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The home insurance industry is being put to the test, facing numerous challenges over the past several years. Increasing repair costs, a substantial labor shortage, inflation and major weather events have all taken a toll on the home insurance industry. The fact is that homeowners’ insurance premiums have gone up across the country, with some states getting hit harder than others.
Events like hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes have battered the industry, leading some insurance providers to pull their coverage options in states like California and Florida altogether. As home insurance companies try to find solid ground amidst a challenging environment, homeowners are paying the price in the form of steeper premiums.
It’s key for homeowners to review their policy annually. While higher costs are widespread, when does it make sense to change home insurance providers? It may not always be a cost-based decision. We spoke to three insurance industry experts about when it makes sense to go and what to consider before making any moves.
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When should you change home insurance providers?
Homeowners’ insurance provides much-needed protection to what’s likely your biggest asset. If anything were to happen to your home, your homeowners insurance policy can help out with any covered perils, such as fire or theft. A primary culprit behind rising home insurance premiums is the increase in replacement costs, which refers to the money needed to repair or rebuild your home.
“We did a study here at the Insurance Information Institute that showed replacement costs for homes increased 55% from 2019 through 2022,” says Mark Friedlander, senior director of media relations at the Insurance Information Institute, a national nonprofit research and education organization.
Because of this, it can be challenging to find affordable and valuable homeowners’ insurance in this market. However, it’s still worth shopping around and some situations may warrant a change:
Different coverage needs
Home insurance providers offer different coverage options. If you’re renovating your home, purchasing another property, or investing in high-ticket items like jewelry, your coverage needs may have changed. It’s important to review your current coverage and any exclusions and potential limits. You might realize that your current home insurance provider doesn’t offer what you need.
If you have high-value items, your standard homeowners insurance policy might not cut it. For example, you might want to get jewelry and valuable items insurance in addition to your homeowners insurance to stay protected.
Explore your home insurance coverage options online today.
Poor claims experiences
When you have to file a claim with your homeowners insurance company, you’d like it to go smoothly when facing what’s likely a challenging situation. But average claim cycle time, from filing a claim to completing repairs, has increased to 32.4 days, according to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study. As the average claims cycle increases, so does the level of customer dissatisfaction. It’s not just longer times that can cause poor claims experiences, either.
“Claim satisfaction is huge…So that one time that they [customers] file that claim, they expect that what’s going to happen is what they’re told…So as soon as things go sideways, maybe there’s bad communication with the adjuster or there are coverages that they thought they had in place that they don’t. That’s where we see a claim dissatisfaction more than anything is at that field level with miscommunications,” says Benjamin Bruinekool, agency principal at Western Michigan Insurance Agency.
If you’re unhappy with how your home insurance provider has handled a claim, you’re well within your rights to shop around and find other coverage.
Significant price hikes
Homeowners insurance companies are navigating a difficult time, trying to balance service, value and profitability.
“The home insurance industry definitely is facing Mother Nature’s wrath with significant storm volume centered around convective storms, which is putting pressure on premiums for clients,” says Jesse L. Kohlbecker, vice president of claims and client services at COUNTRY Financial.
Because of that, finding affordable homeowners’ insurance is becoming increasingly difficult. However, if you’re dealing with significant price hikes, it makes sense to shop around and get multiple home insurance quotes. That way, you can see if your current rate is in line with the market or if you can find a better deal elsewhere.
Before making any changes, you may want to talk to your current insurance provider.
“I believe before a client or consumer considers leaving their current carrier, it’s so important they talk with that carrier because what carriers can do is tailor coverage, tailor deductible amounts, and really make sure that the clients are fully protected,” says Kohlbecker. “So I think it’s so important that clients kind of pause before they take any action and give their existing carrier the opportunity to make sure that they’re meeting their needs in terms of planning and production.”
Communication preferences
Everybody has their communication preferences. When home insurance providers can meet consumers where they are, satisfaction levels go up. According to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study, overall satisfaction scores are more than twice as high when customers say it’s easy to communicate with their insurance provider compared to when it’s not.
“If companies don’t have digital solutions, sometimes that is a negative, whereas other consumers want to go the old-fashioned way and do everything with a local agent,” says Friedlander.
These preferences can be generational, with 87% of Gen Z and Millennial customers being comfortable handling the entire claims process digitally, whereas around 40% of Boomers and Pre-Boomers are not, according to the J.D. Power study.
If you prefer an app or prefer talking to an agent and your current home insurance provider isn’t meeting that need, it may be time to switch things up.
The bottom line
Homeowners’ insurance can provide you with valuable protection. If you’ve been loyal to your home insurance provider, you may qualify for certain discounts or be able to work with an agent to customize your coverage. In those cases, it can make sense to stick around.
But if you’re not satisfied or have different coverage needs, shopping around to find the best home insurance can make sense. Getting home insurance quotes from various companies can help you get started. While it’s important to pick something good for your bottom line, you also want to look at the coverage options and the financial strength of your prospective insurance provider.
“As a consumer, you need to make sure you are with a financially strong company that can pay claims. That is critical,” says Friedlander.
You can look for A ratings on AM Best. Additionally, you can look at customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot. Doing your research before making any changes can help you make an informed decision.
