Here’s How You Could Get Homeowners Insurance for $25/Month (Seriously)

Fires, lightning and hail. Windstorms, vandals and burglars.

If you own a home, you need insurance to protect it from threats like these. Heck, if you have a mortgage on your home — like almost all of us do — you’re required to have homeowners insurance.

And if you have homeowners or renters insurance, you might be paying too much for it. That’s because insurance companies are notorious for charging wildly varying rates.

Try shopping around. Start by getting a free quote. You literally have nothing to lose by doing this.

We recommend checking out the online insurance company Lemonade, where a renters insurance policy can start as low as $5/month and a homeowners insurance policy starts at $25/month.

While homeowners insurance starts at $25, that doesn’t mean you’re skimping on coverage. Your ultimate price will depend on factors such as your home’s size, location and age; and the coverage amounts you choose. It’s just that Lemonade starts out at an affordable level.

Here’s how easy it is to get a quote. You can do it all online, and it won’t hurt your credit score.

1. Click “Check Our Prices.”
2. Meet Maya, Lemonade’s friendly bot, who will ask you a few questions.
3. Once you complete the application, you’ll receive a quote within a minute or two.

Lemonade is a Transparent Beverage

Beyond affordable rates, Lemonade adds a layer of transparency you don’t often see in the insurance world. Instead of profiting extra when it doesn’t have to pay out claims, Lemonade takes a fixed fee out of your monthly payments, pays reinsurance (and some unavoidable expenses), and uses the rest for paying out claims. Money left over after paying claims each year goes to a charitable cause of your choice.

That also means Lemonade isn’t going to be conflicted about granting customers the claims they deserve — because the money isn’t going into its pockets.

Homeowners insurance covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding your home. When you borrow money from a bank to buy a house, it’ll require you to insure that asset.

Renters insurance protects your personal possessions if they’re stolen or damaged by fire or vandalism. Most don’t cover flooding. Exactly what it covers depends on the policy.

Here’s what else to know about Lemonade:

• You don’t need to wait on the phone to speak to an insurance agent. You do the whole thing online through Lemonade’s website or through its Apple or Android apps. You sign up and make claims online.
• It’s available in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusettes, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin.
• You can get discounts for having safety equipment, such as fire and burglar alarms.

Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. When life gives him lemons, he squeezes them in people’s eyes.