Pacific Specialty home insurance review: Affordable coverage
Pacific Specialty home insurance comes with a slew of valuable policy add-ons to customize coverage, affordable rates, and a high customer service rating.
By
Jessica OlivoJessica OlivoFreelance contributorJessica Olivo is a writer living in Connecticut. She specializes in web and blog content in a variety of topics such as parenting, business, and culture, as well as serialized and short fiction.After working in publishing and book publicity for many years, she transitioned to freelance writing full time.
Edited by
Jennifer GimbelJennifer GimbelSenior Managing Editor & Home Insurance ExpertJennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor at Policygenius, where she oversees all of our insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.
Our proprietary ratings methodology takes multiple factors into account, including customer satisfaction, cost, financial strength, and policy offerings. See the “Ratings methodology” section for more details.
4.7
AM Best rating
AM Best is a global credit rating agency that scores the financial strength of insurance companies on a scale from A++ (Superior) to D (Poor).
A-
Cost
Using a mix of internal and external rate data, we grade the cost of each insurance company's premiums on a scale from least expensive ($) to most expensive ($$$$$).
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The bottom line
While Pacific Specialty home insurance offers affordable rates, strong financial stability, and good customer service, the biggest draw for homeowners is the abundance of coverage add-ons available.
Pacific Specialty Insurance is a great choice for homeowners who want more control over what goes into their policy. From NFIP, private, and excess flood insurance to earthquake coverage to mortgage payment protection, Pacific Specialty can likely customize a policy that fills your needs. Condo owners, renters, and mobile homeowners are also covered.
However, if you’re interested in managing your policy and filing claims online, you’ll want to look elsewhere. Pacific Specialty relies heavily on agents for quotes and claims. And while the website does have an online account option, any changes to your policy have to be made through your local agent.
Affordable rates that are $800 cheaper than the national average — plus a slew of discounts to cut down costs even more
Offers a slew of valuable coverage add-ons, including NFIP, private, and excess flood insurance; mortgage payment protection; water backup and equipment breakdown coverage; and more
Available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Cons
No online quote tool, mobile app, or online claim filing
Can’t make policy changes online — must contact your local agent
Basic coverages offered
Pacific Specialty home insurance policies include these six standard coverages to protect your home, belongings, and personal liability:
Dwelling coverage: Pays to repair or rebuild the structure of your home after a covered loss.
Other structures coverage: Pays to repair or rebuild other structures on your property not connected to your home, including detached garages, storage sheds, and fencing.
Personal property coverage: Pays to repair or replace your personal belongings after a covered loss, including furniture, clothing, tech gadgets, and other stuff you own.
Loss of use coverage: Pays for hotel stays, restaurant bills, pet boarding fees, and other temporary living expenses after a covered loss if you need to live elsewhere while your home is being rebuilt.
Personal liability coverage: Pays for legal and medical expenses if someone is injured or their belongings are damaged while at your home and you’re found legally responsible.
Medical payments coverage: Pays for small-dollar medical bills if someone is injured while at your home — regardless of who is at fault.
Additional coverages offered
You can add these additional coverages to your Pacific Specialty home insurance policy for even more protection:
Extended replacement cost for your home: Extends your dwelling coverage limit in case rebuild costs exceed your policy limit after a covered loss.
NFIP flood insurance: Offers flood insurance coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a government program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Private flood insurance: Covers damage to your home caused by flooding with higher coverage limits than those offered by the NFIP.
Excess flood insurance: Supplemental flood insurance you can purchase in addition to an NFIP policy so that you have higher coverage limits.
Service line: Pays to repair or replace underground pipes or wires on your property that are damaged due to a leak, break, tear, rupture, or collapse.
Equipment breakdown: Pays to repair or replace AC units, water heaters, and other home systems that are damaged due to mechanical breakdown.
Mortgage payment protection: Pays your mortgage for up to 12 months if you’re unable to live in your home due to a covered loss.
Loss assessment: If you live in a condo or gated community with an HOA, this covers you for the portion of damage to common areas you’re responsible for.
Earthquake insurance: Protects your home and personal property from earthquake damage.
Personal injury liability: Expands liability coverage to include personal injury to others, such as slander, libel, wrongful eviction, or false arrest.
Identity theft: Offers everything from assistance with your credit reports to attorney fees resulting from identity fraud to help replacing personal identification documents destroyed in a natural disaster.
Limited animal liability: Covers medical and legal bills if your dog, cat, or other pet injures someone or damages their property and you’re found legally responsible.
Computers and smart devices: Covers your personal computers and smart devices against damage from power surges, water damage, and heat warping.
