Best Homeowners Insurance in Wisconsin

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Homeowners insurance is like a safety net that offers several types of financial protection to save you in case your property suffers significant damage from fires, hail, theft, or other unexpected events. As an independent insurance agency operating in America’s Dairyland, we want to ensure Wisconsinites have the coverage they deserve for their home and belongings at all times.

If you need home insurance in Wisconsin, this useful guide explains much of the information you should know before committing to a policy or company.

Key Takeaways:

  • The average cost of homeowners insurance in Wisconsin is about $1,257 annually, although costs vary by property and location.
  • West Bend, Secura, and Allstate had the cheapest homeowners insurance in Wisconsin, according to our findings.
  • Home insurance rates nationwide, including in Wisconsin, have been rising in recent years, with inflation and increased building costs mainly to blame in the Badger State.

How Much Is Home Insurance in Wisconsin?

The average cost of homeowners insurance in Wisconsin is about $1,257 annually for $275,00 in dwelling coverage. Home insurance rates are highly subjective, though, since premiums vary based on several personal and property-related factors.

One of the major influences on home insurance costs is house value. Dwelling coverage, which is the most significant part of your policy that guards your home’s structure and components from damage, is based on your home’s replacement cost.

Replacement cost is determined by materials, labor, and other construction expenses required to rebuild your house in a similar fashion as it exists now from the ground up. Houses that cost more to rebuild cost more to insure because they need more dwelling coverage. See how dwelling coverage amount increases average Wisconsin homeowners insurance rates below.

Average Cost of Homeowners Insurance in Wisconsin
Dwelling Coverage Amount $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 
Annual Premium $914 $1,371 $1,828

Your home’s replacement cost won’t be the same as its market value. But, just as a sprawling mansion would cost more to buy than a starter home, larger, more expensive homes typically always cost more to insure.

Several more factors in addition to home value affect rates, though.. Unfortunately, premiums have been increasing nationwide over the past few years, and severe weather events, inflation, and rising construction costs are mainly to blame. According to Patch, the cost of home insurance in Wisconsin has jumped over 21% since 2018.

With rates continually climbing, it’s essential to shop around for the cheapest coverage.

It’s Time to Switch Your Homeowners Insurance

We partner with the nation’s top homeowners insurance companies so you can get a custom policy at an affordable price.

Companies With the Cheapest Home Insurance in Wisconsin

According to our data, West Bend Insurance Company, Secura Insurance, and Allstate offer the cheapest home insurance in Wisconsin, on average. With so many variables affecting rates, though, you can’t be sure which provider is the cheapest for you until you compare multiple quotes.

Nevertheless, we determined average premiums for eight common home insurance companies in Wisconsin, displayed in the table below.

Average Cost of Homeowners Insurance in Wisconsin by Company
Company Average Annual Rate Average Monthly Cost
Allstate $1,156 $96
American Family $1,600 $133
Auto-Owners $1,490 $124
Nationwide $1,356 $113
Secura $1,144 $95
State Farm $1,320 $110
USAA $1,344 $112
West Bend $921 $77

About 170 companies had premiums written in Wisconsin in 2023, giving residents a lot of choices, to say the least, on who to choose to insure them. The largest Wisconsin home insurance providers in terms of market share are:

  • State Farm
  • American Family
  • Auto-Owners
  • Acuity
  • Erie

It’s good to know who the largest carriers are, with well-known national brands like State Farm, but it’s important to seek quotes from several types of carriers, large and small. West Bend and Secura are both Wisconsin-based insurance companies. West Bend was founded in its namesake town in 1894, while Secura is based in Neenah and has been in business since 1900. Both are regional providers operating in just over a dozen states, 

Regional carriers like these two may offer certain advantages in terms of flexibility, expertise, or customer service over national brands like State Farm. When shopping around, note differences in customer service, available discounts, and possible endorsements in addition to prices. USAA only offers coverage to past or current military members and their families.

