Homeowners insurance can protect the policyholders from unexpected losses, including _____.

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Title insurance protects you from problems with an ownership title when you buy real estate. These may be problems that existed before the purchase, such as: (1) unpaid property taxes, (2) fraud or forgery of previous paperwork, or (3) a spouse or unknown heir who claims they own the property.

Title companies search for problems with the title that need to be corrected before you buy the property. If there’s a challenge to your ownership later, your title company will handle the dispute.

1. It’s not homeowners insurance

   • Title insurance: Protects your ownership of the property. You pay the premium one time, when you close on the sale of the property.
   • Homeowners insurance: Protects you from losses due to fire, weather, other types of property damage, or theft. You pay your homeowners premium every year.

2. There are two kinds of title policies

   • Owner’s policy: Protects the homeowner. It’s good for as long as you own the property.
   • Loan policy: Protects the rights of the lender. It’s good until the loan is paid off.

3. The policy is standard

   In Texas, title policy language is the same no matter which title company you use. Coverage begins immediately, but you won’t get a paper copy of the policy until about 30 days after you close on your house. Read the policy carefully and ask the company if you have any questions. Keep it with other important documents for your house.

4. The rates are set

   All Texas companies charge the same rates for title insurance. There may be differences in some closing cost fees. The cost of an owner’s policy is based on the property’s sale price. The cost of a loan policy is based on the amount of the loan.

5. You can use any title company

   Your real estate agent, builder, or lender may recommend a title company, but you can choose any company you want. Make sure the title agent is licensed by TDI. To check, you can:

   • Call our Help Line at 800-252-3439.
   • Check on our reports page. Click on “Title / escrow licensing.”

Fraud alert

Real estate transactions can be a target for wire transfer fraud. Follow these tips to help protect yourself when you make electronic transfers or payments:

• Get a contact name, email address, and phone number for everyone involved in the transaction, including the real estate agent, lender, and title insurer.
• Verify the electronic payment instructions with your title agent.
• Beware of any email that asks you to respond immediately or tells you that electronic payment details have been updated.
• After you make an electronic payment, immediately confirm that it was received.

Resources

• FAQ: Title insurance
• How to get a CLUE about your claims history

For more tips like these:

    

    

    

If a huge, unexpected disaster were to occur and damage your home and items in it, you likely wouldn't be able to afford to fix and replace everything out-of-pocket. This is where homeowners insurance comes in.

Homeowners insurance is a type of insurance policy that protects your home and associated structures (like your fence or garage) in the event it is damaged due to incidents and disasters that affect your home. It can also protect your personal belongings (like your computer) in the event that it is lost, stolen or damaged due to an incident in your home — such as a fire or sewage backup. You can also get extra protection for certain valuables like professional cameras, jewelry, fine art and more.

Hopefully, you'll never need to file an insurance claim to cover significant damages to or within your home, but if you do, many insurance companies try to make the process as simple as possible so you can get paid with ease.

Select rounded up some of the best homeowners insurance companies to help you choose the one that's best for your needs. We evaluated insurance companies based on policy coverage, accessibility and opportunities to save, among others (see our methodology below).

Best homeowners insurance companies

• Best overall: Nationwide
• Best for additional coverage: Chubb
• Best for quick claim approval: Lemonade
• Best for discounts: Hippo
• Best for military members and Veterans: USAA

FAQs

• How does homeowners insurance work?
• What does homeowners insurance cover?
• What's the difference between renters insurance and homeowners insurance?
• How do you file a claim?

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Best overall

Who's this for? Nationwide is a trusted household name in the insurance industry, which can be appealing to those who want to go with an insurer they're likely already very familiar with. Insurers typically provide discounts for bundling your homeowners insurance with other insurance offerings like auto insurance, but Nationwide takes it even further with a host of other ways to save money.

Policyholders can receive a discount for having protective devices in their home, like a fire alarm or smoke detector. They can also receive a home renovation credit for getting work done on their home plumbing, heating, cooling or electrical systems. Policyholders can even secure savings by having the age and surface type of their home's roof evaluated. See their savings page for more opportunities for discounts.

Best for covering high-value assets

Who's this for? Chubb's Masterpiece policy is meant for those who have significant high-value items to protect such as fine wine, antiques, fine art, jewelry and more, in addition to standard property and personal liability coverage. Typically, homeowners would need to purchase extra coverage to make sure these items are insured. But with Chubb, coverage for these kinds of items is already built into the policy. Just keep in mind that as a result, your monthly costs may be higher.

Policyholders can also add on coverage for some unexpected events like tree removal after a storm, lock replacement, HomeScan — which helps you identify any potential fire hazards and moisture problems in your home with the help of a consultant — and electronic data restoration so you can recover computer data from a virus.

Because of the fact that Chubb places a large emphasis on protecting really high-value items, this insurer may not be ideal for those who don't own many high-ticket items like fine art or fine wine. A more cost-effective route may be to consider going with a different insurer and purchasing add-on protection for valuables. If you aren't sure whether or not Chubb is best for your needs, you can request a quote for more personalized pricing.

Best for quick claim approval

Who's this for? Lemonade boasts the ability to get customers paid for simple claims almost instantly (make sure you provide all necessary information). Just keep in mind, though, that there may be some circumstances where the claim would need to be more deeply reviewed, or there may be property liability claims that just take longer to settle.

To file a claim, policyholders can open up the Lemonade app and tap the "File a Claim" button; from there, the app will guide you through the rest and once your claim is approved, the funds will be deposited directly into your bank account.

Homeowners can choose to pay for Lemonade's insurance either through an escrow account or through a credit card. You also have the option to incorporate your insurance costs into your closing costs when you buy a home.