Freezer contents: Covers spoiled food if your refrigerator or freezer stops working due to a power outage or breakdown.
Preferred theft coverage: Pays for stolen goods up to a certain amount within a specific time period from purchase.
Oil tank pollution liability: Covers oil spills and contamination in certain circumstances.
Condo insurance: Purchased as a supplement to your condo association’s master policy, condo insurance covers your personal belongings, the interior structure of your condo unit, and personal liability.
Renters insurance: Purchased by tenants, renters insurance covers the personal belongings in your rental home or apartment against fire, vandalism, theft, windstorms, and water damage, as well as personal liability and loss of use coverage.
Mobile home insurance: Insures your manufactured or mobile home with the standard coverages listed in the above section.
Ratings methodology
Price
4.1/5
Our price rating scale looks at home insurance rates for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage, as well as the total number of discounts offered. Pacific Specialty Insurance's average annual rate of $1,102 is 53% below the national average.
Customer experience
4.7/5
Our customer experience scale uses data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index. Pacific Specialty Insurance has a score of 0.97, which means it receives 3% fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size. (The expected number would be 1.0.)
Coverage options
5.0/5
Our coverage options rating is based on both the number and quality of additional coverage and policy options offered by the company. Pacific Specialty Insurance earns a perfect score thanks to its slew of valuable coverage add-ons, including NFIP, private, and excess flood insurance; equipment breakdown and water backup coverage; and mortgage payment protection if your home is unable to be lived in after a covered loss.
Financial strength
4.0/5
Our financial strength rating is a weighted combination of three industry-leading metrics to measure a company’s financial health: AM Best, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), and Moody’s. Pacific Specialty Insurance has an A- rating from AM Best, but is not rated by S&P or Moody’s.
How much does Pacific Specialty home insurance cost?
The average cost of home insurance with Pacific Specialty is $1,102 per year for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage. This is more than $600 cheaper than the national average of $1,754 per year.
Here’s the average yearly cost of Pacific Specialty home insurance for five different levels of dwelling coverage:
Dwelling coverage limit
Average annual cost
$100,000
$483
$200,000
$767
$300,000
$1,102
$400,000
$1,462
$500,000
$1,864
Rates are based on our analysis of 2022 sample home insurance quotes from across the country provided by Quadrant Information Services. Actual rates will vary based on location, policy limits, coverages, claims history, and other factors.
Compare home insurance quotes with top insurers in minutes
What discounts does Pacific Specialty Insurance offer?
You can save on the cost of Pacific Specialty home insurance if you qualify for any of these discounts:
Gated community: If your home is in a gated community.
Retirement community: If you live in a retirement community.
Transfer: If you switch to Pacific Specialty from another insurance company.
Home alarm protection: If you have fire, smoke, burglar, or other home monitoring systems installed.
Roof type: If you have a tile or hail-resistant roof.
Newly acquired home: If you purchased your home recently.
Age of insured: If you’re at least 55 years old and retired.
Hurricane and severe storm mitigation: If your home has sufficient wind- and hail-resistant features to protect your home against hurricanes, tornadoes, and other windstorms.
Pacific Specialty home insurance state availability
Pacific Specialty offers home insurance policies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Customer service options: You can get in touch with a Pacific Specialty customer service rep by calling 800-303-5000 or emailing psic@pacificspecialty.com.
How to file a claim: You can file a Pacific Specialty home insurance claim by calling 800-962-1172 or contacting your local agent.
How to cancel your policy: You can cancel your Pacific Specialty home insurance policy by calling your Pacific Specialty agent (their contact info should be on your policy declarations page), by mail, or by visiting your local agent in person.
Pacific Specialty Insurance in the news
In November 2022, Pacific Specialty Insurance was added to Hippo’s First Connect platform to have its policies sold through local independent agents and brokers nationwide. (Business Wire)
In April 2021, a Pacific Specialty policyholder claimed his insurance was dropped due to a high risk of wildfire damage even though he took steps to mitigate their home against such risks. (ABC7 News)
In December 2020, Pacific Specialty Insurance was accused of discriminating against a black homeowner trying to get a water damage claim paid out. (The New York Times)
Pacific Specialty Insurance vs. other home insurance companies
Compare Pacific Specialty home insurance to other insurers in the industry:
Jessica Olivo is a writer living in Connecticut. She specializes in web and blog content in a variety of topics such as parenting, business, and culture, as well as serialized and short fiction.
After working in publishing and book publicity for many years, she transitioned to freelance writing full time.
Jennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor at Policygenius, where she oversees all of our insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.
