Best homeowners insurance in California July 2024
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BLUEPRINT
Updated 5:06 a.m. UTC July 1, 2024
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Travelers has the best homeowners insurance in California in 2024. It gets 5 stars in our rating because of its below-average home insurance rates and very low level of consumer complaints to state insurance departments. Progressive also gets a 5-star rating.
Best homeowners insurance in California
- Travelers: Best home insurance in California.
- Progressive: Best for affordable rates in California.
- USAA: Best for military in California.
- CSAA: Best for discounts in California.
Why trust our homeowners insurance experts
Our team of home insurance experts has decades of experience as licensed property and casualty experts, insurance editors and consumers. We approach home insurance analysis as if we were shopping for ourselves or our family members, focusing on rates, coverage upgrades and consumer complaints.
Using a data-driven methodology, we evaluate hundreds of home insurance products, analyze thousands of data points and rate each insurer to help you find the best home insurance product for your situation. Advertisers never influence our editorial content. You can read more about our methodology below.
- 104 rates reviewed.
- 26 companies evaluated.
- 5 levels of fact-checking.
Top-rated homeowners insurance in California
How much does homeowners insurance in California cost?
According to our analysis of rates, the best California homeowner’s insurance costs an average of $89 per month for $350,000 in dwelling coverage. However, many homeowners may pay more than that.
State Farm was recently granted a 20% rate increase in California, even though the company announced last year that it would no longer be issuing new home insurance policies in the state. That means current State Farm policyholders in California are likely to see their rates increase this year.
Home insurance companies consider the overall risk when it comes to calculating your rates. If you live in a high-risk fire area, you can expect to pay more for home insurance than a homeowner who lives in a lower-risk part of California.
Cheapest home insurance companies in California
Here is the average cost of a California home insurance policy with $350,000 in dwelling coverage.
| COMPANY | ANNUAL | MONTHLY | LEARN MORE | |||||
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 Armed Forces Insurance | $497 | $41 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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| $556 | $46 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | ||||||
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 Mercury | $568 | $47 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 CSE | $570 | $48 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 Travelers | $594 | $50 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 Century National | $601 | $50 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 CSAA | $753 | $63 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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| $773 | $64 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | ||||||
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 MAPFRE | $792 | $66 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 Pacific Specialty | $798 | $67 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 Universal Insurance | $950 | $79 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 First American | $958 | $80 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 Capital Insurance | $976 | $81 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 Auto Club | $1,021 | $85 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 Grange | $1,042 | $87 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 California Casualty | $1,281 | $107 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 Cincinnati | $1,296 | $108 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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 PURE | $2,999 | $250 | Compare Rates Compare rates offered by participating partners | |||||
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Homeowners insurance in California by city
Home insurance companies factor in your ZIP code when calculating your home insurance rate. Here are the average costs by city for a home insurance policy with a $350,000 dwelling coverage limit.
| CITY | ANNUAL | MONTHLY |
|---|---|---|
Bakersfield
| $1,241
| $103
|
Fresno
| $1,245
| $104
|
Long Beach
| $1,484
| $124
|
Los Angeles
| $1,733
| $144
|
Oakland
| $1,172
| $98
|
San Diego
| $1,159
| $97
|
San Francisco
| $1,300
| $108
|
San Jose
| $1,049
| $87
|
Home insurance in California compared to other states
Here’s how much home insurance costs across the U.S. for a policy with $350,000 in dwelling coverage.
Have home insurance rates increased in California?
Yes. California homeowners insurance rates have gone up. This is mostly due to catastrophic wildfire losses, increased inflation and rising rebuild costs in recent years. Insurers also faced regulatory barriers to charging premiums that reflect heightened risks from climate change, inflation and homebuilding in fire-prone areas.
Homeowners in some high-risk wildfire areas who don’t qualify for regular home insurance coverage may have to purchase two policies — a California FAIR Plan policy and a difference in conditions policy — to get the equivalent of an HO-3 policy, the most common type of homeowners insurance.
