When shopping for homeowners insurance, it can be difficult to filter through the marketing and advertising noise on TV, online or even on the radio. Just because one insurance carrier advertises as "the best," is it really? Thankfully, Policygenius has done the hard work with its 2019 list of best homeowners insurance companies. To help determine its list, Policygenius looked at ratings from A.M. Best and J.D. Powers, as well as insurers' market share. A.M. Best's ratings indicate financial health on a scale of A++ (superior) to D (poor), while J.D. Powers' ratings measure customer satisfaction on a 1,000-point scale that considers policy offering, price, billing, interaction and claims. Policygenius also looked at individual carriers and homeowners insurance market share using information from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. In total, 22 companies made the 2019 list of best homeowners insurance companies. The slideshow above spotlights the seven insurance companies that came out on top in seven key categories. "Shoppers are looking for different things when choosing an insurance provider — coverage, claims satisfaction and number of discounts (cost) — which helped influence the categories we looked at to create the list of top insurance companies," explains Pat Howard, at Policygenius.

What to consider in a homeowners' insurance company

There are a lot of factors that determine a "good" insurance company. "When looking into homeowners insurance companies, you'll want to consider the company's financial stability, their customer service, how they handle claims, the level of coverage you're getting, their sublimits when covering personal property, and policy cost," says Howard. To help consumers find the right homeowners insurance company, Policygenius recommends six areas consumers should consider:

• Consumer insights: Ratings companies, such as A.M. Best and J.D. Powers, as well as Consumer Reports, which measures customer satisfaction, can offer insight into how an insurance company operates.
• Cost: High-deductible policy options can help keep costs low when shopping on a budget.
• Customer service and claims: Policygenius suggests reading testimonials and reviews online to find out an insurer's quality of customer service. Additionally, calling the insurance company to see what the hold time is and what service is like is also a good way to see how well it treats customers.
• Coverage endorsements: Supplemental coverage options such as flood insurance, earthquake insurance and equipment breakdown coverage can be indicators of a 'good' homeowners insurance company.
• Discounts: Policygenius also mentions bundles, loyalty discounts and customer rewards as additional indicators of a 'good' homeowners insurance company.
• Bundling: Bundling home, auto and other insurance policies is another good way to save money and reduce confusion when working with multiple insurers.

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