Farmers Home Insurance Review 2024
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Farmers
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Farmers
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Choose Farmers home insurance if...
About Farmers home insurance
Farmers homeowners insurance earned 4.5 out of 5 stars for overall performance.
Farmers offers a range of ways to customize your policy, including an option that can prevent your rate from going up after a claim. Although Farmers’ premiums tend to be higher than those of its competitors, the company has a long list of discounts for policyholders to take advantage of.
How Farmers home insurance stacks up
Several coverage options can help save money.
Less common coverage options are available.
Discounts for nonsmokers and members of certain professions.
Tends to be more expensive than many competitors.
Ranked below average for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Home Insurance Study.
Where Farmers home insurance stands out
Unique coverage options. Farmers offers a variety of ways to customize your policy, including perks like claim forgiveness and coverage for a roof upgrade after a disaster.
Many discounts available. Most homeowners are likely to find at least one way to save on their premium.
Where Farmers home insurance falls short
Rates. It’s a good thing Farmers has a lot of discounts because its rates tend to be higher than those of competitors.
Customer satisfaction. Farmers was ranked lower than average for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Home Insurance Study.
State availability
Farmers home insurance is available everywhere except Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Standard Farmers home insurance coverage
You can customize your homeowners policy with numerous add-ons, but below are the types of coverage that generally come standard:
Dwelling. Pays to repair or rebuild the structure of your home.
Other structures. Covers damage to unattached structures such as sheds or fences.
Personal property. Pays to repair or replace personal belongings such as furniture or clothing.
Loss of use. Pays for hotel stays, restaurant meals or other expenses if you have to live elsewhere while your home undergoes covered repairs.
Personal liability. Covers legal expenses and damages if you're responsible for injuries to other people or their property.
Medical payments. Covers injuries to guests in your home, regardless of fault.
For more details, see What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover?
Optional Farmers home insurance coverage
Farmers also offers many optional features and perks, including:
Personal property replacement cost coverage, which will fully reimburse the cost of replacing a damaged or destroyed item rather than paying out a depreciated amount.
Extended or guaranteed replacement cost coverage, which pays an additional percent of your dwelling coverage if your home is destroyed and the cost to rebuild is more than your current policy.
Water backup or sump pump failure coverage, which applies if sewer lines or sump pumps back up and cause water damage to your home.
Scheduled personal property coverage for valuable personal items such as jewelry or art.
Ordinance or law coverage pays to bring your home up to building codes when you’re repairing or rebuilding it after a covered claim.
Equipment breakdown coverage pays to fix or replace HVAC or large appliances if they stop working for reasons beyond typical wear and tear.
Identity theft coverage, which helps pay expenses associated with recovering your identity.
Service line coverage, which pays for damage to utility, electric or water lines.
Fortified roof upgrade, which pays to replace a damaged roof with stronger materials.
Homeshare coverage, which offers extra protection if you rent your home to others.
Claims forgiveness, which means your rates won’t increase because of a claim if you’ve been claim-free for a certain period of time.
Declining deductibles take $50 off your deductible each year you have a Farmers home insurance policy.
Emergency mortgage assistance, which can make mortgage payments on your behalf for up to three months if your home is left uninhabitable after a covered disaster.
What's not included
Farmers homeowners insurance doesn’t cover:
Flooding.
Earthquakes.
Normal wear and tear.
If you live in an at-risk area, you may want to consider buying separate flood insurance or earthquake insurance.
Farmers home insurance rates
The average annual rate for Farmers home insurance is $2,415, according to a NerdWallet analysis. That means Farmers tends to be more expensive than the national average homeowners insurance cost of $1,915.
Among highly rated, large national insurers, Farmers is one of the more expensive options on average for homeowners insurance. Here’s how the insurers stack up:
Company | Average annual rate |
|---|---|
$1,815 | |
$1,935 | |
$2,010 | |
$2,205 | |
$2,270 | |
$2,415 | |
USAA* | $1,875 |
*USAA homeowners insurance is available only to active-duty military members, veterans and their families. | |
The sample rates above are for 40-year-old homeowners with good credit, a $1,000 deductible, $300,000 in dwelling coverage and $300,000 in liability insurance. Your rates will be different.
One of the biggest factors in how much you pay for homeowners insurance is the amount of coverage you buy. Get too little coverage, and you could find yourself underinsured after a major disaster. Get too much, and you’ll overpay. Here’s how to figure out how much homeowners insurance you need.
Discounts
Depending on where you live, you may be able to earn a discount from Farmers by:
Making home safety improvements like installing fire alarms, indoor sprinklers and security systems.
Not smoking for at least the past two years.
Bundling a home insurance policy with another Farmers product such as auto insurance.
Working in or retiring from a designated profession such as a teacher, doctor or firefighter.
Agreeing to go paperless.
Owning a new home (less than 14 years old).
Paying in full or signing up for automatic payments.
Consistently paying homeowners insurance bills on time.
Installing a smart home system.
Having a roof made from UL-approved asphalt or fiberglass shingles.
Fortifying your foundation, windows, walls or roof against natural disasters or installing automatic gas or water shutoffs.
Having a green certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, rating system, Energy Star or the Environmental Protection Agency.
Renting to own. Available to current renters policyholders when they buy a home and get a Farmers home insurance policy.
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Consumer complaints
Farmers 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.
What Reddit users say about Farmers
Reddit is an online forum where users share their thoughts in “threads” on various topics. The popular site includes plenty of discussion on financial subjects like home insurance, so we sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check on how users feel about insurers. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.
