Best Homeowners Insurance Companies

Our surveys show that the best homeowners insurance companies aren’t the ones that you hear about the most. “Conspicuously absent from our top tier of rated insurers are many household brands that dominate the advertising airwaves,” said David Gopoian, who oversaw CR’s homeowners insurance survey for over 25 years.

Among the three highest-rated companies in our homeowners insurance ratings, only one carrier excelled in every aspect of our surveys. The other two insurers weren’t far behind, and like the highest-rated homeowners insurance company, they earned exemplary overall satisfaction scores.

Notably, the members of this triumvirate are all “direct writers,” which means that their own employees, not independent agents, sell and service their policies, typically online. In theory, leaving out that middleman can save the insurer money—savings it can pass on to policyholders in the form of lower premiums. One of the top three is a mutual company, owned by its policyholders, and another operates in a mutual fashion; in flush years they may pay eligible homeowners policyholders a share of the surplus they’ve earned in the form of dividends. Each company in the top trio also has relatively stringent criteria for new customers, which means that not everyone qualifies for coverage.

CR members can read on to see which companies top our homeowners insurance ratings. For more options, including many companies with commendable or satisfactory overall scores and more open eligibility requirements, check out our full homeowners insurance ratings.