Homeowners in Detroit pay an average of $3,646 per year, or about $304 per month, for a home insurance policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage and a $1,000 deductible. This is higher than the state average of $1,840 per year and the national average of $2,377 per year for the same level of coverage.
The average cost of homeowners insurance in Detroit skews higher than the state and national averages because of a number of factors, including the high proportion of older homes in the city, the severe winter weather, the prevalence of flooding, and the possibility of tornadoes. Motor City residents should be aware of common natural disasters and weather conditions in their neighborhoods so they can make smart insurance decisions about what kinds of additional coverage they may need.
Here’s what you should know about comparing quotes and finding the best home insurance coverage in Detroit.
Detroit residents have the choice of a number of quality insurance companies for their homeowners insurance policies. Finding the best home insurance company for your needs starts with shopping around among multiple insurers so you can compare rates.
The following four insurance companies offer some of the best rates in the Detroit area. You may want to start your research with these insurers.
Detroit residents will generally find the cheapest home insurance coverage with Auto-Owners insurance, which offers policies at a fraction of the average cost for the city as a whole.
But Auto-Owners isn’t the only affordable home insurance option in Motown. The following insurers also offer competitive rates for home insurance policies with excellent coverage options:
In Detroit, the average cost of home insurance for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage and a $1,000 deductible is $3,646 per year, or about $304 per month. Not only is this higher than the national average cost of $2,377 per year for the same level of coverage, but it’s also the highest average homeowners insurance cost in the state of Michigan.
A number of factors contribute to Detroit residents paying such high home insurance premiums. These include things like weather — Motor City is vulnerable to harsh winters, tornadoes, and strong wind — and location because the city is located in an area prone to flooding. The ages of Detroit’s homes can also affect home insurance policy costs since about 94% of the city’s homes were built prior to 1980 and older homes typically cost more to insure.
Homeowners insurance policies are made up of several different parts. The portion that pays for damage to the physical structure of your home — including any attached structures, such as garages — is called dwelling coverage.
Homeowners in Detroit should choose their level of dwelling coverage carefully. More dwelling coverage will mean a higher premium, but insufficient dwelling coverage could leave you vulnerable in the event of a devastating event like a fire. This is why insurance professionals typically recommend dwelling coverage that pays for at least 80% of the replacement cost of rebuilding the home.
Below, you’ll find average rates for Michigan home insurance policies with a $1,000 deductible by dwelling coverage limit.
If you have to make a claim for a covered loss, you’ll have to pay the deductible before your insurance coverage kicks in.
The lower your deductible, the less money you’ll be responsible for paying before the insurer starts paying a claim — but you’ll have higher premiums. A higher deductible means you’re on the hook for paying more when you make a claim, but you’ll have lower premium costs.
If you do increase your deductible to lower your premiums, make sure you can afford to pay the deductible amount in the event of a natural disaster or other covered loss.
Check out how changing the deductible on Detroit homeowners insurance policies affects their premium prices in the table below. All prices assume a home with $300,000 in dwelling coverage.
Insurance companies use a number of factors to set homeowners insurance rates, including several factors you can control. To get the cheapest homeowners insurance in Detroit, consider using one or more of these strategies to lower your rates:3
Shop around. Insurance companies don’t use all the exact same factors to set rates. That’s why it’s a good idea to get quotes from multiple insurers. This will help you find the insurance coverage you need at a price you can afford.
Buy all your insurance from the same company. Bundling your homeowners insurance with any other insurance products you need — such as auto insurance, life insurance, and umbrella insurance — can typically get you a discount on all your policies.
Choose a higher deductible. One of the quickest strategies for reducing your premiums is raising your deductible, which is the amount of money you need to pay after a claim before your insurance coverage kicks in. Just be sure that you have the resources to meet that higher deductible if you have to make a claim.
Explore discounts. Many insurers offer a number of common home insurance discounts. Ask your insurance company if you can save money for things like having a new home, using green construction materials, paying in full, setting up automatic payments, being over a certain age, remaining a loyal customer, staying claims-free, being a military member, or securing your home against disasters and theft.
Different cities in a state and even different ZIP codes within a city can have home insurance costs that vary widely. That’s because your location can indicate a higher or lower risk of various weather conditions, property crime, and delayed response time from the fire department.
For example, Detroit has long been infamous for its crime rate, even though incidents of all types of crime have been steadily decreasing for many years. But even with the city’s substantial drops in both violent crime and property crime, Detroit homeowners are likely to pay more for their home insurance than residents of other cities in Michigan.
Neither the state of Michigan nor the Wayne County government that covers Detroit requires homeowners to carry a home insurance policy. Unlike auto insurance, which is legally required in every state except New Hampshire, home insurance isn’t legally required in any state.
But even though state and local governments don’t require a home insurance policy, lenders will probably require you to have this coverage as a condition of your mortgage loan.
To determine how much insurance you need in Detroit, start by examining exactly what your home insurance policy covers; not every peril is considered a covered loss.
Flood protection is a notable exception since insurance companies almost never include flood coverage in a standard homeowners policy. Since Detroit is at relatively high risk for certain types of flooding, most homeowners in Motor City should consider purchasing a separate flood insurance policy either from the National Flood Insurance Program or from one of many private companies that offer flood protection.
Detroit homeowners face different risks than homeowners in other states or even other cities in Michigan. That’s partially due to the climate differences between ZIP codes.
For example, Detroit’s location on the banks of Lake St. Clair and in close proximity to Lake Erie makes it vulnerable to different weather patterns and storms compared to more landlocked cities on the Michigan mitten. But the history and geography of Detroit are also factors in things like housing hazards, theft and property crime statistics, and proximity to fire stations, which affect the particular perils facing Detroit homeowners.
To understand your Detroit home insurance needs, make sure you’re familiar with some of the most common perils facing Motor City residents, including:
While you’re shopping around for Detroit homeowners insurance, the following information can help you with your research.
Home insurance in Detroit costs an average of $3,646 per year for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage and a $1,000 deductible, according to Insurify data. This is much higher than the national average of $2,377 per year for the same coverage.
Auto-Owners has the cheapest homeowners insurance in Detroit, with average annual premiums of $678. Other affordable insurers in the city include Hastings Mutual and Fremont Mutual, with respective annual premiums of $1,135 and $1,614.
No. Detroit and the state of Michigan don’t require homeowners insurance, but if you have a mortgage on your home, your lender will probably require it to protect its investment in the property. Even if you’ve paid off your mortgage, you should still carry home insurance because it protects you financially if something damages or destroys your home and you have to make costly repairs or rebuild.
Home insurance rates are predicted to rise by 6% nationwide in 2024, according to an Insurify home report. But in Michigan, costs are expected to rise by 14%. These higher premium costs are partly due to the increased cost of rebuilding homes in the state, which has gone up 5.6%–6.4%.
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