Safeco Homeowners Insurance Review 2023
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Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Safeco
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Safeco is owned by Liberty Mutual, which makes it part of one of the largest insurance companies in the United States. Safeco home insurance offers several add-ons like equipment breakdown and identity theft coverage. The company offers only a few discounts, however, so you may find it difficult to save much on your insurance premium.
Safeco home insurance star rating
Safeco homeowners insurance earned 4 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.
State availability
Safeco home insurance is available in 47 states. It's not available in Delaware, Florida, Hawaii or Washington, D.C.
Safeco 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. |
For more details, see What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover?
Safeco offers the standard types of home insurance coverage along with several optional features, including:
Valuable articles coverage for extra payouts for high-value items like jewelry and art.
Equipment breakdown coverage to pay for repairs for any electrical or mechanical problems with household equipment.
Extended dwelling coverage in case you exceed your policy limit.
Identity recovery coverage to reimburse you for money spent recovering from identity theft.
Personal property replacements cost coverage to cover the actual cost of replacing a damaged or lost personal item, rather than its present-day value.
Guaranteed repair network, which gives you access to prescreened contractors for any repairs, with Safeco providing a warranty for the work.
Safeco also offers a single loss insurance deductible option for anyone who bundles home insurance with other Safeco policies. This means you'll pay only one deductible even if you have to make multiple types of claims for a given incident. For example, if a tree falls and damages both your garage and car, you'll need to cover only the home deductible rather than both the home and car deductibles.
Safeco also partners with American Home Shield to offer a home warranty in some states. For a fee, this service provides discounted repairs for wear and tear on household systems and appliances.
Discounts
Safeco doesn't have a huge array of price breaks on its home insurance, but you may be able to get discounts for:
Installing a burglar alarm or sprinkler system.
Up to 15% for bundling home and auto insurance.
Buying a home that's less than 10 years old.
Adding umbrella insurance from Safeco.
Consumer complaints
Safeco had 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: You can get a quote, file a claim and pay your bill through Safeco's website. Safeco also offers a blog that has a fairly deep library of articles, including many specific to homeowners insurance.
App: Safeco's app is available for iOS and Android. You can use it to file a claim, pay your bill, view policy documents and more.
Claims: You can file a Safeco home insurance claim on the website or mobile app. If you’d prefer to speak to a live person, call 800-332-3226. Once the claim is in progress, you can track its status through your account.
Customer service: Your local agent can provide support for issues such as policy changes and questions about your premium. You can also call the company at 800-332-3226.
Where Safeco stands out
Single deductible option for claims. In the unfortunate event that a single disaster strikes both your home and your car, in most states you’d only have to pay one deductible instead of two if you have both policies with Safeco.
Consumer complaints. Safeco draws fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size.
Where Safeco falls short
Discounts. Safeco doesn’t advertise as many ways to save on your premium as some other big insurers do.
Safeco vs. competitors
Safeco vs. Liberty Mutual home insurance
Liberty Mutual is Safeco’s parent company, so the two insurers have more similarities than differences. They both offer discounts for things like bundling multiple policies or having a newer home. They also offer some of the same add-on coverage options, such as identity theft and extra insurance for valuables.
However, one difference between Safeco and Liberty Mutual is that Safeco draws fewer customer complaints than expected for a company of its size, while Liberty Mutual draws about the expected number. On the other hand, Liberty Mutual advertises more discounts and has more customer service channels, including texting.
Learn more with our Liberty Mutual home insurance review.
Safeco vs. Travelers home insurance
The biggest difference between Safeco and Travelers home insurance is that Travelers offers a couple of features that appeal to eco-conscious homeowners. You can add its “green home” endorsement if you want the company to cover eco-friendly materials when repairing or rebuilding your home after a claim. Travelers also offers savings if your home is certified “green” by Leadership Energy and Environmental Design (better known as LEED).
Both Safeco and Travelers draw similar numbers of consumer complaints relative to their size, and have discounts for some of the same things — like bundling and having certain safety devices.
Check out our Travelers home insurance review for more details.
Is Safeco home insurance right for you?
Safeco is a solid option for many homeowners, thanks to its widespread availability and range of useful coverage. If you’re shopping around for a new provider, it’s probably worth getting a quote.
Other home insurance companies to consider
Not ready to make a decision? You may be interested in these other homeowners insurance companies:
Amica: Offers great customer service plus an approved contractor program to help with claims.
Farmers: A good option for those who desire to customize their coverage to fit their needs.
Nationwide: Ideal for homeowners seeking a wide range of coverage options.
Progressive: A good option for existing Progressive auto customers looking to bundle their policies.
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.
