The Best Home Insurance in Alabama for 2024
The Best Home Insurance in Alabama for 2024. Alabama is known for its friendly people, beautiful beaches on the Gulf Coast, and die-hard football fans, but there are also some dangerous things to watch out for there. People who live in Alabama should make sure they have insurance that covers their houses in case of hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters.
NerdWallet looked at rates from Alabama insurance companies to find the best Alabama home insurance. Note: It’s possible that some of the insurance companies mentioned in this piece have changed how they write policies and will no longer offer new ones in your state.
Country Financial
Best for those who prefer to have a personal conversation with an agent when choosing coverage.
We offer three types of home insurance from Country Financial so you can pick the plan that works best for you. You can also choose to add extra coverage for your home’s construction in case the cost of rebuilding goes up more than you thought it would.
Country Financial sells home insurance through agents in each state. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says that state officials have received a lot fewer complaints about the company than they thought they would.
Cincinnati Insurance
Sells homeowners policies through local independent agents across the U.S. Cincinnati Insurance sells homeowners policies through independent agents, with various options for standard and high-value homes. You may be able to add coverage for issues like identity theft, personal cyberattacks or certain types of water damage.
Cincinnati may offer you a discount for bundling home and auto insurance, having a newer home, installing a centrally monitored alarm system or going a certain amount of time without filing a claim.
Auto-Owners Insurance
Auto-Owners offers plenty of ways to customize your policy and save money on home insurance. Based in Michigan, Auto-Owners has been in business for more than a century.
Its homeowners policies include all the basics, but you can also add coverage for things like identity theft or the failure of major appliances. Guaranteed replacement cost coverage is another optional add-on, enabling you to rebuild your home after a total loss even if your dwelling coverage limit is too low.
Nationwide
For shoppers seeking a broad range of coverage options, Nationwide may fit the bill. Ordinance or law coverage, which is part of Nationwide’s basic homeowner’s policies, pays to bring your home up to code after a covered claim. They also cover credit or debit card transactions that aren’t approved. You might be able to add security for things like water damage, identity theft, and stronger materials to replace your roof for an extra fee.
You can handle your Nationwide policy in a number of ways on their website, such as by getting quotes, filing and keeping track of claims, and paying bills.
USAA
USAA sells homeowners insurance to veterans, active-duty military members and their families. If that description fits you, you may want to consider a USAA policy. The company’s homeowners insurance has certain features that other insurers may charge extra for.
For example, USAA automatically covers your personal belongings on a “replacement cost” basis. Many companies pay out only what your items are worth at the time of the claim, which means you may not get much
In Alabama, the average cost of home insurance each year is $2,385. It’s 31% more than the average in the country, which is $1,820.
A lot of insurance companies in Alabama and most other states use your credit score to help them figure out your rates. Your insurance score is like your regular credit score, but not the same.
According to NerdWallet’s rate study, people with bad credit in Alabama pay an average of $4,420 a year for home insurance. That’s 85% more than people who have good credit.
People who live in Alabama face more than their fair share of risks. You should think about storms, flooding, and tornadoes when you’re shopping for home insurance.
Hurricanes and storms with rain
Alabama is on the Gulf Coast, which makes it vulnerable to storms and the damage they cause. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan went through Alabama and the high winds caused 117 tornadoes over the course of three days. These types of bad weather can do a lot of damage to your home.
Take a look at your insurance to see what it covers. Most likely, your insurance covers damage from wind, but you may have a separate deductible for damage from wind, hail, or hurricanes. (Your deductible is the amount taken out of the money you get from your claim.)
You might have a $1,000 deductible for most claims on your insurance and a 1% deductible for wind claims. For example, if your home insurance covers $200,000, you would have to pay for the first $2,000 in wind damage.
Flood damage from hurricanes is another thing that most homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover. Since you live in a high-risk place, you may also need separate flood insurance.
Aside from the hurricanes and tropical storms listed above, any kind of heavy rain can cause floods in Alabama. If you live in an area that is likely to flood, you might want to buy flood insurance because regular homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover flood damage.
If you want to know if you’re at risk, you can look at flood maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or go to RiskFactor.com, a website run by the voluntary First Street Foundation. You might want to get flood insurance even if you don’t live in a very high-risk area because flooding can happen anywhere if it rains hard enough.
Keep in mind that you can buy flood insurance at any time, but the coverage usually doesn’t start until 30 days after you buy it.
Some parts of Alabama are likely to be hit by storms because the state is in Dixie Alley, which is like Tornado Alley but in the southeast. A twister’s strong winds can damage or even destroy a house.
Most likely, tornado damage is covered by your house insurance. We already talked about storm wind damage, so it’s important to check your policy again to see how much it covers. Some policies have a different deductible for damage caused by wind, which could mean that you have to pay more if you need to make a claim.
The Alabama Department of Insurance protects consumers and keeps an eye on the state’s insurance business. On its website, you can look for approved insurance companies and find home-owner information. If you want to make a complaint about your insurance company, you can do so online. If you have questions about insurance, you can also call 800-433-3966, which is the agency’s customer service number.