Best for discounts

Who's this for? Hippo considers itself an insurance platform for the needs of a modern home, which is why it offers many extra services around home maintenance and technology in addition to standard coverage highlights. According to the website, it provides a four times higher coverage limit than traditional policies for computers and home office equipment. It also offers discounts on the technology used to protect your home from theft, and provides coverage for house cleaners, babysitters and other individuals who assist you with maintaining your home.

Hippo also has a more expansive list of discounts compared to other insurers. Policyholders can receive discounts for activating smart home devices, purchasing their home within the past 12 months, renewing their policy if they haven't previously had a lapse in coverage, installing a hail-resistant roof, being part of a qualifying HOA, purchasing Hippo insurance through a business, university, or other membership group and more. See their website for other offers.

Best for military members and veterans

Who's this for? USAA typically offers additional benefits to individuals who are Veterans or part of the military. Through homeowners insurance, these individuals can receive coverage for things like the cost of uniforms and equipment, and they'll have their deductible waived if their personal property is lost or damaged due to war.

This insurer also offers policyholders the ability to adjust payment due dates to better suit their needs and file and track claims online. And if policyholders need repairs done on their homes, USAA will connect them with contractors who can get the job done.

In addition to some standard savings discounts (like savings for bundling and claims-free savings), USAA lets policyholders save up to 5% on their premium when they remain with USAA for three consecutive years.

FAQs

How does homeowners insurance work?

To sign up for homeowners insurance, choose your desired insurance company and enroll for coverage. You'll need to choose a certain coverage amount, which will depend on what kinds of liabilities and items you're looking to protect. This is the maximum amount you'd be reimbursed in the event of an incident. There are also some add-ons you can opt for, which will increase your monthly premium but will provide you with additional protection.

You'll pay a monthly premium for the policy, which will depend on the company's rates. If you never have to file an insurance claim, your monthly premium will essentially just be another monthly "bill" that you pay.

If you do need to file a claim, though, you'll typically pay an upfront deductible. A deductible is a portion of the cost to replace the items that you must pay before your insurance kicks in and covers the rest. Usually, the larger your monthly premium, the smaller your deductible will be.

So while insurance doesn't necessarily make it totally "free" to replace lost or damaged items or pay for personal liabilities, it can significantly reduce your out-of-pocket cost.

What does homeowners insurance cover?

Homeowners insurance usually covers damage to the structure of your home and surrounding structures like your fence or garage. It can also cover your stolen or damaged personal property, bodily injuries that a visitor sustains while on your property, vandalism and damage from fires and some other natural disasters.

Homeowners insurance can also cover high-value items like jewelry and fine art, but you'll usually need to tack on extra coverage to protect these items, typically at an additional cost. Homeowners insurance can also cover loss of use — in the event that you are unable to live in your home due to damage or other unforeseen circumstances, the insurance company will pay for you to live elsewhere until the home is fixed.

What's the difference between renters insurance and homeowners insurance?

Renters insurance is meant to provide coverage for belongings, while homeowners insurance provides coverage for the actual building you live in and associated structures, like a garage or shed. Homeowners insurance is also usually required by lenders you buy your property but if you're a renter, you may not always be obligated to take on a renters insurance policy.

How do you file a claim?

The process for filing an insurance claim may vary slightly from one company to the next. Typically, you'll need to provide photos of the damage, receipts and any other documentation or proof that is related to the claim you're filing. This will help the company assess the damages.

Once your claim is approved, the timeline for payout will also vary from company to company.

Bottom line

Though it can often feel like another bill that you have to pay, homeowners insurance can really come in handy if your home were to be damaged by circumstances beyond your control. Instead of having to foot the entire cost of replacing those items, the insurance company will cover you once you pay your deductible amount. Hopefully, you never need to file a claim but homeowners insurance can always provide that peace of mind of knowing that you're covered if anything were to happen.

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Our methodology

To determine which homeowners insurance companies are the best, Select analyzed dozens of U.S. insurance companies that come with policies to suit an array of needs.

When narrowing down and ranking the best homeowners insurance companies, we focused on the following features:

• Cost: While monthly premiums can depend on the amount of coverage an individual needs, location, the value of your possessions and other variables, some insurance options offer policies with lower monthly starting costs.
• Policy coverage: Standard policies tend to include coverage for structural damage, personal property loss or damage, personal liability and medical payments to others. Some companies may also include water damage, water backup and high-value items as add-ons for extra coverage.
• Coverage amount: It is common for insurance companies to provide different coverage amounts for different concerns. The maximum amounts vary from company to company. We have noted maximum coverage wherever possible.
• Policy discounts: Insurance companies typically allow policyholders to earn a small discount for signing on to bundle homeowners insurance with other policies such as auto insurance, RV insurance, boat insurance and more. Some companies may also offer an additional discount for having certain safety features in one's home, including smoke detectors and burglar alarms. A rate reduction may be applied for those whose policy remains claim-free for a certain amount of time.
• Availability: For some insurance companies, policy availability will depend on the city or state, as not all companies offer nationwide policies and discounts for policies.
• Claim filing: Many insurance companies allow policyholders to file a claim via their app or through their online accounts. In loss of use cases, policyholders may be required to retain receipts to submit alongside their claim.
• Streamlined signup process: We considered whether insurance companies offered a convenient, fast online signup process.
• Customer support: Every insurance company on our list provides customer service available via telephone, email, secure online messaging and/or through an app. We also opted for lenders with an online resource hub or advice center to help you educate yourself about homeowners insurance policies and claims.

After reviewing the above features, we sorted our recommendations by best for covering high-value items, best for quick claim approval, best for discounts and best for military members and Veterans.

Note that the premiums and policy structures advertised for homeowners insurance are subject to fluctuate in accordance with the company's policies.

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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.

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