The Best Cheap Virginia Homeowners Insurance

Property owners have a lot of reasons to protect their homes in Virginia, too. It snows heavily in the shadows of the Appalachian mountains. The state’s coastal areas can experience hurricanes, and tornadoes are possible statewide.

We created this comprehensive guide to educate potential policyholders. Keep reading to learn more about the best home insurance companies in Virginia and which carriers may have the cheapest coverage.

The average cost of homeowners insurance in Virginia is about $1,620 per year for $300,000 of dwelling coverage. This number will vary based on several factors about you and your home, with one of the main factors being how much coverage you need. Look at the table below for homeowners insurance rates in Virginia at varying levels of dwelling coverage. 

For reference, the average home insurance cost in Virginia for $300,000 of dwelling coverage is lower than the average in neighboring North Carolina by about $300, but it’s slightly higher than nearby Pennsylvania. 

State Farm, Nationwide, and Erie have some of the cheapest homeowners insurance in Virginia, according to our findings. While your premium will vary based on many factors, it’s helpful to know some figures so you have a rough expectation when quoting.

The following Virginia homeowners insurance rates are for $300,000 of dwelling coverage.

As stated earlier, you won’t know your exact premiums until you supply specific information about your property and get quotes. You should always shop around for the best deal, especially since premiums have been on the rise in the state in recent years. Looking for coverage at the above carriers is a good place to start, but you should get quotes from other top insurance companies in Virginia to ensure you’re finding the best rates.

The most common type of residential homeowners insurance policy is the HO-3 form, which is what we’ve been referring to throughout this article. Every HO-3 Virginia home insurance policy has the following coverages:

Dwelling Coverage – Financially guards your home’s structure and components, such as the roof, walls, floor, patio, plumbing, and wiring.

Other Structures Coverage – Extends coverage to fixtures on your property that aren’t attached to your main house, such as sheds, fences, detached garages, gazebos, and more.

Personal Property Coverage – Protects your belongings in and around your property, like electronics, clothing, tools, art, and furniture, if they get damaged by a covered peril (or stolen).

Loss of Use Coverage – Helps cover living expenses if you’ve been forced out of your home due to covered damage. Your provider can cover the costs of hotels, food, gas, and more while your house is rebuilt or repaired.

Personal Liability Coverage – Protects your finances if someone wants to sue you after getting hurt on your property. Your liability coverage can cover legal fees and medical expenses.

Medical Payments Coverage — Helps pay for minor medical expenses if someone is injured around your property, regardless of fault.

The best home insurance in Virginia is the one that protects you fully at a price you can afford. There are over 180 companies that write homeowners insurance in the commonwealth. Many have the same discounts and coverage options, but the best coverage for you will come down to rates and customer experience.

You must compare your options before choosing a plan. The largest homeowners insurance writers in Virginia are:

USAA is only available to military members and their families; otherwise, you have the pick of the litter when choosing a provider. Bigger, national companies may have more standardized procedures and easier touch points with the help of an app. But, you may experience better customer service or more specialized attention with a smaller, regional carrier, such as Virginia Farm Bureau homeowners insurance.

A good idea is to get the help of an independent agent to assist when searching for choices from homeowners insurance companies in Virginia. An agent will have all the know-how and connections in your area to help you find the right coverage at a reasonable price.

While the state as a whole is very diverse, much of its wealth is in Northern Virginia, closer to Washington, DC. Northern Virginia is the highest-income region in the state and one of the top-earning regions in the country. As a result, larger, more expensive homes in this area may require more insurance coverage. Some Northern residents may not be concerned with finding the cheapest home insurance in Virginia, but rather with maximizing protection. 

Homeowners with high-value properties may need to take measures beyond standard home insurance coverage with certain endorsements. For instance, policyholders with a lot of very expensive valuables may need scheduled personal property coverage. 

Standard personal property coverage in a home insurance policy has sub-limits for several high-value items like art, jewelry, and collectibles. You may have hard limits of $1,000 or $2,500 in total for these items when damaged or stolen. To fully cover some high-value belongings, you’ll need to schedule them. Scheduling items costs extra but may be well worth it, depending on what you need to be covered.

Insurers also recommend adjusting your coverage limits every so often to account for inflation, renovations, or other changes you may have made to your property. One of the most common mistakes people make with home insurance is not getting enough of it. High-value homeowners should remember this, especially if they have total replacement cost coverage for their houses.

For some help estimating the amount of coverage you need, take a look below at a sample home insurance policy in Virginia for $200,000 of dwelling coverage. This will also give some insight on how your dwelling coverage informs other aspects of your policy.

Your insurer determines your dwelling coverage amount based on your home’s replacement cost, as we said earlier, so they look at materials and labor costs. Your typical dwelling limit is between 80% and 100% of your home’s replacement cost. For this example, let’s say your home value is $200,000, and you select that exact amount of dwelling coverage.

Other Structures Coverage: Your other structures coverage is usually 10% of your dwelling coverage, which in this case would be $20,000.

Personal Property Coverage: Insurers often suggest a personal property limit of 50% of your dwelling coverage as default, which in this case would be $100,000. However, you can be flexible with your personal property coverage. 

Typically, insurers encourage you to choose however much you need, which is why they often recommend making a home inventory to list what you own and the possessions’ overall cost. You can then choose this number as the precise amount of personal property coverage you need.

