Guide · Homeowners Cost

How much does homeowners insurance actually cost?

Homeowners premiums start from replacement cost — what it takes to rebuild your home, not what it would sell for. Estimate that first, then see how your state, your wildfire and coastal exposure, and the home itself shape the premium.

Tell us about the home.

ZIP code

Enter a 5-digit ZIP for a localized estimate.

Living area (square feet)

Finished, heated space. Used to estimate rebuild cost.

Construction quality

Standard tract build through high-end custom millwork and finishes.

Roof age

The single most-watched underwriting factor today.

Year built

Deductible

Estimated rebuild cost (Coverage A)

$555,000

Estimated annual premium

$2,175–$3,425/ yr

Dwelling coverage only. Range reflects typical full-replacement pricing.

Flood is never covered by a homeowners policy — price it separately.

What's driving your number

· your area
· 3,000 sq ft · standard build
· Roof 6–15 yrs
· Built 1990–2009
· $1,000 deductible

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Illustrative only. Replacement cost is estimated from regional construction cost, not an appraisal. Earthquake and flood are separate policies and excluded here. Not a bindable quote.

Insured to value, or just insured?

The most common mistake in homeowners coverage is setting the dwelling limit to an old number or to market value. An advisor can confirm the details of your coverage, and whether you carry guaranteed or extended replacement cost.

See how coverage is structured →

What moves the number

The factors that drive your premium.

A homeowners premium is built from two things in sequence — how much house there is to rebuild, then how risky it is to insure where it stands.

Replacement cost, not market value

The premium scales with what it costs to rebuild, not what the home would sell for. In certain markets the two diverge sharply, and setting the limit to market value is how homes end up over- or under-insured.

The starting point

Where the home stands

The biggest lever in all of insurance. State catastrophe exposure sets the floor, and within a state, a wildfire or coastal ZIP can multiply it again.

Up to 17×

Wildfire, wind, and hail

The three perils that drive the modern rate. A wildland-urban-interface address or a coastal county carries exposure an inland ZIP in the same state doesn't have.

Your roof

An older roof raises the premium and can trigger non-renewal outright; a recent one is among the few upgrades that reliably lowers cost.

The home itself

Year built, construction type, square footage, and protective features. Older systems and larger footprints add exposure the premium reflects.

Flood and earthquake are separate

Neither is covered by a homeowners policy. In coastal, wildfire, and seismic markets these are the coverages most often missing.

Not included

Geography

Where the home stands sets the rate.

Catastrophe exposure — hurricanes, wildfire, severe convective storms — shapes homeowners pricing more than any feature of the house. The same home can cost ten times more to insure across a state line.

Florida · hurricane & litigationLouisiana, Oklahoma, Texas · storm & hailCalifornia · wildfire (rates regulated)Pacific Northwest · earthquake, separateHawaii, Vermont · the floor

Beyond the cheapest quote

The real risk isn't price — it's underinsurance.

For a home with real value, the danger isn't paying too much. It's discovering after a fire or storm that the policy was written to rebuild a smaller, cheaper house than the one you lost.

Limit set to market value

In certain markets this over-insures the structure, elsewhere it falls short of true rebuild cost. Either way, it isn't anchored to what construction actually costs.

Often wrong both ways

Replacement cost, capped

Pays to rebuild up to the dwelling limit. This is fine, until rebuild costs spike after a regional disaster and the limit falls short.

The standard

Extended replacement cost

Pays a set percentage above the limit (typically 25–50%), absorbing the cost surges that follow widespread losses.

A real cushion

Guaranteed replacement cost

Rebuilds the home to its prior standard even if that exceeds the limit. This is the coverage most of our clients carry, available from carriers like Chubb and PURE.

How HNW should be structured

Common questions

About pricing, specifically.

Market value includes land, location, and demand; replacement cost is only the structure — the materials and labor to rebuild it. In expensive land markets the rebuild cost is often far below market value, and insuring to the sale price overpays. In others, rebuild cost can exceed it. Either way, the dwelling limit should track construction cost, not the listing.

Catastrophe exposure is the largest driver in homeowners insurance. Hurricane, wildfire, and severe-storm losses vary enormously by location, and carriers price the expected annual loss for your specific address. It's why two identical homes can differ tenfold across states — or across ZIPs within one.

Increasingly, yes. Roof claims are one of the fastest-growing losses in the industry, and carriers now scrutinize roof age and material closely. An older roof can raise your premium or lead to non-renewal, while a recent replacement is among the most reliable ways to lower it.

No — both are excluded from standard homeowners policies and require separate coverage. In coastal, wildfire, and seismic regions they're the most commonly missing protections, and the gap usually surfaces only after a loss.

It means your dwelling limit equals the full cost to rebuild. Fall short, and a total loss won't fully rebuild — a gap many homeowners discover only at claim time. Guaranteed or extended replacement cost coverage is the safeguard against rebuild costs that climb faster than your limit.

Get a real number, not just an estimate.

A few minutes with our advisors confirms your replacement cost, the coverages you're missing, and firm carrier quotes — usually within 24 hours.