4.8out of 3,000+ reviews
Updated February 28, 2022
Oakland, CA Homeowners Insurance
You can search far and wide, but there’s simply no match for the Bay Area’s energy. And Oakland is the icing on the cake. Lying on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay, Oakland is California ’s eighth-most populated city and was once renowned as “the Harlem of the West.” Today, the city is still booming with art, music, and culture and boasts the perfect mix of California ’s coastal, mountain, and forest views.
Unfortunately, Oakland residents also experience earthquakes, wildfires, and high crime rates. You’ll want to protect your home and family from all the perils that come with life in The Town, and searching for home insurance is a great place to start.
But homeowners insurance alone won’t cover all the risks associated with Oakland homeownership. Insurify is here to walk you through your homeowners coverage to help you secure the best policy and any additional coverages you may need. Plus, it only takes a couple of minutes to find the best Oakland home insurance policy using Insurify’s comparison tools.
Cheapest Home Insurance Companies in Oakland
For homeowners in Oakland, it's important that you evaluate all of your potential insurance options to ensure you are finding the best rate. Comparing the right insurance companies will allow you to get the best possible insurance rate for your home.
To simplify comparing companies, Insurify has analyzed rates from top insurance providers in Oakland. The following are the best insurance rates from carriers that offer homeowners insurance in Oakland.
Cheapest Companies | Quotes The car insurance quotes, statistics, and data visualizations on this page are derived from Insurify’s proprietary database of over 4 million car insurance applications from ZIP codes across the United States. Insurify’s data science team performs a comprehensive analysis of the various factors car insurance providers take into account while setting rates to provide readers insight into how car insurance quotes are priced. |
---|---|
Mercury | $522 |
Allstate | $525 |
Amica | $765 |
MAPFRE | $787 |
Aegis | $794 |
How to Find Cheap Home Insurance in Oakland
Oakland ’s median home cost is nearly $630,000, so buying a home in the Bay Area city will be quite an investment. With investment comes risk, and in Oakland, those risks can cause serious property damage. But there are ways you can minimize these risks and protect your home, family, and personal belongings.
The first step to protecting your property is homeowners insurance. Home insurance isn’t required by law, but if you have a mortgage, your lender will likely require that you purchase an insurance policy. Even if you aren’t required to insure your home, home insurance helps cover the cost of repairing property damage or replacing your belongings after storms and even vandalism or theft. Plus, your homeowners coverage will provide liability insurance, which can help pay for legal fees or medical bills if someone is hurt on your property.
Your insurance policy should be catered to your needs, and the best coverage amount for you will depend on factors like the location and age of your home, as well as the amount of protection you want for your property.
Keep reading for a full guide on Oakland home insurance to see what coverage options are best for you.
Compare Home Insurance Quotes Instantly
- Personalized quotes in 5 minutes or less
- No signup required
Cheapest Home Insurance in Oakland by Company
Homeowners insurance rates aren’t always designed with savings in mind. That’s where Insurify comes in. Our free home insurance comparison tool allows you to find the best policy for the best rate fast. And your information stays private and protected.
As of 2021, the average home insurance premium in the Oakland area costs $830 annually, and the median home value is $841,775.
Oakland home insurance rates aren’t too expensive, but there are still ways to save even more on your annual premiums.
Simple measures like installing a home security system can help you cut back on your insurance costs. And if you’re looking for multiple insurance products, bundling your home and auto insurance policies helps homeowners save upwards of 20 percent on their policies.
It’s also best to shop around and get a quote from multiple insurance companies before choosing a policy. Keep in mind that each insurance quote will include different coverage options and lower or higher deductibles. Check out the average home insurance costs with insurance agencies like Allstate, State Farm, and GEICO below.
Average Home Cost in Oakland The car insurance quotes, statistics, and data visualizations on this page are derived from Insurify’s proprietary database of over 4 million car insurance applications from ZIP codes across the United States. Insurify’s data science team performs a comprehensive analysis of the various factors car insurance providers take into account while setting rates to provide readers insight into how car insurance quotes are priced. | Average Annual Insurance Premium in Oakland The car insurance quotes, statistics, and data visualizations on this page are derived from Insurify’s proprietary database of over 4 million car insurance applications from ZIP codes across the United States. Insurify’s data science team performs a comprehensive analysis of the various factors car insurance providers take into account while setting rates to provide readers insight into how car insurance quotes are priced. |
---|---|
$841,775 | $830 |
Average Annual Home Insurance Premium in Oakland by Company
Average prices for standard homeowners insurance for a 7-15 year old home, $200,000 in coverage
Cheapest ZIP Codes in Oakland for Home Insurance
The cost of your property insurance services will change depending on the Bay Area neighborhood you live in. That’s why home insurance policies in Oakland have different rates from policies in Berkeley or Albany, even though the cities are less than eight miles apart.