It’s Time to Switch Your Homeowners Insurance

We partner with the nation’s top homeowners insurance companies so you can get a custom policy at an affordable price.

Getting the Best Homeowners Insurance in Wisconsin

Knowing what rates to expect is crucial, but price isn’t the only consideration to worry about when seeking coverage. You must understand policy details and coverages to ensure you choose a plan that guards your property sufficiently. Every policyholder has slightly different coverage needs and budgetary constraints.

We want to offer a few tips to help you secure the best homeowners insurance in Wisconsin for your situation.

Note actual cash value and replacement cost in your policy. Your policy financially protects against damage from covered perils, like windstorms, fires, theft, and burst pipes. But, how exactly does your policy reimburse you?

Your plan will cover damage at either replacement cost or actual cash value. Replacement cost is what it sounds like – your insurer will cover what you paid or the fair market value for a like replacement for an item or property damage.

Actual cash value, on the other hand, factors in depreciation. So, your insurer subtracts depreciation for damaged items, meaning you’ll never receive exactly what you paid since everything depreciates.

Typically, policies contain replacement cost coverage for home damage and actual cash value for possessions. But, you may have the choice. Replacement cost is preferable but more expensive, so weigh your budget and coverage needs and recognize how you’re protected.

Be aware of your policy limits and exclusions. The most common type of homeowners insurance policy, officially called the HO3 special form, is a package policy that includes more than one type of coverage in a single plan. It includes six distinct coverage areas for your property and liability. You have the final say on your coverage amounts for these areas, which are:

Dwelling Coverage: Protects your home’s physical structure, including the roof, walls, flooring, patios, plumbing, and wiring, from covered perils.

You must insure your dwelling for at least 80% of its replacement cost, but you can opt for more if your budget allows.

Other Structures Coverage: Covers fixtures on your property unattached to your main house, such as fences, detached garages, sheds, and carports.

Other structures coverage is normally 10% of your dwelling limit. So, if you have $300,000 of dwelling coverage, you’d have $30,000 of other structures coverage by default.

Personal Property Coverage: Guards your belongings, including furniture, jewelry, electronics, clothing, tools, and more.

Some carriers may suggest a personal property limit of around 40% of your dwelling limit. However, you can determine the exact amount of personal property coverage you need by creating a home inventory list that catalogs all your possessions and their values. The total worth of your items is the precise amount of coverage you need.

Loss of Use Coverage: Helps pay for additional living expenses you incur if a covered peril, like a fire, damages your property so significantly that you must move out until its repaired or rebuilt. Your insurer can reimburse you for temporary lodging, groceries, storage, and more.

Companies normally set your loss of use limit to around 20% of your dwelling coverage amount, which is usually sufficient.

Liability Coverage: Covers your finances if you’re found responsible in a lawsuit for someone’s injuries or property damage.

Insurers require at least $100,000 in liability coverage, but often recommend at least $300,000. It’s better to be safe than sorry, as fees and bills associated with accidents and lawsuits can rise very quickly.

Also, raising your liability limits is relatively cheap compared to increasing other coverage areas in your policy. So, we recommend opting for enough liability coverage to cover the value of your assets. People with several assets or a high net worth may want to raise their liability limits up to $1 million or consider an umbrella policy.

Medical Payments Coverage: Similar to liability coverage, medical payments covers minor medical expenses if someone gets hurt around your property, regardless of fault.

While liability limits are in the hundreds of thousands, medical payments coverage limits are in the single thousands, typically ranging from $2,000 to $5,000. This coverage is designed for minor accidents and is very cheap to maximize if desired.

Wisconsin Home Insurance Rate Factors

Average homeowners insurance in Wisconsin ranges from $914 to $1,878 annually for most people. Several factors affect where you lie in this range, as companies must weigh the risk of each policyholder to the best of their ability. People or properties more likely to spawn a claim have higher premiums. Some of the most important factors affecting claim likelihood include:

Home construction: Carriers consider your home’s building materials. For instance, masonry homes made of brick or concrete withstand wind and fire damage better than wooden frame homes and may have lower premiums.

