Homeowners Insurance in Columbia, South Carolina (2024)

Columbia lies at the center of the Midlands and almost squarely in the middle of the state of South Carolina. It was aptly named the state capital shortly after the nation’s independence in 1786 and has been a bustling metropolis ever since, with great historical, military, and cultural significance. It also houses the state’s largest and arguably most notable college, the University of South Carolina.

Columbia is the second-largest city in the state, and it keeps growing. Acquiring a house in Columbia is a dream come true for many, and protecting an important asset like your home should never be left up to chance.

Having the right homeowners insurance is vital. Keep reading to find out what you need to know about home insurance in Columbia, including average rates, expected coverages, and more, so you can sufficiently safeguard your property. 

The average cost of homeowners insurance in Columbia is about $1,770 for a $200,000 house and $2,772 for a $350,000 house. The purpose of homeowners insurance is to provide financial protection in case something unexpected and bad happens to your home. 

The costs of home repair after large-scale damage can easily exceed what most people have on hand, and such expenses would be a burden even if you did have tens or hundreds of thousands lying around.

Insurers cover damages from what they call covered perils. These can range from severe weather to issues stemming from the pipes in your home to freak accidents like vehicle damage. Many of these risks are everywhere, but Columbia has some to watch for in particular.

Columbia has generally been safe from hurricanes, but the state of South Carolina has been hit many times in the past, so it’s not something to take lightly. Additionally, the Midlands overall have been prone to tornadoes and flooding. These severe weather risks impact insurance rates, and it’s something providers consider when determining premiums.

It’s hard to sum up home insurance rates with just a few numbers because of all the different geographic, financial, and personal factors that affect premiums. But, here’s a look at some of the average rates from select providers in the Columbia area to get an idea of what you can expect to pay for a policy.

The rates in this article are sourced from the South Carolina Department of Insurance. The top 25 insurer groups by national premium volume were required to submit their annual rates, while other companies opted to do so voluntarily. The sample rates are for a homeowner with no insurance claims in the past five years and an average credit score.

The average premium on a $200,000 house was $1,002 less than the average premium on a $350,000 house. But, as you can see, there was some variation among providers.

For $200,000 homes, three out of the six providers came in below the average premium of the city, with Universal Property & Casualty well below average. The most costly provider, Foremost, was $2,418 more than, over double, the average premium of $1,770, so it’s more of an outlier than the norm.

Allstate had the smallest increase in cost when transitioning to coverage on a $350,000. Yet, UPCIC remained the most affordable carrier at this price level, too. You’ll typically always need to pay more for insurance on more expensive homes because you’ll simply need more coverage. The more house you have, the more insurance you need to protect it. The more insurance you need, the more you’ll pay.

Home age and home construction material have notable impacts on premiums. Older homes generally cost more to insure because many of their older features could be more difficult and costly to replace, such as outdated siding or discontinued building materials. Also, older homes may not be up to the latest local building codes, meaning they may be more susceptible to damage than newer homes.

The two most common ways to build houses are frame construction and masonry construction. Masonry homes usually have lower premiums than similar frame homes because masonry houses can withstand disasters like fires and hurricanes better. Let’s take a look at the effects of construction type on home insurance in Columbia below.

As demonstrated above, masonry houses with values of $200,000 had lower average premiums in Columbia across the board than frame homes with the same value. While the replacement cost of a masonry home may be higher since they are usually more costly to build, insurers still look upon them favorably due to their sturdiness. For homes in both age ranges, rates for masonry-built homes were about 10% lower.

As residential construction costs have increased since the pandemic, the replacement cost of many new dwellings has risen, demanding higher coverage limits on home insurance policies. Let’s take a look at these numbers again, but for homes with a value of $350,000 in Columbia.

Based on the numbers above, Universal Property & Casualty is one of the top homeowners insurance companies in Columbia when it comes to affordability. They had the lowest average premiums for both $200,000 and $350,000 houses at both age ranges.

Foremost was the most costly, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be the best option for you. The top home insurance provider in Columbia is the one that offers the coverage you need at the price you want. That’s why it’s important to always compare home insurance quotes from multiple providers when looking for a policy.

Travelers Insurance is another popular option in Columbia. As a company, they offer several kinds of insurance, including commercial and auto. If you’re looking for Travelers insurance in Columbia, we can help.

As an insurance agency, we offer policies from many different providers. We work with many well-known insurance companies throughout the nation, including Travelers.  If you want more information about Travelers and their policies, reaching out to us at Clovered can help.

