Home Insurance Cover Estimator
Work out how much home insurance cover you need (rebuild cost plus contents) and see the average premium in your state.
Sizing Home Insurance Correctly
Most homes are underinsured because owners insure either the market value (which includes land) or the original purchase price (which ignores inflation). Both lead to bad outcomes at claim time: you receive less than what it costs to actually rebuild.
Structure vs contents — what each covers
- Dwelling cover insures the physical building — walls, roof, floors, fittings — at rebuild cost. It is calculated as square footage × rebuild cost per square foot, never market value.
- Contents cover insures everything movable inside — furniture, electronics, clothing, appliances, jewellery (within sub-limits).
- Combined (dwelling + contents) is the standard homeowners package and is the usual choice for owner-occupied homes.
Location matters more than people think
In 2022 the average homeowners premium ranged from $893 a year in Oregon to $2,677 in Florida (NAIC data). Weather, wildfire and rebuilding costs drive much of that gap. Standard policies don't cover flood or earthquake damage, so in exposed areas those need separate policies on top.
Practical tips
- Re-value your structure every 3 years to keep up with construction-cost inflation.
- Photograph and inventory your contents — it makes claims faster and prevents disputes.
- Schedule high-value items (jewellery, art, electronics) individually if they exceed the policy's sub-limit.
Replacement cost is the only number that matters
Home insurance is built around the cost of rebuilding the structure from scratch — not its market value, not its purchase price, not the land value. A $1.2M home in San Francisco might cost only $600K to rebuild because most of the price is the land. A $300K home in rural Iowa might cost $400K to rebuild because materials and labour are sourced from further away. Underinsuring against replacement cost is the single largest mistake in property insurance, and it surfaces only at claim time when the loss settlement undershoots the actual rebuild quote.
What goes into the rebuild estimate
- Square footage and quality of construction — basic finish vs custom millwork can swing $/sqft by 2–3x.
- Local labour and material costs — supply-chain shocks (the 2021–2023 lumber spikes) showed how fast rebuild costs can change.
- Code upgrades — when you rebuild, you build to current code, which may require sprinklers, hurricane straps, seismic retrofitting, or accessibility features not present originally.
- Demolition and debris removal — sometimes a separate sub-limit; ensure it is included.
- Foundation, hardscape, detached structures — pools, fences, sheds, garages. Often capped at 10% of dwelling coverage; verify the cap is sufficient.
Recommended coverage components
- Dwelling (Coverage A) — replacement cost of the structure. Get a professional rebuild estimate or use the insurer's tool; do not guess.
- Other structures (Coverage B) — typically 10% of A. Increase if you have a detached garage, large workshop, or substantial outdoor structures.
- Personal property (Coverage C) — typically 50–70% of A. Walk through the house and decide if that is enough.
- Loss of use (Coverage D) — typically 20% of A. Pays for hotels, meals, and additional living costs if you cannot live in the home during rebuild.
- Personal liability — limits generally start at about $100,000; consider more if you have a pool, a dog or significant assets.
- Medical payments to others — typically $5,000 default; adequate for most.
- Extended replacement cost endorsement — pays 25–50% above dwelling coverage if rebuild costs exceed the policy limit (common after regional disasters). Strongly recommended.
- Ordinance or law endorsement — pays for code-upgrade costs. Essential for older homes.
Coverages homeowners commonly miss
- Flood — never covered by standard policies. Separate NFIP or private flood policy required.
- Earthquake — separate policy in earthquake-prone regions; expensive but transformative if needed.
- Sewer backup and sump-pump failure — separate endorsement; cheap and high-value.
- Service line — buried water, sewer, electric lines from the street to the house. Repairs are the homeowner's responsibility; the endorsement is inexpensive.
- Identity theft — increasingly bundled; useful as a low-cost add-on.
Sources & assumptions
Checked on 11 October 2026.
- Insurance Information Institute: what standard homeowners insurance covers — other structures at about 10% of the dwelling cover, contents at 50–70%, liability limits starting around $100,000, and dollar limits on stolen jewellery.
- South Carolina Department of Insurance: understanding basic homeowners insurance — contents cover is usually 50–70% of the dwelling cover.
- Insurance Information Institute: homeowners and renters insurance facts (NAIC data) — average premiums by state for 2022: homeowners (HO-3) policies from $893 in Oregon to $2,677 in Florida, $1,569 for the US; renters (HO-4) policies $171 for the US.
- NAHB: cost of constructing a home (2024) — average construction cost of about $162 per square foot.
Our assumptions: none in the premium. We show your state's average premium rather than a personal estimate, because we found no public data linking premiums to rebuild cost. A bigger or costlier home, a lower deductible or past claims usually cost more than the average. For contents-only cover we show the renters average.