Openly Home Insurance Review 2023
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Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Openly
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Openly insurance is a relatively new offering for homeowners. The company sold its first policies in 2019 and today offers homeowners insurance in 21 states.
Openly sells premium coverage primarily to owners of high-value homes. Its policies include features that typically cost extra from other insurers, if they’re available at all.
Unlike other home insurers that let you get quotes and buy policies online, Openly sells policies only through independent insurance agents. But the coverage may be worth the inconvenience.
Openly home insurance star rating
Openly homeowners insurance earned 5 out of 5 stars for overall performance. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The homeowners insurance scoring formula takes into account policy coverage options and discounts, ease of filing a claim, website transparency, the financial strength of the company, complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and more.
Based on this rating, Openly is among NerdWallet's Best Home Insurance Companies for 2023.
State availability
Openly insurance is currently available in 21 states.
Openly 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 a shed or fence. | |
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. |
For more details, see What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover?
Openly’s default homeowners policy goes significantly beyond these basic coverage types. Most notably, it offers guaranteed replacement cost coverage for the structure of your home. That means if your house is destroyed by a covered disaster, Openly will pay whatever it takes to rebuild it the way it was before, up to $5 million.
Openly also offers generous coverage for your personal belongings. Most homeowners policies cover your stuff on a “named perils” basis, meaning that they’ll pay for damage only from causes specifically named in your policy. Openly covers your belongings on an “open perils” basis instead, paying for damage from anything except perils your policy excludes.
If your things are stolen or destroyed, Openly will pay enough for you to buy brand-new replacements, rather than paying less for older items that have lost value over time.
Openly policies also include the following:
Ordinance or law coverage, which pays to bring your home up to current building codes during covered repairs.
Water seepage coverage, which pays for rot or other damage due to hidden water leaks.
Coverage for refrigerated property, such as food that goes bad when lightning knocks out your electricity.
Trees/shrubs coverage to remove fallen trees or other plants after a covered disaster.
Fungi/mold coverage for property damage or liability claims due to mold, rot or bacteria.
Depending on where you live, you may be able to add the following optional types of coverage:
Water backup, which pays for damage due to sump pump failure or backed-up sewers or drains.
Home-sharing coverage for people who occasionally rent out all or part of their house.
Buried service lines, which pays to fix damage to underground utility lines you’re responsible for.
Equipment breakdown, which covers appliances if they have a mechanical or electrical failure.
Blanket or scheduled property for valuable items.
Personal cyber, which can help you recover from hacks and other online threats.
Earthquake, sinkhole or mine subsidence for homeowners who live in areas where these are a risk.
Home under construction for theft of building supplies from a new house that isn’t ready to live in yet.
Discounts
The company offers a bundling discount if you buy your Openly policy and an auto insurance policy from the same agent.
You may also be able to save by getting an advance quote before your policy takes effect or by choosing to have documents delivered electronically.
Discounts vary by state.
Consumer complaints
Openly’s underwriter, Rock Ridge Insurance Company, received far fewer than the expected number of home insurance complaints to state regulators relative to its size, according to three years’ worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. (NAIC home insurance complaints also cover other home policy types, including mobile home, renters and condo insurance.)
Consumer experience
Website: The Openly website has a sleek, elegant design, but it’s short on coverage details and lacks an online quote function. Instead, you can submit your details in an online form and an agent will reach out to start the quote process.
App: Openly doesn’t offer a mobile app.
Claims: You can file an Openly claim online, by calling your agent or by calling the company at 857-990-9080. Learn more about how to file a home insurance claim.
Customer service: You can contact Openly by email at [email protected], call 857-990-9080 or use the website’s live chat function.
Where Openly stands out
Generous coverage. Not all insurance companies offer guaranteed replacement cost coverage for your dwelling, and having it included in a standard policy is even more rare.
No dog breed restrictions. While some companies refuse to insure certain breeds such as pit bulls or Dobermans, Openly will provide liability coverage for any dog as long as it doesn’t have a history of aggression. Learn more about homeowners insurance and dog bites.
Where Openly falls short
Online presence. With no mobile app and no online quote feature, Openly doesn’t offer as extensive a digital experience as many larger insurers.
Is Openly home insurance right for you?
Openly may be a good fit for you if coverage is important to you and you like speaking with an agent to make sure you have what you need. Openly tends to insure higher-value homes.
Openly may not be right for you if you’d prefer to manage your policy online, starting with an initial quote.
Other home insurance companies to consider
Not ready to make a decision? You may be interested in these other homeowners insurance companies:
Amica: Well-established insurer known for great customer service.
Chubb: Perks and high coverage limits for affluent homeowners.
Hippo: Digital-first insurance that comes with free smart-home technology in many states.
Nationwide: Broad range of coverage options, available in most states.
Homeowners insurance 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 2019-2021. 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.
