The Best Home Insurance in Virginia for 2024
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The average cost of homeowners insurance in Virginia is $1,445 per year. That’s compared to the national average of $1,915.
NerdWallet analyzed data from numerous insurance companies to help you find the best home insurance in Virginia in the following categories:
Best for affordability: Cincinnati Insurance.
Best for coverage: Erie.
Best for consumer experience: Nationwide.
The rates in our analysis are estimates based on many factors, so your rate may differ.
Note: Due to underwriting practices and market volatility, some companies in this article may no longer write new policies in your area.
Best affordable homeowners insurance in Virginia: Cincinnati Insurance
Cincinnati Insurance
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Cincinnati Insurance
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
In Virginia, the average annual premium for Cincinnati Insurance is $740, which is well below the state average of $1,445.
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 things like identity theft, personal cyber attacks or certain types of water damage.
Cincinnati may offer you a discount for bundling home and auto insurance, having a newer home or installing a centrally monitored alarm system.
Learn more with our Cincinnati Insurance homeowners insurance review.
Best homeowners insurance in Virginia for coverage: Erie
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Erie
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Erie offers guaranteed replacement cost for the structure of your home. With this coverage, the company will pay to rebuild your home completely after a disaster, even if the amount exceeds your dwelling limit.
Got a car to insure, too? If you bundle your home and auto insurance with Erie, you could get a discount of upwards of 16%. You may also be able to save if your home has certain safety and security features such as smoke alarms or sprinkler systems.
For more details, read our Erie home insurance review.
Best homeowners insurance in Virginia for consumer experience: Nationwide
Nationwide
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Nationwide
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
The Nationwide website offers plenty of ways to manage your policy, including filing and tracking claims, paying bills, and getting quotes. The company also has a comprehensive and highly rated mobile app.
In addition, Nationwide’s customers have several ways to get assistance, such as reaching out to their agent or calling the company’s customer service hotline. Outside of business hours, they can use the Nationwide website to get proof of insurance, pay bills and schedule callbacks. A chatbot is also available to answer basic questions.
Learn more with our Nationwide homeowners insurance review.
Full list of the best homeowners insurance in Virginia
NerdWallet analyzed companies across the state to find the best home insurance in Virginia. Here are all of the insurers that received a NerdWallet star rating of 4.5 or higher:
Company | NerdWallet star rating | Average annual rate |
---|---|---|
Not available | ||
Not available | ||
$1,590 | ||
$740 | ||
$1,460 | ||
Not available | ||
$1,890 | ||
$1,185 | ||
$1,055 | ||
USAA* | Not available | |
*USAA homeowners policies are available only to active military, veterans and their families. |
How much does homeowners insurance cost in Virginia?
The average annual cost of home insurance in Virginia is $1,445. That’s 25% less than the national average of $1,915.
In most U.S. states, including Virginia, many insurers use your credit-based insurance score to help set rates. Your insurance score is similar but not identical to your traditional credit score.
In Virginia, those with poor credit pay an average of $2,905 per year for homeowners insurance, according to NerdWallet’s rate analysis. That’s more than twice what those with good credit pay.
Average cost of homeowners insurance in Virginia by city
How much you pay for home insurance in Virginia will depend on your ZIP code. For example, the average cost of homeowners insurance in Richmond is about $1,475 a year, while homeowners in Virginia Beach pay an average of $2,425 per year.
