The Best Home Insurance in Wisconsin for 2024
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The average cost of homeowners insurance in Wisconsin is $1,300 per year, or about $108 per month, according to a NerdWallet analysis. For comparison, the national average is $1,915 per year.
NerdWallet analyzed data from numerous insurance companies to help you find the best home insurance in Wisconsin in the following categories:
Best for affordability: Erie.
Best for coverage: Openly and Erie.
Best for consumer experience: American Family and Nationwide.
The rates in our analysis are estimates based on many factors, so your rate may differ.
Note: Some insurance companies included in this article may have made changes in their underwriting practices and no longer issue new policies in your state.
Best affordable homeowners insurance in Wisconsin: Erie
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Erie
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
In Wisconsin, the average annual premium for Erie is $865, which is well below the state average of $1,300.
Erie customers can reduce their rates even further by bundling their home and auto insurance, which can fetch a discount of 16% or more. Discounts are also available for homes with certain safety and security features such as smoke alarms or sprinkler systems.
Even with these lower rates, Erie still provides coverage as standard that many insurers don’t, such as guaranteed replacement cost for the structure of your home. With this coverage, the company will pay to rebuild your home completely after a disaster, even if the amount exceeds your dwelling limit.
For more details, read our Erie home insurance review.
Best homeowners insurance in Wisconsin for coverage: Openly and Erie
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Openly
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Openly offers homeowners insurance with generous coverage. Its policies include guaranteed replacement cost coverage for the structure of your home, which means the company will pay whatever it takes to rebuild your home if it’s destroyed.
Unlike many other insurers, Openly doesn’t have dog breed restrictions that could affect your ability to get liability coverage. It may also be a good bet for homeowners with collections of jewelry or other valuables, with up to $100,000 of blanket coverage available for these items.
Learn more with our Openly home insurance review.
Erie offers guaranteed replacement cost for the structure of your home. With this coverage, the company will pay to rebuild your home completely after a disaster, even if the amount exceeds your dwelling limit.
Got a car to insure, too? If you bundle your home and auto insurance with Erie, you could get a discount of upwards of 16%. You may also be able to save if your home has certain safety and security features such as smoke alarms or sprinkler systems.
For more details, read our Erie home insurance review.
Best homeowners insurance in Wisconsin for consumer experience: American Family and Nationwide
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
American Family
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
American Family receives fewer consumer complaints than expected for a company of its size. Its user-friendly website offers features such as bill payments, claim reporting, online quotes and general insurance information.
Homeowners may be able to save on their premiums by installing smart-home devices, bundling multiple policies or setting up automatic payments.
Get more information in our American Family homeowners insurance review.
Nationwide
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Nationwide
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
The Nationwide website offers plenty of ways to manage your policy, including filing and tracking claims, paying bills and getting quotes. The company also has a comprehensive and highly rated mobile app.
In addition, Nationwide’s customers have several ways to get assistance, such as reaching out to their agent or calling the company’s customer service hotline. Outside of business hours, they can use the Nationwide website to get proof of insurance, pay bills and schedule callbacks. A chatbot is also available to answer basic questions.
Learn more with our Nationwide homeowners insurance review.
Full list of the best homeowners insurance in Wisconsin
NerdWallet analyzed home insurance companies across the state to find the best home insurance in Wisconsin. Here are all of the insurers that received a NerdWallet star rating of 4.5 or higher:
How much does homeowners insurance cost in Wisconsin?
The average annual cost of home insurance in Wisconsin is $1,300. That’s 32% less than the national average of $1,915.
In most U.S. states, including Wisconsin, many insurers use your credit-based insurance score to help set rates. Your insurance score is similar but not identical to your traditional credit score.
In Wisconsin, those with poor credit pay an average of $2,565 per year for homeowners insurance, according to NerdWallet’s rate analysis. That’s 97% more than those with good credit.
Average cost of homeowners insurance in Wisconsin by city
How much you pay for homeowners insurance in Wisconsin depends on where you live. For instance, the average cost of home insurance in Milwaukee is $1,355 per year, while homeowners in Madison pay $1,295 per year, on average.
