If you own a house in Tennessee, you want the right home insurance. A standard homeowners policy will cover many types of damage, including fire and tornadoes. But it generally doesn’t cover floods, which is an important consideration in Tennessee. For example, rain led to a State of Emergency in Tennessee in February 2019, and massive flooding in east Tennessee in June 2019.
Flood insurance plans are available through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) if your community participates in the NFIP.
Tennessee homeowners should also be aware of earthquake insurance. The state’s position in both the New Madrid and East Tennessee seismic zones means that a catastrophic quake is possible. While quakes are not constantly rattling Tennessee, residents should know that home insurance generally doesn’t cover earthquake damage.
What does Tennessee homeowners insurance cover?
Standard Tennessee home insurance policies include these main coverage types, with additional options available:
- Dwelling coverage: For house damage.
- Other structures coverage: For garages, storage sheds, fences and other structures that aren’t attached to your house.
- Personal property coverage: For your belongings that are damaged, stolen or destroyed, such furniture, clothes, toys, and TVs.
- Loss of use coverage: Pays the extra expenses if your home is uninhabitable due to a problem covered by the policy.
- Liability coverage: For cases where you’re responsible for someone else’s property damage or injury.
- Medical payments to others coverage: For situations where people are hurt on your property.
How much is home insurance in Tennessee?
The average annual Tennessee homeowners insurance premium is $1,185 for a standard policy type, called an HO-3, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. That’s about the same as the nationwide average of $1,192 a year.
20 largest Tennessee home insurance companies
| Rank in Tennessee | Company | Market share % in the state |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | State Farm | 23.8 |
| 2 | Tennessee Farmers Insurance Cos. | 19.51 |
| 3 | Liberty Mutual | 7.66 |
| 4 | Allstate Corp. | 7.54 |
| 5 | USAA | 6.45 |
| 6 | Erie Insurance | 4.22 |
| 7 | Farmers Insurance | 3.98 |
| 8 | Nationwide | 3.68 |
| 9 | Travelers | 3.41 |
| 10 | Auto-Owners Insurance | 2.09 |
| 11 | Chubb | 1.28 |
| 12 | Progressive | 1.25 |
| 13 | MetLife | 1.22 |
| 14 | Shelter Insurance | 1.17 |
| 15 | The Cincinnati Insurance Cos. | 1.1 |
| 16 | Assurant | 0.98 |
| 17 | Westfield Insurance | 0.8 |
| 18 | American Family Insurance | 0.78 |
| 19 | The Hanover Insurance Group | 0.71 |
| 20 | Selective | 0.62 |
| Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence, based on homeowners multiple peril insurance market share in 2018. | ||