There are quite a few complaints on Reddit about Farmers home insurance. Many people talk about rate hikes, while others say they’ve had trouble with customer service or claims. There are also reports from people whose Farmers policies were dropped for reasons such as wildfire risk or having an older roof. However, there are occasional positive comments about the company’s service and stability.
Questions from Reddit: Our experts answer
Can Farmers drop my policy based on aerial photos of the property?
Yes. It’s becoming increasingly common for home insurance companies to use aerial imagery to inspect properties for issues such as older roofs, overhanging trees, debris in your yard or undeclared swimming pools. If a company sees one of these issues, it can require you to resolve the problem or even drop your policy altogether. Learn more about home insurance non-renewals.
Why is Farmers raising my home insurance rates?
Home insurance rates have gone up significantly across the U.S. in recent years, especially in higher-risk states like California and Texas. Inflation has raised the cost of labor and building materials, which means home insurance claims have gotten more expensive for insurance companies to pay. Also, disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires have cut even further into insurance companies’ profits.
As a result, insurers are passing their expenses along to policyholders in the form of higher premiums. Here’s what to do if you can’t afford your homeowners insurance.
Digital and consumer experience
Website: The Farmers website allows users to get quotes and manage claims, and it features educational content based on common insurance scenarios.
App: The Farmers app is available for iOS and Android. You can use it to pay bills, view policy documents, report claims or get a quote for new coverage, among other features.
Customer support: When we called the Farmers customer service line, we waited three minutes before we were connected with a friendly human representative. When we asked whether the company covers personal property on an actual cash value or replacement cost basis, the representative told us that replacement cost coverage was available if it wasn’t already included in the policy. She also noted that when getting an online quote, we should be able to choose which type of coverage we wanted — but we didn’t see these options in either of the two online quotes we attempted.
She correctly answered our second question by saying that water backup coverage was available as an add-on. But again, she told us we should be able to choose it in an online quote, and we didn’t see it as an option.
We also tried Farmers’ live chat feature. We were connected with a live rep within a minute on both attempts, but the first agent answered only one of our two questions. She verified that water backup coverage was available but instead of addressing our question about replacement cost coverage, she told us how to start a quote.
The second time we tried the live chat, the agent didn’t even attempt to answer our questions but instead directed us to the agent search feature, stating that an agent would be able to provide coverage information.
How to file a claim with Farmers
You can submit Farmers home insurance claims through the website or mobile app. You can also report a claim by calling Farmers at 800-435-7764 or contacting your agent. For advice, see how to file a home insurance claim.
How to contact Farmers customer service
You can contact customer service at 888-327-6335 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Central time weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT on weekends. Farmers also has a live chat.
Farmers home insurance vs. competitors
Farmers home insurance vs. State Farm
The primary difference between Farmers and State Farm homeowners insurance is how much their policies cost. State Farm homeowners insurance was more than $400 cheaper per year than Farmers' average policy, according to NerdWallet’s rate analysis.
Otherwise, the companies have a lot in common. They’re two of the largest homeowners insurers in the country, and their policies are available in most U.S. states. Both offer a variety of other ways to customize your homeowners policy.
Learn more with our State Farm home insurance review.
Current Product
|  |
|---|---|
NerdWallet rating 4.5 /5 | NerdWallet rating 4.5 /5 |
Complaints to NAIC Fewer than expected | Complaints to NAIC Fewer than expected |
Coverage About average | Coverage More than average |
Discounts Great set of discounts | Discounts Average set of discounts |
Bottom line Those seeking policy add-ons like diminishing deductibles and claims forgiveness may want to consider Farmers. | Bottom line Well-established insurer with a lengthy list of coverage options. |
Farmers home insurance vs. Allstate
The biggest difference between Farmers and Allstate home insurance is how often consumers complain about them. Farmers draws fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for a company of its size, while Allstate draws an average number. However, both companies ranked below average for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s most recent Home Insurance Study.
Both Farmers and Allstate have a long list of coverage options and numerous ways to save on your policy. Allstate’s policies tend to be cheaper on average, according to NerdWallet’s rate analysis.
Get more details in our Allstate home insurance review.
Current Product
|  |
|---|---|
NerdWallet rating 4.5 /5 | NerdWallet rating 4.5 /5 |
Complaints to NAIC Fewer than expected | Complaints to NAIC Close to expected |
Coverage About average | Coverage About average |
Discounts Great set of discounts | Discounts Great set of discounts |
Bottom line Those seeking policy add-ons like diminishing deductibles and claims forgiveness may want to consider Farmers. | Bottom line Widely available across the U.S. with lots of ways to customize your policy. |
Other home insurance companies to consider
Not ready to make a decision? You may be interested in these other homeowners insurance companies:
How we rate homeowners insurance
NerdWallet’s star ratings reward companies for consumer-first features and practices. We evaluate factors such as financial strength, consumer complaints, coverage, discounts and customer experience.
In our research, we analyzed:
More than 270 million homeowners insurance rates.
More than 50 insurance companies.
Nearly 200 homeowner profiles.
View our complete homeowners insurance rating methodology.
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.
Here’s how we weighted each category to come up with our list of the best home insurance companies:
Consumer complaints (30%).
Financial strength (30%).
Coverage (20%).
Consumer experience (10%).
Discounts (10%).
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 2021-2023. 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.
Homeowners insurance rates methodology
NerdWallet calculated median rates for 40-year-old homeowners from various insurance companies in every ZIP code across the U.S. 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.
These are sample rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.
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