you must first narrow down what you value the most from your policy. Typically, this comes down to two categories: cost and coverage.

If you value cost over coverage, you’ll probably find the best policy for your needs is the cheapest one you can find, from an insurer that offers plenty of discounts you can use to lower your premiums even further. If saving money is your top priority, understandably, as rates have been rising by nearly 5% lately. Just remember that whatever isn’t covered becomes an out-of-pocket cost.

However, if you value coverage over cost, you may have to compromise by seeking a policy with extensive coverage and higher premiums. Typically, those who value coverage over cost will find the best policy for their needs has high coverage limits and additional coverages tacked on.

Additional coverages, called endorsements, can be added to extend your policy to cover specific items or additional perils. So, if you have expensive video gaming equipment or a collection of antique jewelry, you may add an endorsement to protect these things on your policy. Additionally, especially for Minnesotans and other midwesterners who experience harsh winters, you may add water backup coverage to your policy as an additional peril. 

With our user-friendly quoting tool, getting homeowners insurance in Duluth, Minnesota, couldn’t be easier. Right here at Clovered, you can use our online quoting engine to get your quotes in minutes, leaving you well on your way to a brand-spanking-new Duluth home insurance policy. 

If you’d rather go old-school and chat with someone about your quotes or any questions you think of along the way, our licensed insurance agents are standing by, waiting to assist you. You can contact one of our agents at [email protected] or 833-255-4117.