The most common type of homeowners insurance is an HO3 policy. It covers your home on an open-perils basis, which means it covers damage to your home from any source, called perils, unless specifically excluded in your policy. Common covered perils include fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, theft, and many forms of water damage.

Policies are also divided into different areas of coverage. An HO3 policy typically has the following coverages:

Dwelling coverage and other structures coverage protect your home and all structures on your property from damage. Personal property coverage is for your belongings inside your home. Liability and medical payments coverage protect your financial wellbeing in case of unexpected injuries on your property, like dog bites or slip and falls. 

Lastly, loss of use coverage can cover expenses if you’re forced to move out of your home due to damage from a covered peril. For instance, if your house gets destroyed by an electrical fire, your loss of use coverage can cover the expenses you incur while you relocate when waiting for your home to be rebuilt. Costs for hotel stays, food, gas, and more can be reimbursed.

While home insurance protects your property from many risks, it’s not perfect. Floods aren’t covered by homeowners insurance, and in a place like Columbia, the risk of flooding may not be something you want to overlook.

If your property lies in a high-risk flood zone, called a special flood hazard area by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), your mortgage lender will require you to get flood insurance. You have both a public and private option for flood insurance. 

While flood insurance from the government may not sound like the most attractive option, the National Flood Insurance Program is the largest flood insurance provider in the nation. However, private flood insurance companies are expanding every year with better coverage and competitive rates.

If you’re looking for flood insurance in Columbia, we can help you with that, too. Our flood quote form just takes a few minutes to complete, and an agent will get back to you soon with more information about your options.

Columbia has a few AE flood zones, which FEMA has determined as special flood hazard areas. Some properties along the Broad River and Reeder Point Branch lie in these zones. 

If your property is in a federally designated flood zone, you may not have a choice about coverage. Your mortgage lender may require you to get flood insurance, as we mentioned earlier. FEMA has determined the flooding risk for every area of the country. It attempts to regularly maintain and update flood maps to keep them accurate. To know if your property is in a flood zone or if your flood zone has changed, check FEMA’s flood zone maps.

Even if your property isn’t in a flood zone, it’s not a bad idea to get a flood policy. FEMA reports that over 20% of its flood insurance claims come from properties outside of designated high-risk areas. Heavy rain, drainage issues, and more can plague any property. For instance, Tropical Storm Debby in 2024 drenched much of Columbia. Consider flood insurance at all times.

Many factors influence homeowners insurance. In Columbia, weather-related ones may be especially imposing. The possibility of hurricanes and tornadoes likely raises premiums, as providers have to factor in that risk. However, most considerations that affect premiums have nothing to do with the weather.

We mentioned how the way your home is built affects your insurance rates – other aspects of your home do, too. Insurance deems certain features “attractive nuisances” that make your home riskier and usually raise insurance premiums on your property. Attractive nuisances include pools, trampolines, and even hot tubs.

Additionally, having a dog in your house can raise your insurance rates in Columbia. Providers believe certain breeds are more dangerous to have around than others. To offset the risk of covering these aggressive breeds, insurers charge more.

On an individual policyholder level, your credit history and claims history can affect your rates, also. Providers are warier to cover people with lower credit scores. They might have a higher chance of missing a payment, so insurers tend to charge them higher premiums. Companies believe that if you’ve filed an insurance claim in the past, you’re more likely to file one in the future, again. If you’ve filed several claims recently, you’re likely to pay more for insurance in the future.

Now that you know what proper coverage entails, if you’re interested in getting a home insurance quote in Columbia, we’d be happy to help. Clovered is an insurance agency that operates in 19 states and partners with some of the top providers in the country. We’re dedicated to breaking down insurance with helpful resources like this article, and we try to make getting a quote easy with our online quote platform.

We’d love to help you find coverage.  If you want to 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] with any questions you have, and an agent will get back to you soon.

The city of Columbia has one of the largest concentrations of mobile homes in South Carolina. While mobile homes differ from standard homes in several ways, that doesn’t negate their need for insurance. Mobile homes have a dedicated insurance form, called the HO-7.

Unfortunately, the rates we outlined above only apply to HO-3s. They don’t represent mobile home insurance rates in Columbia. Some of the providers we mentioned may still cover mobile homes, but the coverage and rates will vary.

While mobile homes are notably smaller than traditional houses, they’re more susceptible to damage than a house is. So, you might end up paying more for insurance. But, it depends on many factors, some of which we mentioned. Consult an agent in Columbia for more on mobile home insurance.