Our thoughts on Nationwide

Nationwide is a big insurance company but isn’t quite available nationwide, although it has expanded to cover nearly every state. 

Although Nationwide didn’t top our survey, it ranked well in several areas and climbed to third place in 2023 on J.D. Power’s property claims satisfaction survey. Claims are an area where many companies falter and are the most important measure of a home insurance company since that’s where promises are put to the test. Nationwide also has an A+ rating with AM Best.

“Ratings gauge an insurer's capacity to fulfill its insurance obligations, indicating its financial solvency,” says Siwei Gao, professor of insurance studies at Eastern Kentucky University. In other words, Nationwide can pay its claims.

In our survey, Nationwide’s customers largely said they would recommend the company and would renew their policy, a vote of confidence. Nationwide ranked at No. 7 on our 2024 best home insurance companies list.

Overall: Claims satisfaction is a vital measure of a homeowners insurance company, and Nationwide’s performance in that area is solid, making it easy to recommend.

Where can you buy Nationwide homeowners insurance?

Nationwide homeowners insurance is available in 44 states and D.C., offering coverage across most of the U.S.

Map
Table
AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY
Available
Not available
State
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Washington D.C.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

*Some state rates will vary based on the addition of a hurricane deductible and may be much higher when included.

What does Nationwide homeowners insurance cover?

Nationwide home insurance coverage includes all of the basics that are part of a standard policy:

Also included as standard with a Nationwide home insurance policy are:

  • Law or ordinance coverage to build your home up to new standards or codes
  • Credit card coverage for unauthorized transactions

There are also some options you can add to your Nationwide homeowners policy for extra coverage:

  • Brand New Belongings, Nationwide’s replacement cost coverage for contents
  • Better Roof Replacement, which pays to upgrade roof material
  • Identity theft
  • Valuables Plus high-value item coverage
  • Increased dwelling replacement cost, up to two times your dwelling coverage
  • Water backup
  • Service line repair
  • Equipment breakdown

Nationwide home insurance excludes all of the common perils not covered by a standard policy:

  • No coverage for floods and earthquakes (earthquake can be endorsed)
  • Coverage limits on certain types of personal property, like jewelry, fine art, musical instruments and sports equipment
  • No coverage for excluded perils like war and terrorism, nuclear hazards, animal and pest damage and water and sewer backup (unless endorsed)

How much is Nationwide home insurance?

The average cost of a Nationwide homeowners insurance policy at our benchmark coverage or $300,000 dwelling and liability and a $1,000 deductible is $2,746. Coverage level will affect the average rate, as seen in the table below. And, of course, your Nationwide home insurance quote will differ based on the particulars of your house.

Coverage levelAverage annual rate
$200,000 dwelling, $100,000 liability$2,013
$200,000 dwelling, $300,000 liability$2,028
$300,000 dwelling, $100,000 liability$2,724
$300,000 dwelling, $300,000 liability$2,746
$400,000 dwelling, $100,000 liability$3,196
$400,000 dwelling, $300,000 liability$3,225
$600,000 dwelling, $100,000 liability$4,031
$600,000 dwelling, $300,000 liability$4,068
$1,000,000 dwelling, $100,000 liability$5,383
$1,000,000 dwelling, $300,000 liability$5,437

Nationwide home insurance discounts

Nationwide’s biggest discount is for a new home, saving more than half of the average price. But owners of older homes can combine multiple discounts to save.

DiscountAverage rate beforeAverage rate after
% discount
New Home$2,735$1,10054%
Age of home$3,151$2,47617%
Separate Wind-Hail Deductible$2,872$2,51910%
Bundle$2,803$2,5569%
Construction type$2,907$2,6738%
Loyalty$2,147$1,9817%
Upgrades$2,904$2,5857%
Water Safety System$1,301$1,2067%
Sprinklers$2,736$2,6255%
Burglar Alarm$2,582$2,5123%
Fire Alarm$2,665$2,5963%
Gated Community$2,534$2,4923%
Smoke Detector$2,333$2,2882%
Claims Free$1,777$1,775>1%
Automatic payments$3,133$3,131>1%
Paid in Full$3,133$3,1300%

What makes Nationwide home insurance rates go up?

Claims have the biggest effect on Nationwide rates; a history of claims can cause your rate to rise by 41% on average.

ReasonAverage rate beforeAverage rate after% increase
Age of home$2,165$2,2403%
Claims$2,774$3,74041%
Construction type$2,353$2,4535%
Home-Based Business$1,815$1,97212%
Marital Status$2,839$2,9304%
Proximity to fire station$749$7612%
Wood burning stove$879$9306%

Nationwide vs. competitors: How does Nationwide stack up?

Nationwide didn’t have a strong performance in several of the survey categories, but some competitors were in the same range. Customer satisfaction overall was a difficult category for Nationwide, with only 52% of customers expressing that they are satisfied or very satisfied.

CompanyAverage annual rateCustomer satisfactionEase of servicePolicy offerings
Nationwide$2,74674%81%77%
American Family$2,50484%89%84%
Travelers$3,70173%79%69%

What do people ask about Nationwide? 

People have a lot of questions when it comes to insurance companies, and Nationwide is no different. Take a look at some of the common questions about Nationwide home insurance.

Is there a grace period for Nationwide insurance?

Yes. The Nationwide grace period for home insurance payments is 25 days, according to the company website.

Why did my Nationwide homeowners insurance go up?

Home insurance rates across the country are going up, including at Nationwide, due to rising costs and severe weather. Some rate increases may be due to individual factors; contact Nationwide for an explanation of your rate increase.

Does Nationwide offer home insurance in Florida?

No, Nationwide doesn’t currently offer home insurance in Florida.

Is Nationwide a good homeowners insurance company?

A good home insurance company is one that’s there for customers when they need it. While Nationwide didn’t score as highly as some competitors in our survey, third-party ratings for the company are solid.

Do people trust Nationwide?

According to our survey, 73% of current Nationwide customers who responded said they trust the company. That’s about average, and few companies scored well on trust.

Do people recommend Nationwide? 

Nationwide is pretty highly recommended; in our survey, 90% said they’d recommend Nationwide to others.

Do people plan to renew with Nationwide?

Although it wasn’t the highest score, a solid 92% of respondents said they plan to renew their Nationwide homeowners insurance.

Is Nationwide good at paying claims?

Nationwide earned a score of 884 on J.D. Power’s 2023 Property Insurance Satisfaction Survey, a third-place ranking. That’s a good sign that you can be confident your Nationwide house insurance claim will be paid.