Nationwide Homeowners Insurance Review
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This may sound a bit obvious, but homeowners insurance is necessary if you own a home. In many instances, proof of insurance is necessary to complete a home purchase and receive funding from a bank. Especially with how high interest rates for mortgages are now, finding competitive home insurance rates is an important aspect of budgeting for the living expenses associated with owning a home.
When shopping around for insurance, you’ll come across various home insurance companies, including Nationwide. Keep reading to learn more about the ins and outs of Nationwide’s home insurance coverage and whether or not it will be a good fit for your home and personal property. Our Nationwide home insurance review will give you insights into how the policy works and whether it is worth your money.
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What is Nationwide Homeowners Insurance?
You’ve probably heard the friendly jingle “Nationwide is on your side” when listening to the radio or watching TV, but even so, you may not know a lot about Nationwide other than the fact that it’s an insurance company. Nationwide dates back to the 1920s, when it offered auto insurance. Since then, it has expanded to offer a lot more insurance products. Currently, Nationwide offers consumers the ability to take out a homeowners insurance policy, renters insurance, and even pet insurance.
As far as its basic coverage goes, you’ll get dwelling coverage, personal property coverage, and personal liability coverage included with your basic home insurance policy. You’ll also receive some credit card coverage as protection against identity theft, which not all homeowners insurance companies include with their policies.
Use Home Insure to Find Affordable Home Insurance
- Get Home (or Rental) Insurance as Low as $19/Month
- Compare rates in minutes
- No cost or obligation to check
- Rates subject to qualification and approval
How does Nationwide Homeowners Insurance work?
It’s easy to start the insurance quote process with Nationwide. Simply navigate to their website, select whether you’re looking to bundle your home insurance with auto insurance from a dropdown menu, and enter your zip code. Then, click the blue “Start Your Quote” button.
After you’ve selected what kind of insurance you’re looking for, you’ll be asked to enter your first name, last name, and the state in which you reside. Nationwide will also ask you again what sorts of coverage options you need, just to ensure that you’re getting the proper policy and bundling discounts. Once you’ve filled out that information, you can click “Agree and Continue” and be connected to an insurance agent from Nationwide who can perform an insurance review of your policy needs and ultimately get you your insurance quotes.
How much does Nationwide Homeowners Insurance cost?
As is the case with most types of insurance, there are a lot of variables that impact cost. For example, if you choose to bundle with other forms of insurance, such as pet or auto insurance, you’ll typically have a less expensive premium. The price of your deductible and coverage limits can also affect how much you pay for homeowners insurance. Beyond that, if you select certain add-ons to your policy for family-specific additional coverage, that can also impact the monthly price you pay out of pocket for your insurance.
Even considering those sorts of factors, picking a home valued at $500,000 in the Midwest, the quote I saw ran about $140-145 a month for home insurance, or roughly $1,680 annually. According to Bankrate, the average cost of dwelling coverage in Illinois is roughly $1,896 for a less expensive home, meaning Nationwide is one of the more affordable options on the market.
Use Home Insure to Find Affordable Home Insurance
- Get Home (or Rental) Insurance as Low as $19/Month
- Compare rates in minutes
- No cost or obligation to check
- Rates subject to qualification and approval
Nationwide Homeowners Insurance features
What can you expect when you select Nationwide for your homeowners insurance policy? Here are a few things that make the company a good fit for many.
Broad standard protections
One of the nicest things about Nationwide’s insurance coverage is how broad it is. With a policy from Nationwide, you’ll get the following protections included as part of their base offering:
- Dwelling coverage to repair or replace property damage for parts of your home
- Personal property coverage for your belongings inside your house
- Personal liability coverage in case someone tries to sue you for damages as a result of property damage or other injuries
- Coverage for other structures like sheds
- Guest medical payments should they be injured accidentally on your property
- Additional living expenses for loss of use of your home for a covered loss like hotel stays or pet boarding
Another feature of Nationwide’s basic insurance policy is credit card insurance, which protects policyholders from unauthorized debit or credit card transactions and forged checks.
Great array of discounts
Another big perk of using Nationwide is that they offer various ways to save money on your insurance coverage. For starters, you can take advantage of their multi-policy discount, which offers savings if you combine your homeowners insurance policy with auto, life, and even motorcycle or boat insurance.
Beyond multipolicy savings, Nationwide also lets its policyholders cut down on costs through claims-free discounts, certain home renovation projects to update appliances or HVAC, and the use of smart home features to protect and secure their houses.
Additional optional coverage
If you need additional home coverage, Nationwide is also here for you. From earthquake insurance to water backup protection and flood insurance, you’ll be able to customize your coverage and policy to truly meet your needs and those of your home. You can even add on perks like replacement cost value for replacement property instead of depreciated value or add additional valuables for antiques, fine art, or jewelry.
Use Home Insure to Find Affordable Home Insurance
- Get Home (or Rental) Insurance as Low as $19/Month
- Compare rates in minutes
- No cost or obligation to check
- Rates subject to qualification and approval
Who is Nationwide Homeowners Insurance best for?
If you’re a budget-conscious consumer looking to get a lot of bang for your buck, it’s hard to go wrong with Nationwide. With many helpful features to their basic coverage and the ability to add the add-ons that you need to really tailor your insurance policy to your needs, Nationwide is a great option. All of this, plus its low monthly cost compared to the national average, makes it a strong choice for consumers who have to weigh their insurance premium against the actual value it provides.
Who shouldn’t use Nationwide Homeowners Insurance?
