The Andover Companies home insurance review: A+ coverage

The Andover Companies has a 200-year-long tradition of reliable home insurance coverage with cheap rates for homeowners in 8 states throughout the Northeast.

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Jessica OlivoFreelance contributorJessica Olivo is a writer living in Connecticut. She specializes in web and blog content in a variety of topics such as parenting, business, and culture, as well as serialized and short fiction.After working in publishing and book publicity for many years, she transitioned to freelance writing full time.

Edited by

Jennifer GimbelJennifer GimbelSenior Managing Editor & Home Insurance ExpertJennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor at Policygenius, where she oversees all of our insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.

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The Andover Companies

The Andover Companies logo

Policygenius rating

Our proprietary ratings methodology takes multiple factors into account, including customer satisfaction, cost, financial strength, and policy offerings. See the “Ratings methodology” section for more details.
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4.9

AM Best rating

AM Best is a global credit rating agency that scores the financial strength of insurance companies on a scale from A++ (Superior) to D (Poor).

A

Cost

Using a mix of internal and external rate data, we grade the cost of each insurance company's premiums on a scale from least expensive ($) to most expensive ($$$$$).

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The bottom line

Homeowners in the Northeast looking for quality customer service from a local agent will be well-served by The Andover Companies. Earning a near-perfect Policygenius rating, Andover home insurance comes with cheap rates, reliable customer service, and lots of coverage add-ons for extra protection where you need it most. 

However, if managing your policy online is important to you, Andover isn’t the right company for your needs. You can’t get a quote online, and it doesn’t offer a mobile app like other larger insurers. You also can’t file claims online — you’ll need to reach out to your agent over the phone or in person to begin the process.

Pros

  • Offers cheap rates that are 42% below the national average — plus, 6 home insurance discounts to save even more

  • Choose from plenty of coverage add-ons, including water damage, equipment breakdown, cyber, business property, and identity theft protection

  • Excellent customer service and financial strength ratings

Cons

  • No online quote tool or mobile app for managing your policy

  • Can’t file claims online — must call or visit your local agent in person

  • Only offers home insurance in 8 states throughout the Northeast

Basic coverages offered

Andover home insurance policies include these six standard coverages to protect your home, belongings, and personal liability:

  • Dwelling coverage: Pays to repair or rebuild the structure of your home after a covered loss.

  • Other structures coverage: Pays to repair or rebuild other structures on your property not connected to your home, including detached garages, storage sheds, and fencing.

  • Personal property coverage: Pays to repair or replace your personal belongings after a covered loss, including furniture, clothing, tech gadgets, and other stuff you own.

  • Loss of use coverage: Pays for hotel stays, restaurant bills, pet boarding fees, and other temporary living expenses after a covered loss if you need to live elsewhere while your home is being rebuilt.

  • Personal liability coverage: Pays for legal and medical expenses if someone is injured or their belongings are damaged while at your home and you’re found legally responsible.

  • Medical payments coverage: Pays for small-dollar medical bills if someone is injured while at your home — regardless of who is at fault.

Additional coverages offered

You can add these additional coverages to your Andover home insurance policy for even more protection:

  • Guaranteed replacement cost for your home: Pays the full cost to replace or rebuild your home after a covered loss — regardless of your policy limits.

  • Replacement cost for other structures: Pays to replace other structures on your property, like detached garages or storage sheds, with new structures — regardless of depreciation or wear and tear.

  • Replacement cost for personal property: Pays to replace your personal belongings with new items — regardless of depreciation or wear and tear.

  • Scheduled personal property: Offers higher coverage limits for specific scheduled items like silverware, jewelry, fine art, collectibles, and other priceless possessions.

  • Water backup: Coverage if water backs up through your sewer or drains, or if your sump pump stops working.

  • Equipment breakdown: Pays to repair or replace AC units, water heaters, and other home systems that are damaged due to mechanical breakdown

  • Service line: Pays to repair or replace underground pipes or wires on your property that are damaged due to a leak, break, tear, rupture, or collapse. 

  • Ordinance or law: Pays the extra cost of getting your home up to code after a covered loss.

  • Business property: Offers coverage if your work laptop or other business property is damaged in a covered loss.

  • Dwelling fire: Fire insurance for properties that aren’t your primary residence, like second homes, vacation homes, or rental properties.

  • Identity theft: Offers everything from assistance with your credit reports to attorney fees resulting from identity fraud to help replacing personal identification documents destroyed in a natural disaster.

  • Cyber protection: Covers losses due to cyber attacks including compromised data and damage to software and operating systems.

  • Personal injury liability: Expands liability coverage to include personal injury to others, such as slander, libel, wrongful eviction, or false arrest.

  • Worldwide personal liability: Expands liability coverage to anywhere you travel.

  • Personal umbrella insurance: Offers additional personal liability protection for expensive medical or legal bills you’re found legally responsible for. 

  • Increased coverage for belongings in storage units. Increases your coverage limits for personal property stored in a self-storage facility.

  • Refrigerated contents: Covers spoiled food if your refrigerator or freezer stops working due to a power outage or breakdown.

  • Lock and key replacement: Pays to replace your locks and keys.

