The Best and Cheapest Homeowners Insurance Companies in Illinois
A high-quality home insurance company will offer low rates, useful coverage options, and excellent customer service. We gathered thousands of home insurance quotes and reviewed the top home insurance companies in Illinois to find the best option for a wide range of homeowners.
The best price for home insurance in Illinois is $1,015 per year, according to our research. However, we do not recommend making a decision solely based on price. Continue reading to learn about our top home insurance picks in Illinois.
Best for most people: Country Financial
Country Financial is the best homeowners insurance company in Illinois for the majority of people, according to our research. Country had the cheapest policies and the most satisfied customers, according to our findings. The average cost of this insurer's policies is $1,015, which is nearly 30% less than the statewide average in Illinois. The average cost of living in the country may rise if you live near or within Chicago, but it remains the best option for the majority of people in the state.
Country also provides a wide range of discounts. For example, if you have new wiring in your home, you could qualify for up to 28% off your policy, or up to 25% off if you bundle your homeowners insurance with another Country policy. You may also qualify for a discount if you have a new home or have taken anti-theft precautions.
On the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) complaint index, Country Financial ranks very high among competitors. According to the index, Country receives about a tenth of the complaints that typical homeowners insurers of its size receive. This figure indicates that the majority of Country's customers are pleased with the company's service.
Best for bundling: Auto Club Group (AAA)
If you already have Auto Club Group (also known as AAA or Triple A) auto insurance or are considering purchasing a policy, you should check to see if homeowners insurance is available in your area. The average cost of a home insurance policy from the Auto Club Group is $2,152. This is roughly 50% more expensive than the Illinois average, but the savings from bundling with other policies may be worth it.
Depending on your location, this company typically offers substantial discounts to bundlers. While discounts and coverage vary because AAA is made up of many local, independent Auto Club organizations, you may be eligible for discounts if you're claim-free, retired, or recently renovated or purchased your home.
If you purchased both policies, you'd be able to take advantage of AAA's membership club benefits. If you travel frequently, the benefits of AAA membership are especially valuable to you. With these benefits, you may be eligible for discounts from national businesses such as hotels, rental car companies, and airlines. It also includes AAA roadside assistance.
Best for military families: USAA
If you are eligible for USAA's coverage, you should look into it for homeowners insurance. Active-duty and retired service members, as well as their eligible family members, can join USAA. In Illinois, the average cost of USAA home insurance is $1,485 per year. This is about $80 more than the state's average price, but the benefits of a policy may outweigh the slightly higher rates.
Replacement cost coverage is included in USAA's homeowners insurance at no additional cost. With replacement cost coverage, any compensation you receive after your home is damaged or destroyed is not reduced to account for the depreciation of your property. Normally, you'd have to pay more if you wanted to upgrade to this coverage with other providers.
In this survey, the NAIC gave the company one of the highest ratings. USAA received 0.24 on the complaint index. This figure indicates that the company is approximately 75% less likely than a comparable-sized insurer to receive complaints from its homeowners policyholders.
Best for eco-conscious consumers: Farmers
If you want to go green, you could consider a Farmers homeowners policy. Farmers provides you with the opportunity to upgrade your policy by including an Eco-Rebuild endorsement. The Eco-Rebuild provision allows you to increase the limit on your policy by $25,000 in order to repair or replace parts of your home with environmentally friendly materials. Following that, you may be eligible for discounts on a new or recently refurbished home.
Farmers are an adequate option for most people in Illinois. Its $1,514 price tag is slightly higher than the state average. It has an NAIC score of 0.39, which means it is approximately 60% less likely to receive complaints than other companies of its size.
Insurers with the best and worst customer service in Illinois
To evaluate the customer service of Illinois homeowners insurance providers, we looked at the number of complaints received by each company in the NAIC's homeowners insurance complaint database. We also double-checked the J.D. Power ratings given to each company, where applicable.
Country Financial, State Farm, and USAA received the highest levels of customer satisfaction in our survey, while Metropolitan, Farmers, and AAA received the lowest. Country Financial and USAA are the only two providers with J.D. Power ratings of 4/5 and 5/5, respectively.
Company | Complaint index (lower is better) | J.D. Power (higher is better) |
Country Financial | 0.13 | 4/5 |
State Farm | 0.20 | 3/5 |
USAA | 0.24 | 5/5 |
Travelers | 0.30 | 2/5 |
Allstate | 0.31 | 3/5 |
Auto Club (AAA) | 0.36 | n/a |
Farmers | 0.39 | 3/5 |
Metropolitan | 0.43 | 3/5 |
Only companies with 1% market share or greater were included in this analysis. If a company had several underwriters, we combined them into one parent company
What are the cheapest options for homeowners insurance in Illinois?