State Farm, Allstate and The Hartford are no longer issuing new home insurance policies in California. Farmers and Chubb have limited how many new policies they will write in California. AIG has left the state.
How to save money on homeowners insurance in California
Some California homeowners may be able to save money on homeowners insurance by carefully evaluating their property’s wildfire risk.
Insurers are increasingly offering lower rates for fire-hardened houses and neighborhoods. Programs like FireWise USA and Wildfire Prepared Home help communities fireproof their houses to prepare for California wildfire season. If you pass an inspection with these programs, your insurer may offer you a discount.
Home insurance discounts in California
You can also save on home insurance by taking advantage of discounts.
Here are a few common home insurance discounts in California:
- Bundling auto and home insurance.
- Security and protective devices.
- New home.
- Claims-free.
- Paperless billing.
Common insurance risks for California homeowners
California homeowners face many natural disaster risks — and some of them require supplemental insurance. A tool called Risk Factor by First Street Foundation can help you see the potential losses your California home faces from risks, such as the following.
Wildfires
Thirteen of California’s most destructive wildfires have occurred since 2017, destroying nearly 50,000 structures in Napa, Sonoma, Butte and many other counties. Wildfires are covered by homeowners insurance, but if you live in a high-risk area, you may struggle to find home insurance or have limited coverage options.
Because wildfires obliterate homes, take years to recover from and drive up demand for contractor labor, building materials and remaining housing, California homeowners should consider the value provided by extended replacement cost and building code upgrade coverage for their dwellings, replacement cost coverage for their belongings and generous additional living expense limits.
You may also want to consider taking steps to fireproof your house as many insurers offer discounts and credits for such measures.
Homeowners insurance typically excludes damage caused by flood, mudslide and debris flow unless these disasters “are directly or indirectly caused by a recent wildfire or another peril covered by the applicable insurance policy,” according to California Department of Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. For more information, see the state’s Department of Insurance fact sheet on flood, mudflow, mudslide, landslide or sinkhole losses after a wildfire.
Earthquakes
All California homeowners are at risk of earthquake damage, but earthquakes aren’t covered by homeowners insurance. If you want coverage, you can get a California Earthquake Authority policy or a private earthquake insurance policy.
Flooding
Everyone is at risk of flooding — it’s just a question of how much risk. If your home is in an area the federal government has designated as high risk, and if you have a mortgage, you’ll typically be required to carry flood insurance. Otherwise, it’s up to you to evaluate your risk and decide how much coverage, if any, to purchase. Keep in mind that federal flood maps don’t always provide an up-to-date or comprehensive assessment of your home’s flood risks.
Many people don’t realize this until it’s too late, but flooding is not covered by homeowners insurance. While coverage is available through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), many California homeowners would find its $250,000 dwelling policy limits inadequate if faced with a major loss. Private flood insurance companies offer higher coverage limits that may be suitable depending on your needs.
Mudflows, mudslides, debris flows and landslides
None of these disasters are typically covered by homeowners insurance in California —unless you can prove that a problem covered by these home insurance, such as a wildfire or flood, was the “efficient proximate cause.” It’s a battle you could have to fight in court.
For protection against these risks, you may want to purchase a difference in conditions policy from a surplus lines insurance company. One policy can cover multiple risks — landslides, mudflows, earthquakes and flooding, for example. This arrangement may provide more comprehensive and cost-effective coverage than cobbling together separate policies.
How to find the right home insurance company for you in California
Given the additional challenges with insuring a home in California, these tips may be especially helpful when you’re trying to find the right home insurance company.
- Get competing quotes. No matter which strategy you use to find homeowners insurance, make sure you compare home insurance quotes from multiple companies — and make sure each quote is for the same amount of coverage, same type of policy and has the same deductible if you want to make an accurate price comparison.
