Homesite Homeowners Insurance Review 2024

Homesite policies are easy to customize and buy online.
Sarah Schlichter
By Sarah Schlichter 
Updated
Edited by Caitlin Constantine

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Homesite

4.0

NerdWallet rating 
Homeowners insurance that’s easy to buy online.

Coverage options

About average

Discounts

Average set of discounts

NAIC complaints

Fewer than expected

Homesite

4.0

NerdWallet rating 
Homeowners insurance that’s easy to buy online.

Coverage options

About average

Discounts

Average set of discounts

NAIC complaints

Fewer than expected

About Homesite home insurance

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

Homesite homeowners insurance earned 4 stars out of 5 for overall performance. Founded in 1997, Boston-based Homesite is part of the American Family insurance group. Unlike some other companies that sell policies primarily through agents, Homesite offers a quick quote process that makes it easy to buy a policy online in many states. The company has a variety of optional coverage types that you can add to your policy.

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Our star ratings are based on consumer complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; financial strength grades from AM Best; coverage and discounts available; and the overall consumer experience. See our criteria for evaluating home insurance companies.

Our writers and editors follow strict editorial guidelines that ensure fairness and accuracy in order to help you choose the financial products that work best for you. Here is a list of our partners, and here’s how we make money.

Where Homesite stands out

Free protection from wildfires in some states. The Wildfire Defense Systems included with your policy could potentially save your home.

Online quotes. If you’re not up for calling an agent to buy a policy, you’ll appreciate Homesite’s easy online quote process, which lets you customize your coverage in a variety of ways.

Where Homesite falls short

Customer satisfaction. Homesite finished last for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s 2023 Home Insurance Study.

No mobile app. Homesite doesn’t have an app to help you manage your policy, though its website offers some useful functions.

Homesite home insurance coverage

You can customize your homeowners policy with numerous add-ons, but below are the types of coverage that generally come standard:

Type of coverage

What it does

Pays to repair or rebuild the structure of your home.

Covers damage to unattached structures such as sheds or fences.

Pays to repair or replace personal belongings such as furniture or clothing.

Pays for hotel stays, restaurant meals or other expenses if you have to live elsewhere while your home undergoes covered repairs.

Covers legal expenses and damages if you're responsible for injuries to other people or their property.

Covers injuries to guests in your home, regardless of fault.

Depending on where you live, Homesite’s personal liability coverage may not automatically apply to incidents involving pets or swimming pools. Instead, you may have to add animal or pool liability to your policy separately if you need either type of coverage.

For homeowners policyholders in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, Homesite offers free access to Wildfire Defense Systems. If a fire is threatening your area, WDS may take protective actions such as setting up sprinkler systems, removing anything combustible from around the house and applying fire-retardant gel.

You may also be able to add the following to your policy:

Identity theft coverage. If someone steals your identity, this coverage can pay for legal fees and other expenses associated with recovery.

Personal injury coverage. This coverage expands your liability insurance to cover libel, slander and invasion of privacy claims.

Extra coverage for valuables. A standard homeowners insurance offers limited coverage for jewelry, musical instruments and other pricey items. Adding this coverage ensures you’ll be reimbursed for their full value if they’re damaged or stolen.

Extended dwelling coverage. In case your home costs more to rebuild than expected due to inflation or high demand, this option adds a 25% or 50% cushion to your dwelling coverage limit. So if you have $200,000 of coverage for the structure of your home, Homesite would pay an extra $50,000 to $100,000 if necessary to rebuild it after a covered claim.

Replacement cost coverage for personal property. If your belongings are stolen or damaged, many homeowners policies reimburse you on an actual cash value basis. That means your payout is based on what the items were worth at the time of the incident. For older items, you might not get much of a payout since they’ve lost value over time. With replacement cost coverage, you’ll receive enough to buy brand-new replacement items.

Water backup coverage. This coverage pays for damage from a sewer line or drain that backs up, or a sump pump that overflows.

Mold protection. This coverage can reimburse you to test and remove wet or dry rot, fungi or bacteria.

Equipment breakdown coverage. If a major appliance or household system has a mechanical or electrical failure, this coverage can pay for repairs or replacement.

Service line coverage. This endorsement pays for damage to underground pipes, wires or other lines that serve your home.

Earthquake protection. Standard homeowners policies won’t pay for earthquake damage, so this coverage may be useful to add if you live in an area at risk.

Additional belongings coverage. This endorsement expands what the personal property section of your policy will cover to include scenarios like spills and drops.

Increased roof coverage. Having this coverage ensures you’ll get enough to fully replace a damaged roof after a hail- or windstorm (minus your deductible), rather than a partial payout based on the age of the roof.

Discounts

Depending on where you live, the following might earn you a discount on Homesite homeowners insurance:

  • Being a new homebuyer.

  • Having a centrally monitored burglar or fire alarm.

  • Having indoor sprinklers in your home.

  • Getting a new roof.

  • Bundling your homeowners policy with an auto policy from Homesite’s sister company, Connect.

Consumer complaints

Homesite had fewer than the expected number of complaints to state regulators relative to its size for home insurance, according to three years' worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Consumer experience

Website: It’s easy to get a homeowners insurance quote on Homesite’s website. You can also use the site to pay bills, set up autopay and view policy details.

Claims: You can file a claim through your online account or by calling 866-621-4823. You can also use your online account to track the status of an existing claim. Learn more about how to file a home insurance claim.

Customer service: Homesite offers customer support by phone (800-466-3748) and email ([email protected]).

The bottom line

Homesite’s range of coverage options makes it a good fit for various homeowners. However, you may want to consider another company if you value working with a local agent to figure out the coverage you need.

Current Product

Homesite Home Insurance
Lemonade Home Insurance
Connect Home Insurance
NerdWallet rating 

4.0

/5
NerdWallet rating 

3.5

/5
NerdWallet rating 

3.5

/5

Complaints to NAIC 

Fewer than expected

Complaints to NAIC 

More than expected

Complaints to NAIC 

More than expected

Coverage 

About average

Coverage 

More than average

Coverage 

More than average

Discounts 

Average set of discounts

Discounts 

Average set of discounts

Discounts 

Great set of discounts

Bottom line 

Homeowners insurance that’s easy to buy online.

Bottom line 

Best for tech-savvy homeowners who want quick and easy coverage.

Bottom line 

Costco homeowners insurance policies come from Connect, an American Family company.

Other home insurance companies to consider

Not ready to make a decision? You may be interested in these other homeowners insurance companies:

Frequently asked questions

Homesite has been part of American Family Insurance since 2014.

Homesite is a solid home insurance company with customizable policies and a variety of discounts. It earned 4 stars out of 5 for overall performance from NerdWallet.

In addition to homeowners insurance, Homesite sells renters, condo and small business insurance. It partners with another American Family company, Connect, to sell auto insurance, and sells flood insurance through third parties.

Homesite home insurance isn’t available just on the company’s website. Both Geico and Progressive sell some Homesite homeowners insurance policies.

Methodology

Homeowners insurance star ratings 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, coverage, 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 ratings methodology for home insurance.

Insurer complaints 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 to 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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