In Illinois, the average cost of homeowners insurance is $1,405 per year. This is more expensive than the national average of $1,083. On average, AAA is the most expensive homeowners insurance company in Illinois, while Country Financial is the least expensive. In general, the cost of insurance in Illinois isn't too disparate among its top providers.
Most common homeowners insurance perils in Illinois
Homeowners in Illinois may be required to purchase flood insurance to protect their properties from the damage caused by rising waters. Typically, flood damage is not covered by homeowners insurance. You must instead obtain a policy through the National Flood Insurance Program. Although it is not required by law, you should consider purchasing flood insurance if you live near a potentially dangerous body of water, such as the Mississippi River or the edge of Lake Michigan.
Tornadoes are also possible in some parts of Illinois. The western part of the state borders Tornado Alley, a region of the United States where residents experience an above-average number of tornadoes. Your homeowners insurance will protect you from the damaging winds of a tornado, but you may be underinsured if you are unable to fully rebuild your home if it is destroyed. If you're underinsured, you should compare the depreciation of your home to the amount of dwelling coverage you have, or consider purchasing guaranteed replacement cost coverage.
Underground mining tunnels may also cause damage to Illinois homeowners, but insurance companies are required to cover mine subsidence. Because of Illinois' mining history, the state's Geological Survey estimates that approximately 330,000 homes are in potentially dangerous proximity to defunct underground mines. Because your homeowners insurance usually does not cover damage from the earth, you should look into mine subsidence insurance in your area, especially if you believe your property is being undermined.
Illinois insurance rates: city-by-city breakdowns
We calculated the average cost of home insurance in Illinois' 50 most populous cities. Check out this table if you're thinking about moving or just curious about how your city's prices compare to other cities in the state. If you want to see how Illinois compares to other states, check out our estimates of average homeowners insurance rates in the United States.
City | Average Cost | Difference from Average |
Chicago | $1,672 | 18.97% |
Aurora | $1,245 | -11.36% |
Naperville | $1,238 | -11.90% |
Joliet | $1,310 | -6.75% |
Rockford | $1,303 | -7.29% |
Springfield | $1,339 | -4.67% |
Elgin | $1,214 | -13.56% |
Peoria | $1,345 | -4.30% |
Champaign | $1,206 | -14.15% |
Waukegan | $1,340 | -4.62% |
Cicero | $1,341 | -4.54% |
Bloomington | $1,247 | -11.22% |
Arlington Heights | $1,288 | -8.29% |
Bolingbrook | $1,278 | -9.05% |
Evanston | $1,326 | -5.60% |
Schaumburg | $1,313 | -6.55% |
Decatur | $1,344 | -4.37% |
Palatine | $1,294 | -7.89% |
Skokie | $1,312 | -6.60% |
Des Plaines | $1,305 | -7.12% |
Orland Park | $1,201 | -14.52% |
Tinley Park | $1,216 | -13.43% |
Oak Lawn | $1,289 | -8.28% |
Berwyn | $1,310 | -6.80% |
Normal | $1,271 | -9.52% |
Mount Prospect | $1,283 | -8.70% |
Wheaton | $1,186 | -15.59% |
Oak Park | $1,280 | -8.90% |
Hoffman Estates | $1,334 | -5.06% |
Downers Grove | $1,181 | -15.97% |
Glenview | $1,287 | -8.36% |
Elmhurst | $1,158 | -17.59% |
Lombard | $1,195 | -14.98% |
Plainfield | $1,269 | -9.68% |
DeKalb | $1,168 | -16.85% |
Urbana | $1,209 | -13.94% |
Moline | $1,372 | -2.38% |
Belleville | $1,522 | 8.33% |
Bartlett | $1,237 | -11.93% |
Buffalo Grove | $1,355 | -3.59% |
Quincy | $1,430 | 1.75% |
Crystal Lake | $1,287 | -8.43% |
Romeoville | $1,298 | -7.62% |
Carol Stream | $1,240 | -11.78% |
Streamwood | $1,306 | -7.03% |
Wheeling | $1,301 | -7.39% |
Hanover Park | $1,268 | -9.77% |
Carpentersville | $1,228 | -12.63% |
Rock Island | $1,403 | -0.12% |
Park Ridge | $1,293 | -7.94% |
Methodology
We gathered quotes from each of Illinois' ZIP codes for our study. We used a 2,100-square-foot sample home built in 1968 as our basis. The home was insured for the median cost of a home in Illinois, $195,300.
We obtained quotes from the following Illinois insurance companies: State Farm, Allstate, Country Financial, Farmers, Travelers, USAA, Metropolitan, and Auto Club Group (AAA). Due to technical constraints, we were unable to include Liberty Mutual and Chubb in our research.
The insurance rate data used in LowCostInsurance analysis came from Quadrant Information Services. These rates were obtained publicly from insurer filings and should only be used for comparison purposes — your own quotes may differ.