Erie home insurance review: Enjoy affordable rates
Erie home insurance features a variety of coverage options and highly-rated customer service, making it a great option in the 12 states it's available in.
By
Pat HowardPat HowardManaging Editor & Licensed Home Insurance ExpertPat Howard is a licensed insurance expert and managing editor at Policygenius. Pat has written extensively about the home insurance industry and his insights as a subject matter expert have appeared in several top tier publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Reuters. Pat has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University.
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.
Expert reviewedExpert reviewedThis article has been reviewed by a member of ourFinancial Review Council to ensure all sources, statistics, and claims meet the highest standard for accurate and unbiased advice.Learn more about oureditorial review process.
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.
4.5
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
Erie combines exceptional coverage, industry-best customer service ratings, and affordable rates to make it one of the best home insurance options on the market. A basic Erie policy comes with coverages that typically cost extra with other insurers, including guaranteed replacement cost and lost items coverage. However, Erie is only available in 12 states. It also doesn’t appear to have an online quote or claims process — something that most other major insurers offer.
Guaranteed replacement cost comes standard on Erie policies
Excellent customer service and claims satisfaction ratings
Cons
Only available in 12 states
Just three available discounts
Can’t get quotes or file claims online
Basic coverages offered
Erie home insurance policies include these six basic coverages to protect your home, belongings, and liability:
Dwelling: Pays to rebuild or repair the structure of your home, such as the roof, floors, walls, built-in appliances, and any structures attached to the home.
Other structures: Pays to rebuild or repair additional structures on your property that aren’t attached to your home, like a detached garage or gardening shed.
Personal property: Covers the costs of repairing or replacing your personal belongings, such as furniture, clothes, electronics, and other possessions you own.
Loss of use: Helps cover the cost of hotel stays, restaurant meals, pet boarding costs, and other temporary living expenses while your house is being rebuilt or repaired after a covered loss.
Personal liability: Covers medical and legal expenses in the event you’re legally responsible for an accidental injury or property damage.
Medical payments: Pays for guests’ medical expenses if they’re injured in your home, regardless of who is at fault.
In addition to the standard coverages detailed above, Erie also includes the following in its base policy. Keep in mind that these coverages generally cost extra with other insurance companies.
Guaranteed replacement cost: In the event your house is badly damaged or destroyed by a covered loss, this covers 100% of rebuild costs — regardless of your policy limit.
All-risk protection: Also known as open perils coverage, this extends your policy’s personal property coverage to cover lost or misplaced items — two causes of loss that generally aren’t covered in a standard policy.
Valuables: Higher coverage limits for jewelry, watches, and other expensive items.
Gift card reimbursement: Reimburses you for the value of gift cards purchased for a business that has permanently closed.
Additional coverages offered
You also have the option to add up to 8 additional coverages to your Erie homeowners insurance policy for an additional cost. It also offers separate umbrella and flood insurance coverage which can fill in important coverage gaps.
Equipment breakdown: Similar to a home warranty, this covers the cost of replacement or repairs if an appliance, home system, or smart home device is damaged due to a mechanical, electrical, or pressure systems breakdown.
Sewer or drain backup: Covers the cost of repairs if your house is damaged due to water backing up and overflowing from your drain or a sewer line.
Underground service line: Pays for excavation and repair or replacement costs in the event of damage to your water pipes, electrical wiring, gas lines, or any other underground service lines.
Extended Water: A new Erie coverage add-on that’s effectively a flood insurance policy and sewer and drain backup coverage rolled into one.
Increased valuables: Even higher coverage limits on expensive valuables.
Matching siding and roof restoration: If your home’s roof or siding is damaged by a covered peril and replaced, this covers the additional cost of replacing the undamaged portion of your roof or siding with something that matches.
Short-term rental: If you rent out your property through a short-term rental service like Airbnb and a guest destroys or steals your property, Erie’s short-term rental coverage will cover the cost of replacing or repairing your property.
Identity recovery: If your identity is stolen, this covers the cost of legal fees, lost wages, and other costs you incur during the recovery process.
Umbrella insurance: If you have a liability claim that exceeds your liability coverage limit, umbrella insurance will kick in to cover the rest of the costs. If the total value of your assets are greater than $500,000 (the maximum liability coverage limit on most home insurance policies), you’ll want to consider a personal umbrella policy.
