Best homeowners insurance in Dallas

Homeowners insurance is critical and lender-required protection for your home, your personal property, and your combined assets in the event your property is damaged or you’re sued. When picking out a homeowners insurance policy, homeowners are inclined to settle for whatever is cheapest and easiest, but if you’re one of the over 1 million homeowners in Dallas County, you’ll want to do a little more digging.

Dallas, Plano and Irving are considered some of the highest risk places to live given the region’s exposure to a number of natural catastrophes: tornadoes, hurricane remnants, drought, hail, wind and flooding are all common hazards that you should prepare for as a Dallas-area homeowner. That means finding a highly-rated insurance company and making sure your home is insured at or above its replacement cost, getting enhanced protection for your personal property, and filling in coverage gaps with endorsements and additional protections like flood insurance.

Keep reading for our guide on homeowners insurance in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and check out our Texas homeowners insurance guide for more information about homeowners insurance in the Lone Star State.

The best homeowners insurance companies in Dallas

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer for your homeowners insurance and keep in mind that cheapest doesn’t necessarily mean best. As you can see, the cheapest company for homeowners insurance in the Dallas area is Lighthouse, with a $959 average annual premium. MetLife tops the list with a $4,829 average annual premium.

Methodology: Average annual premium data is based on a 10- to 35-year-old home with $200,000 in coverage. Quotes were retrieved using Help Insure—a Texas Department of Insurance quoting tool.

Dallas home insurance prices by ZIP code

Your homeowners insurance rates are also largely dependent on where you live in the Dallas area. There are a number of reasons for this: some areas may see a greater number of claims or experience a greater number of property-related crimes like theft and larceny.

The cheapest region for homeowners insurance in the Dallas area is the 75075 ZIP code (Plano) with a $2,056 average annual premium. The 76010 ZIP code (Arlington) sees the highest rates out of areas we looked at with a $2,298 average annual premium.

Methodology: Average annual premium data is based on a 10- to 35-year-old home with $200,000 in coverage. Quotes were retrieved using Help Insure—a Texas Department of Insurance quoting tool.

Dallas homeowners insurance rates by coverage amount

Your coverage amounts are directly impacted by how much coverage you have. Your home’s insured value or dwelling coverage amount should be equal to the rebuild cost of the home. If you live in a multi-story customized craftsman home, there’s a good chance you’ll need more dwelling coverage than a single-story ranch home.

Here is the average rate for three different coverage levels for a home in the Downtown Dallas area.

Methodology: Average annual premium data is based on 10- to 35-year-old homes with $150,000, $200,000 and $350,000 in coverage. Quotes were retrieved using Help Insure—a Texas Department of Insurance quoting tool.

Special considerations for Dallas homeowners

Homeowners in the Dallas area have a number of things to consider when setting up their homeowners insurance policy. Just about every natural disaster in the U.S. that you can think of occurs in North Texas—even earthquakes are becoming common because of hydraulic fracturing.

Natural disasters

At least one major disaster event is declared in Texas each year, according to NASA. In the spring and fall, Dallas residents should prepare for twisters and remnants from hurricanes like high winds and flooding. In the summer, extreme temperatures cause severe droughts which creates wildfire conditions. Lastly, the vast oil and natural gas reserves in North Texas have been a main source of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, which causes sinkholes and earthquakes.

If you’re a Dallas resident, consider extended or guaranteed replacement cost coverage for your home, replacement cost protection for your personal property, and consider getting flood and earthquake insurance to fill those additional insurance gaps.

Wind and hail deductibles

Although homeowners insurance covers damage caused by tornado and hurricane winds, it’s pretty standard for insurance companies to require a separate wind and hail deductible before they’ll reimburse you for damage caused by those perils. Your insurance company will give you the option of choosing your wind and hail deductible amount. They’ll also typically give you the option of leaving it off your policy altogether for a cheaper premium. Keep in mind that wind and hail damage is typically excluded from your policy if you forego this deductible.

Homeowners insurance resources for Dallas residents

• NFIP flood insurance
• Texas Department of Insurance
• Homeowners insurance company comparison tool
• Play insure, an interactive homeowners insurance educational tool for Texas homeowners