Loss of Use Coverage: Loss of use limit can vary based on your provider. They typically state that a loss of use limit of 20% of your dwelling coverage suffices, which would be $40,000 if you have $200,000 of dwelling coverage.

Personal Liability Coverage: Personal liability and medical payments coverage aren’t directly influenced by your dwelling limit. Instead, carriers usually require at least $100,000 of liability coverage but almost always recommend you carry more, such as $300,000 or $500,000. If you want over $1 million in liability limits, which some high-value individuals might, you must look into an umbrella policy.

Medical Payments: Medical payments limits are flexible, too. You can often choose anything between $2,000 and $5,000. The limits are relatively small, so changing them doesn’t affect your premiums much.

The amount of coverage you need is one of the biggest considerations in your premium. But, several more factors influence Virginia home insurance rates. Some of the most important ones are:

Insurers often prefer to cover newer homes. New houses are up to the latest building and safety codes, which means they can withstand severe weather better than older homes. Companies often have new construction discounts that reduce premiums. 

Also, older homes tend to have more wear-and-tear-related issues that can lead to claims or potentially nullify coverage. Old roofs, pipes, or wiring are red flags to many companies. Providers will likely want to inspect older homes before offering coverage. Sometimes, brand-new homes don’t even need inspections.

The location of your house also influences the average home insurance cost in Virginia. Places closer to the Chesapeake Bay may be more prone to hurricanes, which can raise premiums. Additionally, homes located in high-crime areas may have higher rates.

Every policy has a deductible, which is an amount you must pay during a claim before your insurer picks up the rest of the bill. You must pay a deductible no matter what damage you suffer, called an all other perils (AOP) deductible.

Some Virginia property insurance policies will also have separate hurricane deductibles, which are usually more costly. While most home insurance policies in Virginia have an AOP deductible of around $500, hurricane deductibles are based on a percentage of your dwelling cost and will vary by house. Coastal homes in Virginia are more likely to have hurricane deductibles.

Also, homes or homeowners with a history of claims will have higher premiums. When you’re getting a Virginia home insurance quote, providers will ask you if you’ve filed a claim in the past three to five years. 

Carriers believe someone who has filed a claim in the past is more likely to file another than someone who has never filed one. Insurers can also see if previous owners of your property have filed claims. If your house seems prone to water damage or has some other recurring issue, you might pay more for insurance.

No law requires you to carry homeowners insurance in Virginia. But, if you finance your home with a mortgage, your lender will require you to have a policy for the life of the loan.

Mortgage companies require loanees to have home insurance to protect their financial investment in the property. If you don’t get and keep your own coverage on your house, your lender can force-place insurance on you. Force-placed insurance isn’t in your best interest. It’s more expensive and less comprehensive than a policy you can get by shopping yourself.

If you’re purchasing a house, you’ll need insurance before closing on the property. So, there are times when you need to have coverage. But, if you purchase your home with cash or pay off your mortgage, no one will require you to keep a policy. 

Deciding to forego house insurance in Virginia will make you responsible for paying for any property damage out of pocket, so it isn’t recommended.

Homeowners insurance doesn’t cover damage from floods. You need a separate policy for flood insurance in Virginia, and some property owners in high-risk flood zones may be required to get flood insurance by their lenders.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) creates and maintains flood risk maps for the nation. The agency also offers subsidized flood insurance coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Homeowners in federally designated high-risk flood zones are often required by mortgage lenders to have flood insurance.

While the NFIP is the most common choice for flood coverage, you may also be able to bind a policy through a private flood insurance company. Private carriers have greater coverage limits and more flexibility in their plans.

If you’re interested in flood insurance, our team at Clovered can help you find the right policy.

Virginia homeowners insurance companies have certain rules and regulations laid out by the state government they have to follow. In addition, your provider will have specific procedures you need to follow as a policyholder.

Carriers are required to offer you sewer backup coverage as an optional addition to your policy. This coverage covers water damage due to sewer and sump pump backups, which is normally excluded from standard home insurance.

Providers will also give you the option of ordinance or law coverage in Virginia. Ordinance or law coverage provides protection when the cost to rebuild or repair your house is increased because the original structure must be brought up to modern code before repair. Bringing old buildings up to code can eat up your limits very quickly, especially if you haven’t updated your coverage in a while.

Virginia homeowners insurance requirements also state that your provider must explain deductible increases if they decide to raise your deductible at renewal time. If you file a claim, a carrier must also acknowledge your claim within ten days, although there is no time frame on how long a claim can take because every claim will have a different level of severity and complexity.

Your provider also outlines certain rules you must follow during the claims process. For instance, you should notify your carrier as soon as possible if you experience a loss. Document the damage thoroughly and mitigate potential further damage from occurring. The more information you can provide during a claim, the more your company can help you.

Clovered is a licensed insurance agency in Virginia, and we’d love to help you through the quoting process. You can reach any of our licensed, in-house agents during business hours at 833-255-4117. You could also email them with questions at agent@clovered.com. 

Alternatively, if you’d rather get coverage online, check out our proprietary quoting engine to get home insurance quotes in Virginia from the comfort of your house whenever you please. Clovered was built to simplify insurance.