Best & Cheapest Home Insurance in Rhode Island (2023)

To help you find the best homeowners insurance, our editorial team compared thousands of quotes, customer support scores and coverage options for the best home insurance companies in Rhode Island.

Best cheap home insurance in Rhode Island

Cheapest home insurance in Rhode Island: Narragansett Bay

The cheapest homeowners insurance in Rhode Island is offered by Narragansett Bay, with an average annual rate of $995.

Nationwide and Allstate are also some of the cheapest insurers in the state, with rates at $1,168 and $1,172, respectively, per year.

Home insurance in Rhode Island is 17% cheaper than the annual national average of $1,516. However, with the state’s location on the Atlantic coast, it still sees various storm events that could damage your home or property, such as tropical storms, strong winds and flooding. Additional endorsements or policies that cover flood or storm damage may increase the cost of your insurance.

Cheap annual home insurance in Rhode Island

Best overall home insurance in Rhode Island: Narragansett Bay

Narragansett Bay, the largest subsidiary of Heritage Insurance, is our top pick for the best home insurance company in Rhode Island. The company offers the cheapest rate at $995 per year, or $83 per month, which is 21% cheaper than the state average.

Narragansett Bay also offers private flood insurance through a competitively priced endorsement package, which is rare for private insurance companies. The add-on includes standard flood insurance coverage like replacement cost loss settlement on dwellings, which is optional for contents and personal belongings. The flood package covers homes in all flood zones and matches your homeowners policy limits.

The company also offers endorsement packages, such as:

Narragansett Bay scored a 0.30 in the customer complaint index from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). This means the company receives 70% fewer complaints than a typical insurer of its size and suggests most customers are satisfied with the service they receive.

The most prominent downside to Narragansett Bay is that you can’t get a quote online, so you’ll have to contact a local agent for support.

Best for expanded coverage in Rhode Island: Nationwide

Nationwide is our top pick for expanded coverage, offering add-ons like identity theft coverage for cyber risks, and dwelling replacement cost, which can pay up to two times the dwelling coverage limit of your home. The company also has the option to add earthquake and flood insurance coverage.

Nationwide offers basic home insurance policies at an average rate of $1,168 per year. This is $84 cheaper than the state annual average of $1,252.

The company provides basic coverage, as well as ordinance or law insurance to cover bringing your home up to code. It also offers credit card coverage under the standard policy, which most home insurance companies don’t offer. This means the company will pay up to the selected limit for unauthorized transactions on your credit or debit card, including forged checks and counterfeit money.

The company received a 0.50 rating in the complaint index from the NAIC, meaning it receives half as many complaints as similar insurers.

The most notable downside to Nationwide is that the online and mobile features are fairly weak. You can get a quote online, but you might need to finish your quote by calling a local agent if your house is vacant or under renovations, for example. There is a mobile app, but it's mostly tailored to auto insurance.

Best home insurance for military families: USAA

USAA is the best home insurance company for military members and their families at an average rate of $1,215 per year, or $101 per month. This is $37 cheaper than the state average of $1,252 per year.

USAA offers benefits specific to military members, such as coverage for personal belongings while at home or overseas in a war zone. War zones are typically excluded in most home insurance policies. The company also waives your deductible on claims for lost, stolen or destroyed gear that was issued by the military.

The company received a 0.50 rating in the complaint index from the NAIC, meaning USAA receives half the complaints that other typical insurers receive.

The biggest downside to USAA is that its rates aren’t very competitive compared to most other insurance companies in Rhode Island. However, USAA’s average quote is still slightly cheaper than the state average. USAA policies are also only available to U.S. military members and their dependents, so you have to meet eligibility requirements before enrolling.

Rhode Island's insurance rates by city

The farming village of Slocum is the cheapest city for home insurance in Rhode Island at an average rate of $1,115 per year. This is $137 cheaper than the state annual average.

Adamsville is the most expensive city for home insurance in Rhode Island at an average rate of $1,326 per year. This is $74 more expensive than the state annual average. Adamsville is a historic village near the Atlantic coast on the Massachusetts border.

Best home insurance companies in Rhode Island

Andover and USAA are the best-rated home insurance companies in Rhode Island.

Andover scored a 0.36 in the complaint index from the NAIC, suggesting it provides excellent customer service. Unfortunately, Andover has some of the most expensive home insurance rates, with an average rate of $1,831 per year, or $153 per month. This is $579 more expensive than the state average.

USAA offers the best combination of excellent customer service and generous benefits for military members and their families.

Tokio Marine is also highly rated, but is recommended more for marine and commercial properties.

Most common homeowners insurance perils in Rhode Island: Hurricanes and flooding

As a coastal New England state, Rhode Island can experience damage from Atlantic hurricanes. Typically, homeowners insurance covers wind damage from hurricanes, but flood insurance is excluded.

You can purchase a flood insurance policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Some of Rhode Island's cities participate in the NFIP's Community Rating System (CRS), a community-based effort to get residents discounts on flood insurance.

Narragansett Bay also offers private flood insurance, as an alternative to the NFIP, with its NBIC Flood Endorsement, which offers affordable flood coverage and a more personal claim experience from this local insurance company.

Rhode Island and winter storms

Rhode Island has winters that bring potentially damaging levels of snowfall and ice. Fortunately, your homeowners insurance likely covers any damage from the weight of falling snow.

However, most insurance companies won’t cover destruction due to negligence. It’s important to shovel heavy snow off your roof and chip away the ice to help prevent damage to your home.

Frequently asked questions

Methodology

We collected home insurance quotes for every ZIP code across Rhode Island from the state’s largest home insurance companies. The sample home insurance profile was for a home built in 1960 with $261,900 of dwelling coverage, which is based on the median Rhode Island home, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.

ValuePenguin's analysis used insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services. These rates were publicly sourced from insurer filings and should be used for comparative purposes only — your own quotes may be different.

We ranked each company's customer service scores by comparing the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index, J.D. Power's home insurance customer satisfaction rankings and our ValuePenguin editor's ratings.