How Much Does Homeowners Insurance Cost in Massachusetts?

Buying a home is a major expense. But I’m sure you don’t need us to tell you that -- if you’re buying or have bought a home, you know the financial impact first hand.

Adding a new mortgage to your monthly bills can be stressful. As can all of the new costs associated with homeownership … such as homeowner’s insurance.

So if you’re in the process of getting a new home, you might be wondering how much you’ll have to dish out for the protection you need for your home.

Well, at Berry Insurance, we’ve issued thousands of home insurance policies for diverse homes in Massachusetts and beyond. So we’re very familiar with what goes into determining the cost of a policy in general.

In this article, we’ll give you an estimate on what homeowners insurance can cost, get into the factors that influence it, give some real examples of insurance premiums for Massachusetts homes, and even explain some ways you can save.

What a MA home insurance policy costs:

Without any context, giving you an estimate on what homeowner’s insurance will cost you is impossible.

But we can give you a rough estimate based on what we usually see for premium prices.

Depending on several factors, you can generally expect a home insurance policy to fall somewhere between $700 - $4,000 per year or $58 - $333 per month.

For a more accurate estimate, you would need to factor in several other pieces of information.

Factors that influence the cost of MA home insurance:

We know the range we provided above is a little vague. But that’s because each home policy varies significantly from property to property, based on many factors. Here’s what you can expect to play a role.

Home insurance limits:

Each type of insurance has limits. These amounts are the total amount the insurance carrier would pay out if you were to have a claim.

And each policy actually has several different limits corresponding with the separate coverages within the policy.

Your home insurance may have limits for coverages such as, dwelling, personal property, other structures, loss of use, medical payments to others, personal liability, and personal injury.

Generally, with higher limits, you can expect a higher cost.

Deductible:

Another factor that influences the price of personal insurance is your deductible. A deductible is the amount you would have to pay out before an insurance carrier paid you any claim money. And usually you have a few deductible options for you to choose from.

With home insurance, you can generally choose between $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000.

The higher your deductible, the lower your premium will be.

Exposures:

When calculating a quote, insurance companies will evaluate how likely they think you are to have a claim based on your risks. The higher your risks, the higher your premium will be. Some of the exposures they consider are if you have pets, trampolines/playsets, valuable home features, detached structures, solar panels, bodies of water, and more.

For more information, check out this article: Unique Exposures that Could Impact your Home Insurance.

Prior claims:

If you’ve ever had a home insurance claim, your carrier will consider you more of a risk to have another and will charge you more because of it.

Your insurance carrier:

Each insurance carrier rates cost differently, so the cost of a policy can vary based on the carrier it’s quoted with. We’ve seen home insurance quotes for the same property vary by several hundred dollars.

That’s why we always stress working with an independent agent (like us) who can shop your insurance around with all the carriers they work with to get you the right coverage at the right price.

Other factors that may influence home insurance price:

• The home’s location
• The home’s age
• The home’s size
• Materials the home is made out of

Do you need an insurance policy for a new home? Download this checklist that will help you navigate the insurance portion of the home buying process step by step.

MA homeowners insurance premium examples:

You know the factors that influence price, but you probably still don’t have a clear idea of how exactly they will impact your Massachusetts home.

So to help give you some more insight, we’ll give you some specific examples of some of the home insurance policies we’ve issued recently.

Ways to save on homeowners insurance:

The right coverage for your home isn’t always cheap. So if your premium is higher than you want it to be, there are some ways you may be able to save some money.

Bundle policies:

Many insurance companies offer incentives for the more business you provide them. By bundling multiple policies (such as homeowners and auto) with the same insurance company, you may be able to save approximately 5-25 % on your policies.

If your insurance policies aren’t already bundled, this is the simplest way to reduce insurance costs.

Increase your deductible: 

If you want to save money on your homeowners insurance, you could consider increasing the deductible.

Of course, if you have a situation resulting in a claim, you will have to pay more out of pocket, but it may make sense for you to take that chance in order to save some money.

Pay via EFT/ACH or pay ahead:

Paying for your insurance through electronic funds transfer (EFT), automated clearing house (ACH), or paying the premium up front can eliminate billing fees.

If you’re comfortable with your payment automatically withdrawing from your bank account each month, or if you can afford to front the entire premium, these methods can save you both time and money.

Switch to paperless billing:

If you get your insurance bills in the mail, opting to have them delivered through email will also save you money on your premium.

Apply discounts:

Depending on your carrier, you may be eligible for home insurance discounts such as early quoting discounts, over-55 discounts, non-smoking home discounts, recent-purchaser discounts, and discounts for home alarm/security systems; as well as several other auto discounts you can apply if your policies are bundled.

For the best price, insure your home through a reputable agent

If you’re looking for the right price for your home insurance, you’ll want to make sure you’re working with a reputable insurance agent. You’ll want to work with someone who won’t oversell you on insurance to make some extra money. Conversely, you also don’t want to work with somebody who will provide you the minimum coverages to make the quote more appealing (because then you could be stuck with a huge out of pocket expense down the road.)

That’s why research is important. At Berry Insurance, we pride ourselves at being transparent and honest while providing high quality insurance. We also like to help people find the right agent for them (whether it be us, or another one of the reputable agencies in the area.)

So as you begin your search for your insurance agency, check out this article: What to Look For when Selecting an Insurance Agency or Company.