Best homeowners insurance in Nebraska for 2024

Compare the best homeowners insurance companies in Nebraska

Nebraska homeowners pay high average home insurance rates compared to the rest of the country, likely due to its volatile weather patterns. The average cost of Nebraska homeowners insurance is $5,121 for $250K in dwelling coverage, based on data supplied by Quadrant Information Services. Since premiums are based on factors individual to the home and its owner, your individual rates may vary. Our insurance editorial team reviewed the average rates of each company writing policies in Nebraska to find carriers with great coverage options and competitive average rates.

In addition to average rates, we looked at third-party rankings from J.D. Power's 2023 Home Insurance Study and AM Best's ratings for financial strength. Other factors we considered included coverage options, discounts and digital tools. Based on these metrics, you may want to start your search for the best home insurance in Nebraska with quotes from the following carriers:

The top 5 home insurance companies in Nebraska

Additional Nebraska home insurance companies to consider

Farmers

Farm Bureau

How Bankrate chose the best home insurance companies in Nebraska

Bankrate understands that price isn't the only consideration for many Nebraska homeowners looking for the best home insurance. This is why we looked beyond average premiums to evaluate each carrier holistically. We took into consideration customer service metrics, financial strength, coverage options, discounts, digital tools and more to come up with our five top carriers writing policies in Nebraska. Weighing these factors, we assigned each carrier a Bankrate Score out of 5.0 points. We hope you can use this score to quickly evaluate insurers and determine which could offer you the best home insurance for your circumstances.

Cheapest home insurance companies in Nebraska

Homeowners insurance in NE is the most expensive in the nation due to the high risk of wind and tornado claims, but not every homeowner lives in the direct path of Tornado Alley. The price of your home insurance will depend on your location and factors like prior claim history, square footage, cost of building materials and more. The following insurance companies have some of the lowest average home insurance rates in Nebraska.

How to get cheap Nebraska home insurance

Finding cheap home insurance may be difficult due to the state's high average rates. However, there are strategies you may be able to use to find the cheapest rates for your circumstances. Consider the following tips and tricks.

Best home insurance discounts in Nebraska

Most insurers offer a handful of discounts to homeowners, and the best Nebraska homeowners insurance companies may offer even more. Before you sign up with an insurance carrier, it may be a good idea to review its range of discounts to see how many you could take advantage of. Here are a few of the more common ones:

How to save on home insurance policy renewals in Nebraska

It is common for your home insurance premium to fluctuate at each renewal. However, there are steps you can take that can help you minimize increases:

• Maintain your dwelling. Maintaining your home can help minimize claims and reduce your risk of loss. Simple steps like cleaning gutters and removing debris can reduce the chance of flooding and fire loss.
• Maintain your credit. Nebraska allows the use of credit as a rating factor for homeowners insurance. Improving or maintaining a good credit history can help you find a lower home insurance rate currently or in the future. Let your insurance company know if your credit has substantially improved.
• Limit your claims. The amount and frequency of claims will impact the price of your policy. Excessive claims can signal to an insurance provider that your home is too risky to insure. Minimizing claims and paying out of pocket to repair damage can help keep your renewal premium lower.
• Install wind and flood mitigation updates. In areas prone to wind damage like Nebraska, a wind mitigation inspection may make your home eligible for wind mitigation discounts. The amount of discount varies between carriers, but common home updates include installing storm or hurricane shutters or retrofitting your existing roof to be more wind resistant.

How much is home insurance in Nebraska?

The average cost of homeowners insurance in Nebraska is $5,121 per year for a policy with $300K in dwelling coverage, which is 138 percent more than the national average premium of $2,151 for the same amount of coverage. Average home insurance rates in Nebraska may be higher than the national average in part because of the state's risk of tornadoes.

Generally speaking, homeowners insurance tends to be higher in states located in Tornado Alley, which includes Nebraska. The state also experiences extreme winter weather and wildfires. Nearby states see similar high average rates for the same amount of dwelling coverage, including Oklahoma, where the average annual cost of home insurance is $4,675 and Kansas, where it's $3,914.

Nebraska homeowners insurance rates by city

Location can impact the rate of your home insurance policy, not just between states but between cities as well. See the following tables to compare the cost of insurance between Nebraska's least and most expensive cities.