City | Average annual rate | Average monthly rate |
---|---|---|
Alexandria | $1,065 | $89 |
Arlington | $1,060 | $88 |
Ashburn | $1,080 | $90 |
Charlottesville | $1,125 | $94 |
Chesapeake | $2,230 | $186 |
Fairfax | $1,105 | $92 |
Falls Church | $1,055 | $88 |
Fredericksburg | $1,235 | $103 |
Hampton | $2,165 | $180 |
Henrico | $1,380 | $115 |
Herndon | $1,105 | $92 |
Lynchburg | $1,290 | $108 |
Manassas | $1,170 | $98 |
Midlothian | $1,390 | $116 |
Newport News | $2,095 | $175 |
Norfolk | $2,280 | $190 |
Portsmouth | $2,240 | $187 |
Richmond | $1,475 | $123 |
Roanoke | $1,160 | $97 |
Springfield | $1,100 | $92 |
Stafford | $1,210 | $101 |
Suffolk | $2,030 | $169 |
Virginia Beach | $2,425 | $202 |
Williamsburg | $1,410 | $118 |
Woodbridge | $1,180 | $98 |
The cheapest home insurance in Virginia
Here are the insurers we found with average annual rates below the Virginia average of $1,445.
Company | NerdWallet star rating | Average annual rate |
---|---|---|
$740 | ||
Main Street America | Not rated | $975 |
$1,055 | ||
Universal Property | Not rated | $1,105 |
$1,185 | ||
$1,205 | ||
$1,260 | ||
Not rated | $1,295 | |
Narragansett Bay | 4.0 NerdWallet rating | $1,360 |
What to know about Virginia homeowners insurance
Virginia homeowners should make sure their insurance covers damage from the state’s occasional severe weather, including hurricanes, tornadoes and winter storms. Here’s what to know.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30 each year, and while coastal Virginians are most at risk, even inland homes can see flooding and wind damage from a large storm.
Standard policies often cover wind damage but may have a separate deductible for wind claims. (A homeowners deductible is the part of a claim you’re responsible for.) Say you have a $1,000 deductible for most claims but a 2% deductible for wind claims. If your home has $250,000 of coverage and a tropical storm causes wind damage, you’ll be responsible for the first $5,000 of the claim.
Flooding
A standard homeowners policy won’t cover damage from floods, surface water or storm surges, so you may want to consider additional coverage.
To find out if you’re at risk, put your address into the Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood maps or visit RiskFactor.com, a website from the nonprofit First Street Foundation. If your home is in a high-risk location, your mortgage lender may require you to buy flood insurance. But even if your home is in a low-risk area, purchasing flood insurance for extra financial protection may be worth it.
Tornadoes
As long as you have wind coverage in your homeowners policy, you have coverage for tornadoes. Most standard policies include wind coverage as long as you don’t live in a high-risk coastal location.
Because tornadoes can be so destructive, it’s important to have enough dwelling coverage to pay for full reconstruction of your house. (Dwelling coverage is the part of your policy that pays for damage to the structure of your home.) Your insurance agent can help you choose the right limit.
Winter weather
A standard homeowners policy covers many causes of winter damage to a house, such as burst pipes and fallen trees. However, it won’t cover flood damage from melting snow; for that you’ll need flood insurance.
Virginia insurance department
The State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance oversees the insurance industry in Virginia. Through the Bureau’s website, you can look up an agent’s license or file a complaint against your insurance company. You can reach the agency through its toll-free helpline at 877-310-6560.
Looking for more insurance in Virginia?
Amanda Shapland contributed to this story.
NerdWallet calculated median rates for 40-year-old homeowners from various insurance companies in every ZIP code across the state. All rates are rounded to the nearest $5.
Sample homeowners were nonsmokers with good credit living in a single-family, two-story home built in 1984. They had a $1,000 deductible and the following coverage limits:
$300,000 in dwelling coverage.
$30,000 in other structures coverage.
$150,000 in personal property coverage.
$60,000 in loss of use coverage.
$300,000 in liability coverage.
$1,000 in medical payments coverage.
We made minor changes to the sample policy in cases where rates for the above coverage limits or deductibles weren’t available.
We changed the credit tier from “good” to “poor,” as reported to the insurer, to see rates for homeowners with poor credit.
These are sample rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.
Star rating methodology
NerdWallet’s homeowners insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, consumer complaints, coverages, discounts and online experience. These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our full homeowners insurance rating methodology.
Complaint methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2020-2022. To assess how insurers compare with one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
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