  • Golf cart rental: Provides damage and liability protection for rented golf carts.

  • Student away from home: Covers your child’s personal belongings while they’re away at college against covered perils as long as they lived with you before moving out.

  • Assisted living care: Provides personal property and personal liability coverage to specific relatives living in an assisted living facility.

  • Condo insurance: Purchased as a supplement to your condo association’s master policy, condo insurance covers your personal belongings, the interior structure of your condo unit, and personal liability.

  • Renters insurance: Purchased by tenants, renters insurance covers the personal belongings in your rental home or apartment against fire, vandalism, theft, windstorms, and water damage, as well as personal liability and loss of use coverage.

Ratings methodology

Price

4.0/5

Our price rating scale looks at home insurance rates for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage, as well as the total number of discounts offered. The Andover Companies' average annual rate of $1,240 is 42% below the national average. 

Customer experience

5.0/5

Our customer experience scale uses data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index. The Andover Companies has a score of 0.05, which means it received 99% fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size in 2021. (The expected number would be 1.0.)

Coverage options

5.0/5

Our coverage options rating is based on both the number and quality of additional coverage and policy options offered by the company. The Andover Companies earns a perfect score compared to other regional home insurance companies thanks to the slew of valuable coverage add-ons available.

Financial strength

4.5/5

Our financial strength rating is a weighted combination of three industry-leading metrics to measure a company’s financial health: AM Best, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), and Moody’s. The Andover Companies has an A rating from AM Best, but isn’t rated by S&P or Moody’s.

How much does Andover home insurance cost?

The average cost of home insurance with The Andover Companies is $1,240 per year for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage. This is about 40% cheaper than the national average of $1,754 per year. 

Here’s the average yearly cost of Andover home insurance for four different levels of dwelling coverage:

Dwelling coverage limit

Average annual cost

$200,000

$910

$300,000

$1,240

$400,000

$1,657

$500,000

$2,085

Rates are based on our analysis of 2022 sample home insurance quotes from across the country provided by Quadrant Information Services. Actual rates will vary based on location, policy limits, coverages, claims history, and other factors.

Compare home insurance quotes with top insurers in minutes

What discounts does The Andover Companies offer?

You can save on the cost of Andover home insurance if you qualify for any of the following discounts:

  • Multi-policy: Save 5% if you bundle your home insurance with a personal umbrella, boat, dwelling fire, vacation home, or business insurance policy.

  • Home and auto special: Save 5% if you bundle your home insurance with an auto policy written through the same insurance agency.

  • High deductible: If you opt for a high-deductible policy.

  • Protective devices: If you have burglar alarms, fire alarms, fire sprinklers, or other safety or security devices installed in your home

  • Backup generator: If you have a permanently installed generator.

  • Age of home: If your home is a newer build.

The Andover Companies home insurance state availability

The Andover Companies offers home insurance policies in eight states: Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.

What to expect with The Andover Companies home insurance

  • How to get a quote: You can get an Andover home insurance quote by contacting a local agent through the Find a Local agent tool on its website.

  • Customer service options: You can get in touch with an Andover customer service rep by calling 800-225-0770 or 978-475-3300, or logging in to your online account.

  • How to file a claim: You can file an Andover home insurance claim by contacting your local agent. If your claim is an after-hours emergency, you can call 800-225-0770 for help.

  • How to cancel your policy: You can cancel your Andover home insurance policy by calling your agent (their contact info should be on your policy declarations page), by mail, or by visiting your local agent in person.

The Andover Companies vs. other home insurance companies

Compare Andover home insurance to other insurers in the industry:

Company

Policygenius rating

AM Best rating

Cost

The Andover Companies

4.9/5

A

$$

Auto-Owners Insurance

5.0/5

A++

$$$$$

Auto-Owners Insurance

5.0/5

A++

$$$

NJM Insurance

5.0/5

A+

$

NYCM Insurance

5.0/5

A+

$

NYCM Insurance

5.0/5

A+

$

National General

5.0/5

A+

$$

MAPFRE Insurance

4.8/5

A

$$

Narragansett Bay

4.7/5

NA

$$

Safety Insurance

4.7/5

A

$$

Arbella Insurance

4.6/5

A

$$

Plymouth Rock

4.3/5

A-

$

The Hanover

4.3/5

A

$$$$

SageSure

3.9/5

NA

NA

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Frequently asked questions

What companies make up The Andover Companies?

The Andover Companies is made up of Merrimack Mutual, Cambridge Mutual, and Bay State Insurance.

When was The Andover Companies founded?

The Andover Companies was founded in 1828 to protect Massachusetts property owners against the risk of fire damage.

What is the customer service number for The Andover Companies?

You can get in touch with an Andover customer service rep by calling 800-225-0770.

Where is The Andover Companies headquarters?

The Andover Companies corporate office is located in Andover, Massachusetts.

Author

Jessica Olivo is a writer living in Connecticut. She specializes in web and blog content in a variety of topics such as parenting, business, and culture, as well as serialized and short fiction.

After working in publishing and book publicity for many years, she transitioned to freelance writing full time.

Editor

Jennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor at Policygenius, where she oversees all of our insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.

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