*Rates are for $300,000 in dwelling coverage

What does home insurance cover in Nebraska?

Nebraska has an assortment of natural hazards, from tornadoes to flooding to excessive wind. Snow melt may cause extensive flooding in the springtime and wildfires have started occurring year-round. Not all hazards are covered under a standard homeowners insurance policy, though. Working with an experienced agent can help you learn what kind of losses your home insurance policy covers and how to purchase additional coverage types for the ones it doesn't.

Here are a few of the most common types of damage covered by standard home insurance:

• Wind/hail: It isn't only tornado damage but also high winds from storms that can be very damaging to homes in the state. Most homeowners insurance covers wind and tornado damage, and Nebraska isn't one of the 19 states with a separate wind deductible — your standard homeowners insurance deductible will apply.
• Lightning strike: Aside from fires, lightning strikes can damage homes and uproot trees, causing them to fall and inflict damage on roofs. Lighting strike is a standard covered insurance peril.
• Fire: Wildfires are becoming more prevalent in Nebraska along with drought, which increases the risk of a wildfire starting. Currently, most Nebraska home policies include coverage for fires, whether it’s a wildfire or kitchen fire.

Additional home insurance coverage types in Nebraska

In addition to standard home insurance coverage types, many carriers offer endorsements or additional standalone policies that may offer more financial protection in the event of a covered loss. Some of the more common ones include:

• Flood insurance: Most standard home insurance policies exclude damage from floods, so you need to buy a separate policy if you live in an area where floods can happen. Flood insurance is typically available as a standalone policy through the federally backed National Flood Insurance Program and some private insurers.
• Scheduled personal property coverage: Home insurance policies often offer limited coverage for valuables. If you own expensive items like art, jewelry, collections or electronics in your home, consider asking an insurance agent about scheduled personal property insurance to see if you need more coverage to protect those belongings.
• Dwelling replacement cost coverage: If your home is completely destroyed in a covered peril or weather event, dwelling replacement cost coverage will allow you to rebuild your home back to its original condition, without depreciation.

Common Nebraska home insurance problems

While Nebraska homeowners don’t face the same challenges policyholders in more problematic states like Florida and Louisiana face to obtain an insurance policy, extreme weather patterns make homes more costly to insure.

• Rising temperatures may be causing Nebraska to experience more intense dry and wet seasons. This shift can create more frequent wildfires, flash floods and storm events.
• When comparing billion-dollar weather events, Nebraska only had five in the 1980s but has experienced 15 so far in the 2020s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• With research pointing to climate change increasing these weather patterns, insurance companies are raising rates in an attempt to predict the cost of future losses accurately.

Frequently asked questions

Methodology

Bankrate utilizes Quadrant Information Services to analyze April 2024 rates for all ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quoted rates are based on married 40-year-old male and female homeowners with a clean claim history, good credit and the following coverage limits:

• Coverage A, Dwelling: $150,000, $300,000, $350,000, $450,000, $750,000
• Coverage B, Other Structures: $15,000, $30,000, $35,000, $45,000, $75,000
• Coverage C, Personal Property: $75,000, $150,000, $175,000, $225,000, $375,000
• Coverage D, Loss of Use: $30,000, $60,000, $70,000, $90,000, $150,000
• Coverage E, Liability: $500,000
• Coverage F, Medical Payments: $1,000

The homeowners also have a $1,000 deductible, a $500 hail deductible and a 2 percent hurricane deductible (or the next closest deductible amounts that are available) where separate deductibles apply.

These are sample rates and should be used for comparative purposes only. Your quotes will differ.

Bankrate Scores

Our 2024 Bankrate Score considers variables our insurance editorial team determined impacts policyholders’ experiences with an insurance company. These rating factors include a robust assessment of each company’s product availability, financial strength ratings, online capabilities and customer and claims support accessibility. Each factor was added to a category, and these categories were weighted in a tiered approach to analyze how companies perform in key customer-impacting categories.

Like our previous Bankrate Scores, each category was assigned a metric to determine performance, and the weighted sum adds up to a company’s total Bankrate Score — out of 5 points. This year, our 2023 scoring model provides a more comprehensive view, indicating when companies excel across several key areas and better highlighting where they fall short.