- Ask your neighbors who they use. If you're struggling to find coverage, consider asking neighbors who they insure with. Don’t put too much weight on whether your neighbors are happy with their premiums. Your premiums won’t be the same as theirs. You’re just trying to get a sense of your options. Keep in mind, however, that your neighbors’ policies may be with insurers that aren’t currently offering new policies in your area (or anywhere in the state).
- Work with an insurance broker. A broker can help you compare policies from different California home insurance companies. Ask how many insurers they work with to get a sense of how competitive of an offer they may be able to bring you. The insurance company you choose will pay your broker for this service; you won’t owe the broker anything. A broker may be especially helpful if you’re limited to the FAIR plan and need a solid difference-in-conditions policy.
Methodology
Our insurance experts evaluated 26 insurers to determine the best homeowners insurance companies in California based on average home insurance rates for Californians and consumer complaints against each company using the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Complaint Index. Each category was assigned a different weight, adding to a score of 100.
- Rates: 75 points. Our home insurance experts analyzed home insurance rates from Quadrant Information Services. The average rates are based on policies with dwelling coverage of $200,000, $350,000, $500,000 and $750,000. The homeowner profile was a 40-year-old female with a good credit score and no claims history.
- Personal property coverage: 50% of dwelling coverage limit.
- Other structures coverage: 10% of dwelling coverage limit.
- Loss of use coverage: 10% of dwelling coverage limit.
- $500 deductible.
- Liability insurance: $100,000.
- Medical payments coverage: $1,000.
- Consumer complaints: 25 points. We collected complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which shows the volume of home insurance consumer complaints against each company to state insurance departments.
Why some companies didn’t make the cut
Insurance companies that had significantly higher rates and/or consumer complaints than the California average did not make our rating. If an insurance company pulled out of California or stopped writing new home insurance policies it didn’t make the cut. We didn’t include any companies that received lower than a 2.5-star rating.
Best homeowners insurance in California FAQs
By direct premiums written, State Farm was the largest home insurer in California in 2022 according to the Insurance Information Institute. However, as of May 26, 2023, State Farm decided to temporarily stop offering new homeowners policies in the state. Farmers is the second largest home insurance company in California, followed by CSAA.
Travelers has the best cheap home insurance in California according to our analysis, followed by CSAA. If you’re looking for cheap homeowners insurance, you might want to start with these companies.
Just keep in mind that factors like your location, insurance score and coverage decisions will influence your premiums, so the companies that are cheapest on average may not be cheapest for you. Ideally, you’ll look for the policy that offers the best value for the coverage you want — which won’t necessarily be the cheapest.
No, California does not require homeowners to carry homeowners insurance. If you have a mortgage, however, your mortgage servicer will require you to carry enough homeowners insurance to rebuild your home in case of a total loss. Also, if your property is in a high-risk flood zone according to federal flood maps, your lender will require you to carry flood insurance.
No. Unlike auto insurance requirements for vehicle owners, the state of California does not impose minimum insurance requirements on homeowners. It’s up to you to determine what coverage you need, which may include homeowners, earthquake and flood insurance.
No, flood insurance is not required by California law. However, if you live in a high-risk flood area, your mortgage lender may require you to purchase flood insurance.
Even if you don’t live in a high-risk area, home insurance excludes coverage for flood damage. If you want to be able to file a property damage claim due to flooding, you’ll need to purchase flood insurance.
You can get homeowners insurance in California by comparing home insurance quotes from multiple companies to make sure you’re getting the best deal for your needs. If you are struggling to find home insurance coverage in California, you may need to turn to Fair Access to Insurance (FAIR) Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort.
If your home insurance rates are high because you live in a high-risk fire zone, consider taking part in a fire mitigation program like FireWise USA or Wildfire Prepared Home. These programs can help you fireproof your property, which can lead to discounts on your home insurance.
Other common home insurance discounts include:
- Bundling home and auto insurance (or another type of policy)
- Installing burglar and fire alarms.
- Going claims free.
- Choosing paperless billing.
- Paying in full up front.
Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