City | Average annual rate | Average monthly rate |
|---|---|---|
Appleton | $1,300 | $108 |
Beloit | $1,325 | $110 |
Brookfield | $1,240 | $103 |
De Pere | $1,260 | $105 |
Eau Claire | $1,400 | $117 |
Fond Du Lac | $1,235 | $103 |
Green Bay | $1,230 | $103 |
Janesville | $1,300 | $108 |
Kenosha | $1,300 | $108 |
La Crosse | $1,385 | $115 |
Madison | $1,295 | $108 |
Manitowoc | $1,245 | $104 |
Menomonee Falls | $1,245 | $104 |
Milwaukee | $1,355 | $113 |
Neenah | $1,270 | $106 |
New Berlin | $1,240 | $103 |
Oconomowoc | $1,280 | $107 |
Oshkosh | $1,260 | $105 |
Racine | $1,305 | $109 |
Sheboygan | $1,140 | $95 |
Stevens Point | $1,350 | $113 |
Sun Prairie | $1,315 | $110 |
Waukesha | $1,300 | $108 |
Wausau | $1,265 | $105 |
West Bend | $1,225 | $102 |
The cheapest home insurance in Wisconsin
Here are the insurers we found with average annual rates below the Wisconsin average of $1,300.
Company | NerdWallet star rating | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
$865 | ||
Rural Mutual | Not rated | $940 |
$1,125 | ||
$1,190 | ||
Wisconsin Mutual | Not rated | $1,225 |
Badger Mutual | Not rated | $1,245 |
What to know about Wisconsin homeowners insurance
You may face certain risks when living in Wisconsin. Here are a few of the most common, along with steps you can take to insure your home properly against them.
Flooding
Standard homeowners insurance policies typically do not cover flood damage. As a result, homeowners in flood-prone areas may need to purchase separate flood insurance to protect their property from water damage.
To find out if you’re at risk, check out the Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood maps or visit RiskFactor.com, a website from the nonprofit First Street Foundation. Even if your property is deemed low risk, it may be worthwhile to purchase flood insurance for extra peace of mind. Over 20% of flood claims come from areas outside of designated high-risk flood zones.
Remember that while you can purchase flood coverage at any time, there’s typically a 30-day waiting period before the insurance takes effect. Here’s more information about flood insurance and waiting periods.
Winter storms
A standard homeowners insurance policy typically covers winter storm-related damage. There is nuance to what types of damage are covered, so it’s important to review your policy carefully. For example, seepage behind your drywall caused by a melting ice dam may be covered, but you may need a separate flood insurance policy to cover seepage through your foundation.
Tornadoes
A standard homeowners insurance policy often includes wind damage, including any caused by tornadoes. Read your policy closely, though, as you may have a separate wind deductible. These can be a flat rate, such as $1,000, or a percentage of your dwelling coverage. For example, your policy may have a $1,000 deductible for most claims and a 1% deductible for wind claims. If your policy has $250,000 worth of dwelling coverage, you’d have to pay for the first $2,500 of wind damage yourself.
Hailstorms
Hail damage is typically included in your standard home insurance policy, but some policies may come with a separate deductible similar to those for wind damage.
Wisconsin insurance department
The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance oversees the insurance industry and serves as a resource for consumers. You can get answers to general questions about insurance through the website or by phone at 800-236-8517. If you need to file a complaint against your insurer, you can do so using an online form or by mail.
Amanda Shapland contributed to this story.
NerdWallet calculated median rates for 40-year-old homeowners from various insurance companies in every ZIP code across the state. All rates are rounded to the nearest $5.
Sample homeowners were nonsmokers with good credit living in a single-family, two-story home built in 1984. They had a $1,000 deductible and the following coverage limits:
$300,000 in dwelling coverage.
$30,000 in other structures coverage.
$150,000 in personal property coverage.
$60,000 in loss of use coverage.
$300,000 in liability coverage.
$1,000 in medical payments coverage.
We made minor changes to the sample policy in cases where rates for the above coverage limits or deductibles weren’t available.
We changed the credit tier from “good” to “poor,” as reported to the insurer, to see rates for homeowners with poor credit.
These are sample rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.
Star rating methodology
NerdWallet’s homeowners insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, consumer complaints, coverages, discounts and online experience. These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our full homeowners insurance rating methodology.
Complaint methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2020-2022. To assess how insurers compare with one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
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