Although Kin is a newer home insurance company — it was founded in 2016 — the carrier’s groundbreaking approach to underwriting homeowners insurance is drawing a lot of attention from consumers and industry observers. Kin prides itself on offering easy, affordable home insurance coverage to homeowners in the high-risk states of Florida and Louisiana — states that many property insurers shy away from.
Bankrate’s insurance editorial team has reviewed the company’s coverage options, discounts, customer satisfaction scores and financial strength ratings to help you decide if Kin’s coverage is right for you.
What is Kin?
Kin is a home insurance company that provides coverage in Florida and Louisiana. These states are often viewed as high-risk areas by many property insurance companies due to the likelihood of catastrophic losses, including hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires. Because of the risk of widespread damage, insurance companies tend to charge relatively high premiums in these states compared to other lower-risk locations. Kin is challenging this rating structure by asserting that all homeowners deserve affordable coverage.
One of the more unique aspects of Kin’s underwriting approach is that it pulls data that other insurance providers typically overlook. For example, when calculating quotes, Kin factors in property records, permit data and aerial imagery.
It also considers the more standard data points, such as roof characteristics, construction type and location which, when combined, make its quoting algorithm unique. Kin’s approach to quoting helps it offer affordable coverage for homeowners in Florida and Louisiana. In fact, customers save an average of $500 when they switch their home policies to Kin from more traditional insurers.
Coverage options with Kin
Homeowners insurance
Although you are not legally required to have homeowners insurance by local or state governments, mortgage lenders generally require their customers to carry homeowners insurance. Even if you do not have a mortgage on your home, homeowners insurance is a crucial part of your financial planning, especially in Florida and Louisiana, where severe weather events and natural disasters can cause widespread and devastating damage.
For homeowners in these states, Kin offers robust coverage options to help protect your property in the event of a claim.
- Dwelling coverage: This is the backbone of a homeowners insurance policy and provides coverage for damage to the structure of your home.
- Other structures coverage: In addition to coverage protecting your primary dwelling, Kin offers protection for any detached structures on your property, such as a greenhouse, garage, shed or in-ground swimming pool.
- Personal property coverage: Kin will insure your personal property even if it is not at your home location. You have the option to insure your items for actual cash value (less depreciation) or replacement cost. You can even schedule more valuable items like jewelry and fine art to obtain better protection through an endorsement. Scheduled items do not have a deductible.
- Loss of use coverage: If your home is uninhabitable after a covered loss, Kin will pay for any additional living expenses incurred, up to your policy limit, while you cannot live at home. This includes temporary lodging, getting groceries or takeout, laundry and other necessary living expenses.
- Personal liability coverage: Should someone injure themselves on your property and sue you, Kin homeowners insurance will help cover your legal expenses and fees, up to your policy limit.
- Medical payments insurance: If someone is injured while at your home, Kin provides financial compensation to help pay for their medical expenses.
In addition to these standard coverages, Kin also offers optional coverage for damage caused by earthquakes, floods and mudslides.
Condo insurance
Condo owners require a different type of insurance because they do not typically own their entire building. Generally, condo owners are responsible for insuring the interior structure of their homes, while a master policy purchased by the condo association covers the exterior structure. With Kin’s condo insurance, your property is protected from the walls in — including everything you own inside.
Kin’s condo insurance comes with the following coverage:
- Dwelling coverage: If a covered peril damages your condo’s walls, ceilings, floors or any additions, Kin covers the repairs up to your policy limit.
- Personal property coverage: Whether it is your clothing, appliances, electronics, cabinets or furniture that is damaged during a covered loss, your belongings are covered with Kin’s condo insurance.
- Loss of use: If you cannot live in your condo for a period of time, additional living expenses incurred are also included by your condo policy to cover your temporary lodging and related expenses.
- Personal liability coverage: If you are found at fault for someone’s injuries or damage to someone’s property, Kin will help with your legal expenses and fees up to your policy limit.
- Medical payments insurance: If someone is injured while at your condo, Kin provides financial compensation to help pay for their medical expenses.
Coverage options may vary by state, so talking with a Kin representative about your condo insurance needs may be the best way to understand what protections are available to you.
Landlord insurance
If you rent out a property you own, you need a DP-3 policy, also known as a landlord insurance policy. Landlord insurance protects both the structure itself as well as any landlord-owned furnishings placed within it. It also typically provides liability coverage.