Flood insurance: Erie offers separate flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the main provider of flood insurance in the U.S.
Ratings methodology
Price
4.5/5
Erie home insurance policies are about as cheap as it gets in the 12 states where it’s available, giving it one of the highest scores on our price rating scale of any company we’ve reviewed. If not for the meager three total discounts it offers, Erie likely would have earned a perfect rating for this category. But its low base policy cost more than makes up for its lack of rate-saving options.
Customer experience
4.1/5
Erie does well on our customer experience rating scale. It earned above-average scores in J.D. Power’s 2022 customer and claims satisfaction surveys, ranking at or near the top for both studies. However, it received a below-average score in J.D. Power’s 2022 digital experience study, which looks at ease of navigation, quality of information and content, visual appeal, and other factors related to a company’s web and app experience. It also received about 68% fewer customer complaints from 2019 to 2021 compared to other companies of its size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) National Complaint Index Report.
Coverage options
3.4/5
Erie scores decently on our coverage options rating scale thanks to its comprehensive standard policy that includes coverages like guaranteed replacement cost, all-risk protection, and never before seen coverages like gift card reimbursements. Erie customers can also take advantage of its three comprehensive policy packages that include additional protection for things like underground service lines and appliance breakdown.
Financial strength
4.3/5
Erie does well on our financial strength rating scale. It has an impressive A+ rating with AM Best, signifying that it has superior ability to meet its ongoing financial obligations. While it isn’t rated by Standard & Poor’s or Moody’s, Erie’s strong AM Best score is enough to earn it a high financial strength rating.
How much does Erie home insurance cost?
The national average cost of home insurance with Erie is $1,284 per year for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage. This makes Erie about 33% cheaper than the national average.
However, your own rates will depend on your home’s location and how much coverage you need. Here’s the average yearly cost of Erie for five different levels of dwelling coverage:
Dwelling coverage level
Average annual cost
$100,000
$606
$200,000
$957
$300,000
$1,284
$400,000
$1,754
$500,000
$2,135
What discounts does Erie offer?
Erie home insurance comes with a slew of potential discounts to lower your rates even more:
Alarm systems and safety devices: If you have burglar alarms, fire alarms, fire sprinklers, or other safety or security devices installed in your home.
Advanced quote: If you get an Erie home insurance quote at least a week before your current policy expires.
Compare home insurance quotes from Erie and other top insurers
Erie home insurance state availability
Erie homeowners insurance is available in the following 12 states and Washington, D.C.:
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
What to expect with Erie home insurance
How to get a quote: To get an Erie home insurance quote, you’ll have to call a local Erie agent. It has a convenient agent lookup tool on its website, however it does not offer online quotes.
Customer service options: Erie’s website has a helpful contact page that can assist you with everything from general policy inquiries to finding a local agent to filing a claim. Erie can be reached at 800-458-0811.
How to file a claim: To file a home insurance claim with Erie, it first recommends you contact your local agent. If you’re unable to get ahold of your agent or you’d like to contact Erie directly, call 800-367-3743.
How to cancel your policy: To cancel your Erie policy, call your local agent, whose number should be listed on your policy declarations page.
Erie vs. other home insurance companies
Compare Erie to similar homeowners insurance companies using the table below.
To get in touch with Erie for general questions about your home insurance policy, call 800-458-081.
What is Erie’s home insurance claims phone number?
To file an Erie home insurance claim, call your local Erie agent or 800-367-3743.
Is Erie insurance a reliable company?
Erie consistently gets high marks for customer service and claims satisfaction with J.D. Power, making it one of the most reliable home insurance companies out there.
Why is Erie so cheap?
One reason why Erie home insurance is so affordable is because it’s limited to 12 states — most of which are relatively low risk and have cheap home insurance rates on average.
Pat Howard is a licensed insurance expert and managing editor at Policygenius. Pat has written extensively about the home insurance industry and his insights as a subject matter expert have appeared in several top tier publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Reuters. Pat has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University.
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.
Ian Bloom, CFP®, RLP®, is a certified financial planner and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius. Previously, he was a financial advisor at MetLife and MassMutual.
