Home Insurance in South Carolina

Are you getting the protection you need for your home? Choose the right home insurance policy for your needs with Obrella—an online platform that connects you with knowledgeable insurance experts who specialize in comprehensive South Dakota home insurance policies. Agents can help you through the entire process over the phone, explaining your options, answering your questions, and even binding your policy once you’ve made your selection.

South Dakota Home Insurance Costs

Home insurance premiums in South Carolina average $1,134 annually. That’s just $100 over the national average of $1,034 per year. Those rates place South Carolina as the state with the 13th highest annual insurance premiums in the country.

• Median Home Value: 149,600
• Household Income: 53,053
• Percent of Income on Home Ownership: 21.90%

South Carolina residents value the protection that comes with home insurance. The median home value in South Carolina is $137,400, with an average household size of just over 2.5 people. South Carolina has a median household income of $44,163, leading homeowners to spend 28.9% of their income on home ownership costs. That puts South Carolina as the 24th most costly state in the nation, in regard to the cost of owning a home. Make sure you have all the insurance coverage you need to protect your South Carolina home by contacting an insurance expert to review your current home insurance policy.

How Are South Dakota Home Insurance Premiums Determined?

Several factors are considered when insurance providers decide on the cost of a home insurance policy. When assigning premiums, insurance companies look at things like building costs in the area, the size of the home, and the year it was built, as well as crime rates and other statistics for the area. Even your credit score will be evaluated.

A higher likelihood of floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters can also contribute to the cost of insurance premiums. Locations that are more prone to natural disasters are likely to see more expensive insurance premiums, since premiums represent the risk a provider takes on by insuring your property.

Additional property characteristics, like swimming pools and guest homes, will also affect insurance premiums. Fortunately, installing home and property protection devices like motion-sensor lights, security systems, and surveillance cameras can lower your homeowners insurance rates in many cases.

South Carolina is in the path of many hurricanes and other natural disasters throughout the year, which drives up the average cost of homeowners insurance. When combined with factors like crime rate, home depreciation, and more, you can get wildly different rates in South Carolina’s cities that sit right next to each other. 

What Homeowners Policies Are Available to South Carolina Residents?

Many home insurance companies in South Carolina give you a range of coverage options to choose from. Here are a few examples:

• HO-1: Limited Coverage
  • An HO-1 policy covers damage to your home that occurs as the result of any of the first 10 classified disasters fire or lightning, windstorms or hail, explosions, riots, damage caused by aircrafts, damage caused by vehicles, smoke, vandalism, theft, and volcanic eruption. However, this type of policy is no longer available for purchase in most states.
• HO-2: Basic Policy
  • HO-2 policies are designed to provide coverage in the event that your home is affected by any of the 16 classified disasters. This is a named peril policy. So if the cause of the damage is not specifically named in your policy, your home insurance companies don’t have to cover the damage.
• HO-3: Standard, most popular
  • HO-3 policies are open peril policies. So unless it’s named in the exclusions, the insurer will cover the damage. Keep in mind, many of the exclusions are very broad. So if you searched for something specific like a “broken water pipe”, you wouldn’t find it in the exclusions. But you might find something else that would cover water damage. 
• HO-8: Older Home
  • To protect against depreciation, this policy will usually reimburse homeowners for damage on an actual cash value basis, though some older homes may not qualify for full replacement cost policies.
• HO-6 policies are meant exclusively to cover condos. They cover everything from the walls-in meaning flooring, carpeting, cabinets, appliances, etc. But they do not cover the building itself.
• Landlord policies can be adjusted to cover more personal property, etc. The average cost is often lower, though, because it’s focused on covering the building, but not necessarily all the liability and personal property it would if the property owner lived there.

What Will Standard South Dakota Homeowners Insurance Cover?

Do you know what’s covered under your insurance policy? Typically, home insurance policies specify certain situations in which homeowners insurance companies will reimburse you for damage. This means that your home insurance coverage won’t give you blanket coverage for anything and everything if the situation isn’t specifically covered in your policy, you won’t get reimbursed for damages. So for example, if your home sustains damage due to flooding but your policy does not cover flooding, you will bear the sole responsibility for the cost of repairing your home. To learn more about what’s covered by your policy, check out some common home insurance definitions below:

• Coverage A – Dwelling
  • Covers damages to a home and any structures attached to the home, including damage to plumbing, wiring, heating, and permanent air-conditioning systems.
• Coverage B – Other Structures
  • Structures not physically connected to the house are protected under Other Structures coverage. This includes free-standing sheds, fences, guest homes, and detached garages.
• Coverage C – Personal Property
  • Personal Property coverage pays back homeowners in the event that a personal possession like clothes, furniture, or electronic equipment is lost or damaged. This coverage is valid whether or not the loss or damage occurs on the property meaning items kept in a storage facility, for example, are still protected.
• Coverage D – Loss of Use
  • While a home is being repaired, Loss of Use coverage will pay for living expenses.
• Coverage E – Personal Liability
  • Personal Liability covers the homeowner’s financial loss in the event of a lawsuit in which the homeowner is found legally liable for another’s injuries or damages.
• Coverage F – Medical Payments to Others
  • Covers medical bills if anyone gets hurt by the homeowner’s pet or on the homeowner’s property.

What Insurance Resources Are Available to South Carolina Residents?

State of South Carolina Department of Insurance: Protects the public interest by ensuring the solvency of insurers and regulating the insurance industry. The department can also provide you with information about how to lower home insurance costs, how to understand the different types of coverage provided by home insurance policies, and what to do if a company turns you down for a policy.

How Can You Get The Best Rates on A Homeowners Insurance Policy in South Carolina?

Finding the right home insurance policy can be simple. That’s why Obrella makes it easy to find an ideal home insurance policy for your lifestyle. In one simple call, you can talk about your insurance needs with an agent who has the expertise and tools to help you find your ideal home insurance plan. They can even bind your policy over the phone!

Want to learn more about your home insurance policy options in South Carolina? Speak with a friendly and helpful insurance agent today at [mapi-phone-link /].