Landlord insurance through Kin includes the following coverage:
- Open peril coverage: A landlord policy protects homes against most perils. However, there are a few key exclusions, including:
- Earth movement
- Power failure
- Mold
- Government action
- Personal property coverage: If a refrigerator, washing machine, furniture or other personal property in the unit that you rent to others is damaged during a covered peril, Kin will pay for its repair or replacement.
- Other structures: Kin’s landlord policy will also cover detached sheds, fences or standalone garages if your rental has these other structures.
If you have a rental home, are considering renting your home or starting a short-term vacation rental business, you may want to talk to Kin about landlord insurance.
Discounts
Kin offers a variety of discounts that can help you save on your premium. While you may see discounts common within the industry, Kin offers a few unique discounts as well.
- Accredited builder discount
- Claims-free discount
- Community-based discount
- Electronic policy discount
- Fire alarm discount
- Fire mitigation discount
- LEED-certified home discount
- Mature homeowner discount
- New homeowner discount
- Pay in full discount
- Responsible repair discount
- Security alarm discount
- Water leak detection device discount
- Water mitigation device discount
- Wind mitigation credits
Some discounts may only be available to homeowners in certain states. To see which discounts apply to your state, you can review the Kin discounts page.
Reasons why Kin is a great option
Kin offers affordable premiums for people who live in Florida and Louisiana — some of the riskiest states to be insured in the U.S. Offering affordable coverage in these states is no easy feat, but Kin’s unique underwriting approach to rating policies allows them to do so. And as the provider indicates, most homeowners can save significantly on a Kin policy.
If you are shopping for homeowners, condo owners or landlord coverage in these states, you may want to get a quote from Kin. Not only are the rates uniquely determined and customized to you, but you may be able to save even more money by taking advantage of the numerous discounts Kin offers.
Kin ratings, reviews, customer satisfaction and complaints
Because it is relatively new to the insurance space, Kin has not yet received a J.D. Power or AM Best rating. When it comes to feedback on customer service and financial strength, however, there are other places to look.
When it comes to Kin’s customer service, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) indicates that it did not receive any complaints about Kin in 2020.
Kin also receives stellar reviews on Trustpilot. Out of nearly 1,500 reviews, Kin’s rating is a solid 4.8 out of 5 stars. Nearly 90% of reviewers gave the company a score of 5 out of 5. For an insurance provider, these reviews are overwhelmingly positive.
As far as financial strength goes, Demotech, an independent rating agency, recently reaffirmed Kin’s financial stability rating of an A (Exceptional). Because Kin operates in areas where widespread damage caused by hurricanes and wildfires is common, financial strength is critical.
Most complaints about Kin seem to relate to primarily relate to roofing issues. This is fairly normal for an insurance provider, where poor reviews often stem from homeowners unable to get a policy with a certain provider. Insurance providers are careful about insuring roofs as they are typically the most at-risk for damage in the event of a severe weather event in states that regularly incur tornadoes and hurricanes. If your roof is too old or in poor condition, many companies will ask you to repair or replace it before they insure your home.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kin’s financial stability rating?
Smaller or newer companies traditionally take a while to be reviewed by rating agencies such as AM Best and J.D. Power. However, Demotech has reaffirmed Kin’s financial stability a rating of an A (Exceptional), and early indications from other third-party reviewers are overwhelmingly positive.
How do you file a claim with Kin?
You can file a claim with Kin in several ways. You can report the loss online, email claims@kin.com or call 866-204-2219.
How much will I pay for homeowners insurance with Kin?
Kin utilizes the same data points that most providers use and a few more that uniquely determine how much you pay for insurance. However, Kin lists your home’s construction and its location as two important variables. The coverages you choose, your deductible amount, claims history and your home’s specific features also factor into your insurance cost. Depending on your profile, you may see an average of $500 in savings compared to other providers.
Does Kin offer other types of insurance?
Kin offers coverage options for many of your property insurance needs. In addition to providing many types of property coverage, Kin offers flood insurance as an endorsement, which can save policyholders hundreds of dollars in premium costs because they don’t need to purchase a separate flood policy. While Kin does offer home, condo and landlord insurance, the company does not offer other types of insurance, like auto coverage, at this time.
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