Dwelling age: House age is critical to insurance rates. The components in older homes, such as a roof, pipes, or siding, are more likely to suffer damage from severe weather or general wear and tear over time. So, older properties tend to have higher rates.

Location: Your home’s location influences its susceptibility to certain natural disasters or theft. Also, carriers note your distance from fire hydrants and stations – homes closer to them have lower rates because of a lower likelihood of extensive fire damage. According to the Wisconsin website, most of the larger cities in Wisconsin have favorable fire classification ratings, while rural areas may experience higher rates.

Credit score: Companies may use policyholder credits core as an indicator of claims or payment likelihood. Carriers may believe someone with a low credit score is a greater financial risk, so they charge them higher premiums.

Claims history:. Insurers regularly check a potential policyholder’s claims history when quoting. Someone with several claims in the past three to five years will likely raise red flags and will normally have to pay more for insurance than someone with a clean claims record.

It’s Time to Switch Your Homeowners Insurance

We partner with the nation’s top homeowners insurance companies so you can get a custom policy at an affordable price.

Wisconsin Property Insurance Laws to Know

Wisconsin Insurance companies are regulated by the state government, and they have rules and expectations to follow that are relevant to consumers. Additionally, policyholders have some stipulations they should follow in regard to coverage when it comes to having a mortgage.

Lender Requirements

Mortgage lenders require policyholders to maintain coverage for at least the amount of the home loan until it’s paid off. So, in essence, if you have a mortgage, you must have homeowners insurance. Your lender may recommend an insurance provider, but you don’t have to go with their choice.

Often, a lender’s option isn’t the best option for you, as they may have their best interest in mind and not yours. Only you fully understand your coverage needs, so it’s always best if you shop for your own policy.

If you never get your own coverage, your lender will forcibly give you insurance. This force-placed coverage is usually minimal in scope, sometimes lacking liability and other coverage areas, yet expensive. We recommend always avoiding force-placed insurance.

Also, if you’re buying a home, you generally need to have homeowners insurance at the time of closing, so be sure to give yourself adequate time to pick the right policy beforehand.

Cancelations and Nonrenewals

According to Wisconsin law, once you bind a policy, a carrier has a 60-day underwriting period to cancel your plan without providing reason for a cancelation. This will usually only occur if the carrier uncovers new, unexpected information that wasn’t provided during the quoting process or if there’s some unfixable issue with your house that wasn’t evident at first. The cancelation isn’t effective until at least ten days after the insurer mails the written cancelation notice.

If your insurer nonrenews your policy, meaning coverage isn’t canceled but rather isn’t continued after the policy term, the company must typically provide a 60-day heads-up before the nonrenewal date. 

As a policyholder, you can cancel your coverage at any time. Most insurers will reimburse you for your unused premium payment if you paid your policy in full ahead of time and you cancel before your term is up. But, some carriers may have cancelation penalties, so look into that before doing so.

How to Get Home Insurance Quotes in Wisconsin

With so much to keep track of when getting home insurance quotes in Wisconsin, it’s understandable if you want some help. Our team at Clovered is here for just that: to make your quoting process easy and hopefully save you time and money.

Take advantage of our online quoting platform, where you can input some information about yourself and your property and compare options from top Wisconsin home insurance companies in minutes.

Or, if you’d rather chat with our licensed agents for a quote, call us during business hours at 833-255-4117. You can also reach us by email at [email protected]

Homeowners
It's Time to Switch Your Homeowners Insurance

We partner with the nation's top homeowners insurance companies so you can get a custom policy at an affordable price.

The editorial content on Clovered’s website is meant to be informational material and should not be considered legal advice.

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