Ironically, for an insurance company with “Nation” in its title, residents of Alaska, New Mexico, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and New Jersey will be out of luck when getting homeowners insurance with this insurance agency. That’s because Nationwide isn’t available in these states at this time.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Wide range of discounts. Unlike other insurance agencies, Nationwide offers a variety of discounts to help you save on your homeowners insurance policy beyond simple features like bundling. With discounts for claims-free policyholders as well as those who update things like HVAC or their roof, it’s hard to knock the multiple ways you can save with Nationwide.
- Mobile app available. If you like to check your insurance coverage or pay your bill on-the-go, you’ll be happy to know that Nationwide offers a useful mobile app for handling these sorts of tasks.
- Great add-on coverage. When you need to go beyond Nationwide’s generous basic coverage, there are plenty of useful add-ons, including earthquake protection and additional valuables coverage, among many other features.
- Lots of discounts. As has already been referenced elsewhere in this review, Nationwide offers a ton of different ways to save on your homeowners insurance. While some insurers only offer deals on things like having safety or security features in your home, Nationwide gives discounts for retirees as well as folks on auto-pay. This makes it much easier to lower your premium.
Cons
- Not available in all states. As was mentioned earlier in this review, there are certain states where Nationwide doesn’t offer homeowners insurance coverage. These states include Alaska, Louisiana, Massachussetts, New Jersey, and New Mexico.
- JD Power score is about average. If you care about the J.D. Power or AM Best Ratings for insurers, you’ll find that Nationwide’s customer satisfaction and financial strength rating are good, but not anything to write home about. While they get an A+ rating from AM Best, their ranking through J.D. Power is 793/1000, which leaves a bit to be desired.
- Not all coverage is available in all states. While Nationwide offers a fair amount of additional add-on coverage options, not all of the options mentioned in this review are available in each state Nationwide is available in. As such, you’ll want to do some research about all of your insurance needs before going ahead with Nationwide should you have your eye on specific additional coverage options.
Nationwide Homeowners Insurance vs. competitors
State Farm and Lemonade are two other major homeowners insurance providers you may come across when searching for a homeowners insurance policy. Here’s how they compare to each other.
Insurance provider | Available in all 50 states? | A.M. Best Rating | JD Power Rating |
Nationwide | No | A+ | 793/1000 |
State Farm | Yes | A++ | 829/1000 |
Lemonade | No | N/A | 854/1000 |
State Farm
One of the largest insurers in the country, State Farm beats out Nationwide when it comes to availability and its A.M. Best and JD Power ratings. However, even though State Farm seems to be ahead of Lemonade and Nationwide in these merits, pricing is one area that may fall short for more budget-conscious consumers. As such, you shouldn’t knock Nationwide’s A+ A.M. Best rating too much.
Lemonade
Lemonade is a digital-first insurance option that has appeal in an increasingly technological society. At the same time, that is a hindrance for the insurer since A.M. Best hasn’t even rated them based on how new they are to the scene. On the other hand, their JD Power Rating is solidly respectable, even if they aren’t available in all 50 states like Nationwide.
FAQs
Why should you have a homeowners insurance policy in the first place?
If your home is destroyed due to an accident, such as a fire or inclement weather, it can be incredibly costly to replace and repair the damaged portions of your home. An insurance policy can help cover a lot of these costs, lowering the financial burden of owning a home should something go wrong. Beyond that, construction and repairs can’t just happen overnight, so many times homeowners insurance policies also cover something called loss of use, meaning that you are reimbursed for time spent in a hotel or alternative living location while your home is repaired.
Is Nationwide available for homeowners insurance in all 50 states?
No, Nationwide is only available in 46 states as well as Washington D.C. If you live in Massachusetts, Alaska, New Mexico, or New Jersey, you won’t be eligible to get your homeowners insurance through Nationwide.
Can you bundle Nationwide home insurance with other forms of insurance?
Yes. Not only can you bundle your Nationwide homeowners insurance policy with life insurance, auto insurance, renters insurance, or boat or motorcycle insurance, but bundling will also save you money on your overall premium.
Does Nationwide homeowners insurance cover floods or earthquakes?
As a part of its basic coverage? No. However, if you add additional coverage, you are able to select flood insurance or earthquake insurance, depending on where you live.
Use Home Insure to Find Affordable Home Insurance
- Get Home (or Rental) Insurance as Low as $19/Month
- Compare rates in minutes
- No cost or obligation to check
- Rates subject to qualification and approval
The bottom line
Homeowners insurance is a necessity to protect your investment and nest egg, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to determine the right insurer for you and your property. While there are dozens of insurers, Nationwide has a long and reputable history of offering homeowners insurance, auto insurance, and life insurance policies.
One of the biggest perks of using an insurance agency such as Nationwide is that Nationwide offers broad coverage as part of its basic package. This package is quite affordable compared to other national market options. While this translates to great value, Nationwide’s insurance coverage isn’t available in all 50 states, which could be a drawback, depending on where your home is. Even so, if you are eligible for homeowners insurance through Nationwide, they’re worth a look.
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Writer
Brent Ervin-Eickhoff is a Chicago-based writer, stage director, and filmmaker with a background in digital marketing and content creation. In addition to Joy Wallet, Brent has written for Complex, Volkswagen, HowlRound, Picture this Post, and Third Coast Review, among others. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Marketing for Content Creation at Court Theatre at the University of Chicago. Brent graduated from Ball State University with Academic Honors in Writing.
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