Nationwide vs. State Farm: Home Insurance Comparison

In MoneyGeek's comparison of Nationwide vs. State Farm for homeowners insurance policies, State Farm ranks fifth across the U.S., while Nationwide ranks 10th.

State Farm offers home insurance products in 48 states with an average premium of $2,138 per year. It offers 12 optional coverages and seven discounts. In contrast, Nationwide is only available in 47 states, with an average annual premium of $1,917. It provides policyholders with eight optional coverages and eight discounts.

Understand the differences between Nationwide and State Farm’s homeowners insurance offerings regarding cost, customer service, coverages and discounts before purchasing a policy from either company.

Both State Farm and Nationwide offer home insurance in most states. However, State Farm fares better for customer satisfaction and is more financially stable than Nationwide. It also offers a wider range of optional coverages. However, Nationwide typically has lower rates, with an average annual premium of $1,917. State Farm charges around $2,138.

Nationwide is a cheaper home insurance provider than State Farm. On average, Nationwide’s home insurance policies cost $1,917 per year, while State Farm’s policies cost an average of $2,138 per year — $222 more.

The actual cost of your home insurance policy can rise or fall depending on two major factors: your dwelling coverage amount and your location. Your dwelling coverage pays to replace your house's actual structure — you should have sufficient coverage to rebuild the home at current prices. Learn which insurer is cheaper for you based on the dwelling coverage amount and state.

Across all dwelling coverage amounts from $100K to $3 million, Nationwide is the cheaper insurer, offering significantly lower premiums than State Farm.

For instance, Nationwide’s average premium for $3 million in dwelling coverage is $24,431 per year, while State Farm charges an average of $31,612 per year. Even with lower dwelling coverage of $100K, Nationwide is still more affordable at an average of $1,211 a year, while State Farm costs $1,917 per year.

Where you live also impacts the cost of home insurance, but all providers weigh this factor differently when determining premiums. For instance, Nationwide’s premiums are the most expensive in Maryland, costing an average of $3,099 per year. Meanwhile, State Farm’s rates in Maryland average just $1,509 per year.

On the other hand, Texas is the most expensive state for home insurance with State Farm, with an average annual premium of $3,994. Conversely, Nationwide charges Texas homeowners a much lower average rate of $2,981 per year.

Based on MoneyGeek’s analysis, State Farm performs well across customer satisfaction, financial stability and affordability, earning a MoneyGeek score of 91 out of 100. Similarly, Nationwide also earned strong scores in these three categories, with an overall MoneyGeek rating of 89.

However, when comparing State Farm and Nationwide, the latter typically offers cheaper rates, but note that premiums vary considerably based on which state you live in. State Farm, on the other hand, is a great choice for those who want the best customer service, and it also offers more coverage options.

A homeowners insurance policy typically includes a range of coverages, such as dwelling, personal property, liability and more. However, in addition to these standard coverages, many insurance companies also offer optional coverages to allow homeowners to tailor the policy to their needs.

With eight options available, Nationwide offers most of the common coverages but has fewer optional coverages. On the other hand, State Farm has a broad selection of 12 optional coverages that you can use to supplement your policy.

Nationwide has a few key coverages not offered by State Farm. For instance, Nationwide offers extended reimbursement coverage, which pays up to 20% of your property coverage limit if you have to rebuild your home after a loss. The company also offers contents replacement cost coverage, which covers the depreciated value of your covered items and pays you the actual cost difference after repairing or replacing the item.

State Farm also has a few coverages that Nationwide doesn’t. For instance, State Farm offers mold coverage, which protects you up to a limit of $20,000 in case there is fungus or mold in your home. It also provides loss assessment coverage for Homeowners Association (HOA) members — if your HOA assesses expenses to all members due to a covered loss, State Farm will cover them.

MoneyGeek checked each company's website manually, and it's possible that these companies offer a wider range of coverages behind the scenes than what they advertise online.

Discounts allow you to reduce the cost of your home insurance. The more discounts you qualify for, the cheaper your policy will be. Generally, all providers offer some form of discount, but some have more than others.

There are six common discounts for homeowners insurance policies — State Farm offers all six, while Nationwide provides five. In terms of total discounts, State Farm offers seven overall, while Nationwide has eight.

Both State Farm and Nationwide offer a range of common discounts — giving policyholders more opportunities to save.

Note that MoneyGeek manually checked each company's website for discounts. Nationwide and State Farm may offer a broader range of discounts not disclosed on their websites.

The best homeowners insurance company is one that can offer both affordable policies and great customer service. However, note that costs rely on (and can change depending on) various factors, including the cost to repair or replace your home, its location and more. To get a more accurate estimate of your premium, use our homeowners insurance calculator.