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Erie Insurance offers regional coverage in the Eastern United States. It started with its flagship auto insurance and has since expanded in both insurance products and markets served. Buyers can purchase a policy for qualifying homes in 12 states and Washington, DC, at the time of this review. An agent can advise you on your homeowners insurance needs along with auto, motorcycle, and other bundling options.

This Erie homeowners insurance review finds the company operates through licensed insurance agents. So you can request a quote and find an agent in your area. However, online quotes are not available with Erie. Likewise, you must contact your chosen insurance agent to file a claim. For some homeowners, the extra support comes in handy to answer common questions. However, you cannot check on your claims or other data online. So what else should you know about Erie Insurance?

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Types of Homeowners Insurance Plans from Erie

Erie homeowners insurance offers all standard coverages you’d expect, including:

• Dwelling coverage: covers your house and any attached structures, like a garage, in the event of damage. Erie offers guaranteed replacement cost coverage, which means you’re covered even if the cost to rebuild your home exceeds your policy’s claim limits. Speak to your agent as there may be extra costs for this.
• Other structures: pays to repair or replace other structures not attached to your home, like gazebos or sheds
• Personal property: covers the cost of repairing or replacing your personal belongings, from furniture to clothing, bedding, and more.
• Liability: pays for property damage and medical expenses if someone is injured on your property. It also covers legal fees in case of a lawsuit resulting from the incident.
• Loss of use: Pays for any living expenses you incur while unable to live in your home after a covered loss, such as hotel stays and restaurant meals.

However, in addition, Erie Homeowners Insurance’s base policy comes with a few coverages not usually included in a homeowner’s policy, such as:

• Gift Card Reimbursement: offers reimbursement for unused gift cards from local establishments that have permanently closed.
• Animals, birds, and fish: provides up to $500 in coverage.
• Cash and precious metals: Provides up to $500 in coverage for cash and other items that may be stolen but are challenging to prove. A typical deductible on a home would be above $500. So this often falls into theft or other more significant claims.
• Hard-to-replace items: coverage for the cost of replacing documents like deeds, bills, and passports

Additional Coverage Options (Riders)

In addition to its base policy, Erie also offers additional coverage riders providing extra Erie also offers additional coverage riders, which provides extra protection and enhanced claim limits. Here’s a look at what it has to offer:

• Scheduled items: coverage for higher-end items, such as jewelry, watches, and fine art or collectibles. Depending on the article, you may need an appraisal when you get the policy.
• Water backup: coverage for burst pipes, unexpected flooding not caused by natural disasters, etc. Your flood policy will not cover water damage not associated with an approved flood, while water backup coverage does not include those floods. So if you live in a designated flood zone, you will need both this rider and a complete policy.
• Identity theft recovery: Identity theft can stress you out, interfere with your ability to buy a home, get credit cards, and more. Identity theft recovery coverage helps victims fight to correct their credit history, shut down fraudulent accounts, change their social security numbers in extreme instances, and more.
• Home Sharing: provides coverage if you rent out all or part of your home. A typical example would be running an Airbnb.
• Earthquake: coverage for earthquake damage.
• Flood: coverage for flood damage.

Erie home insurance also offers bundles to combine multiple riders you might be interested in:

• Advantage bundle: assists you with protecting your identity and provides recovery assistance if you become the victim of identity fraud. It also offers higher claim limits for theft and valuables.
• Plus bundle: offers all the coverages in the Advantage Bundle, plus coverage for damage to underground service lines and sewer or drain backups.
• Select bundle: provides all the coverages in the Advantage and Plus bundles and equipment breakdown coverage, which covers major appliances and home systems when they break. It also includes criminal defense cost reimbursement.

How Much Does Erie Home Insurance Cost?

You may wonder how to estimate homeowners insurance costs. To give you an idea of how much a home insurance policy from Erie costs, we reached out to representatives at the company to request a quote. They gave us two quotes to examine.

The representative quoted an open perils (all perils not excluded are covered) policy:

• A 15-year-old home in Pittsburgh, PA
• $250,000 in dwelling coverage
• $100,000 in liability coverage
• The total quote was $803 annually

The second quote was a named perils policy (it covers perils named in the policy documents):

• A 20-year-old home in Naperville, IL
• $150,000 in dwelling coverage
• $500,000 in liability coverage
• The total quote was $1053 annually

The average homeowners insurance cost is much higher at $1428 annually. However, homeowners premiums are variable based on where you live. Some states also require multiple types of insurance (ex: hurricane, earthquake, or flood insurance for certain flood zones), which may drive up the total cost of homeownership.

How to File a Claim

If you need to file a claim, Erie Homeowners Insurance’s website directs us to call an insurance agent, but reports indicate you can also call the company at (800) 367-3743. Unfortunately, claims management is not available online.

For some, this may lead to a higher level of service. But, unfortunately, others may not like being unable to check on their claims progress from a computer or mobile device.

Erie Home Insurance FAQs

Methodology: What Went into Our Erie Homeowners Insurance Review

In reviewing Erie’s homeowner’s insurance products, we did our best to compare the company against other major insurance providers within the industry. As detailed in our insurance rating methodology, our research examines the standard coverages provided, including any optional riders, claim limits, exclusions, and typical policy costs.

Selecting the right insurance for you and anyone else in your household is a matter of choosing a policy with the necessary types of coverage. It offers coverage limits to meet your needs. In addition, you should also work to find a premium that fits well within your budget and a company that allows you to submit and process claims efficiently. Many customers also prefer to track their coverage online to keep themselves up-to-date at their convenience. However, while we make recommendations, choosing the homeowners insurance company that meets your needs is up to you.

Compare Erie vs. State Farm

Erie and State Farm Homeowners Insurance offerings are very similar. Both provide the standard home insurance coverages, and add-on options for identity theft protection, water backups, and appliance repair or replacement. However, Erie’s base plan is a bit more robust because it includes guaranteed replacement cost coverage and coverage for special items like jewelry and passports.

Still, it’s essential to recognize Erie is a regional insurer, which means you may not be able to access their coverage if you live in other states. State Farm, meanwhile, is a national provider. So you’ll be able to purchase a policy no matter where you live.

Compare Erie vs. Nationwide

Again, Erie and Nationwide Homeowners Insurance products seem very similar at first glance, but ultimately, Erie’s may offer more customization for customers in its covered states. Nationwide’s pricing to enjoy the benefits of replacement cost coverage may be a bit higher. So in certain states, Erie may be a much cheaper alternative.

However, Nationwide has a Better Roof Replacement option that allows you to rebuild your roof with more robust and safer materials, and a Brand New Belongings option, which reimburses the cost of replacing irreparable belongings after a covered loss. More importantly, Nationwide operates almost exclusively online. You can find some local agents, depending on where you live. But most quotes, claims, and policy management are done online. Unfortunately, Erie does not have an online portal. Nationwide also offers coverage in all 50 states.

Compare Erie vs. Lemonade

The most significant difference between Erie and Lemonade Homeowners Insurance is how you’ll purchase a policy and submit claims. With Erie, the experience is relatively traditional. You can handle these tasks over the phone or visit a licensed Erie insurance agent at one of its brick-and-mortar office locations. All transactions should go through your agent, with no online portal for day-to-day management or claims.

In contrast, with Lemonade, everything happens through an app. As such, the company prides itself on providing home insurance “for the 21st century” and promises to deliver a fully-digital experience as part of that mission. With this hard line drawn between the two companies, target buyers do not often overlap.