This is because home insurance rates are based on ZIP code–specific variables, such as the volume of claims filed nearby, crime rates, and property costs, and risk variables, such as natural disaster frequency.
Different Oakland neighborhoods face different perils, especially when it comes to property crime, which is why homeowners in Montclair pay roughly $100 less for their annual premiums than homeowners in Fruitvale.
Rates in Oakland are relatively low compared to the national average, but you could pay even less depending on which area you live in.
Home Insurance Coverage Types in Oakland
There are several types of home insurance. Specific terms of insurance policies may vary by city, but in general, the standard policy types are as follows:
The simplest and least comprehensive type of homeowners insurance.
Provides coverage for a handful of potential problems, including
- Dwelling coverage for damages from some natural disasters (storms, fires, wind, lightning, volcanic eruption),
- explosions,
- theft,
- damage from vehicles,
- or civil commotion.
Broad form homeowners insurance policies include all basic form coverage, plus protection from:
- falling objects,
- damage from the weight of ice, snow, or sleet,
- freezing of household systems including HVAC and pipes,
- sudden and accidental damage to pipes and other household systems from artificially generated electrical current,
- accidental discharge or overflow of water or steam,
- sudden and accidental damage.
HO-2 policies typically cover both dwelling protection and personal property.
In some cases, broad form coverage may also include liability coverage. However, it still only covers the specific damages listed in the policy.
The most common form of homeowners insurance is known as a “special form” policy.
While HO-1 and HO-2 policies are “named peril” policies (meaning they only cover dangers that are specifically listed in the policy), HO-3 policies are “open peril” policies meaning they’ll cover all dangers except those specifically excluded in the policy documents.
HO-4 policies, also known as renters insurance, are for people who lease rather than own their homes.
Tenant’s form policies typically cover all the same dangers as HO-2 policies.
These policies include personal property coverage and liability coverage but don’t cover the physical structure of the house.
Some HO-4 policies may also include loss of use coverage for the tenants.
Comprehensive form policies are usually the broadest and provide the highest level of coverage; not surprisingly, they also tend to be the most expensive type of homeowners insurance policy.
The biggest difference between HO-3 and HO-5 policies is that most HO-3 policies are “actual cash value” policies, whereas typically HO-5 policies are “replacement cost value” policies.
An actual cash value policy will only reimburse you for the actual value of a damaged or destroyed item, while a replacement cost value policy will reimburse you for however much it would cost to completely replace or repair the damaged or destroyed item (up to the coverage limits on the policy).
HO-5 policies also provide personal property coverage against a wider range of dangers than the typical HO-3 policy. Many HO-5 policies also have extra coverage for high-value personal property, such as jewelry and artwork.
Not surprisingly, condo form insurance is for condominium owners. HO-6 policies generally protect against the same types of dangers as HO-3 policies.
They provide dwelling protection coverage with a twist: HO-6 policies cover the walls, floors, and ceiling of the condo unit but not the rest of the building.
These policies also include personal property and liability coverage and may include loss of use coverage.
If you own a mobile home or manufactured home, you likely have an HO-7 policy.
Mobile home form policies are typically identical to HO-3 policies, except they’re designed specifically for mobile and manufactured homes.
Like HO-3 policies, they provide dwelling protection coverage, other structures coverage, personal property coverage, liability coverage, and possibly loss of use coverage as well.
HO-7 policies generally only protect the home when it’s stationary; if you plan to move your mobile or manufactured home, you’ll need to get a special policy to cover it while it’s in transit.
Older homes have generally been built to less stringent code standards than recently built homes, and so insurers have designed a specialized type of homeowners insurance policy for them.
HO-8 policies often only cover the basic perils listed in HO-1 policies and generally apply to homes that are registered landmarks or otherwise deemed historic homes.
Owners of registered landmarks are typically forbidden from making the updates to HVAC, electrical, and other parts of the home that would enable them to qualify for a standard HO-3 policy, so an HO-8 policy is often the only option for them.
For more detailed California city level guides, check out these below.
Oakland Earthquake Insurance
Seven major fault lines run through the Bay Area. Oakland is located on the Calaveras and Hayward Faults, but California home insurance policies list ground movement as an exclusion. This means your home insurance alone will not cover the losses earthquakes cause.
Earthquake insurance is the only way to offset the cost of repairing the expensive home damage ground movement can cause. The California Earthquake Authority offers earthquake insurance and even has discounts for older homes that have been seismically retrofitted (or reconstructed to withstand earthquake damage).
Protecting Your Oakland Home from Wildfires
Downtown Oakland ’s fire risk is lower than that of the East Bay Hills, but it’s no secret that wildfires in California spread quickly and can devastate thousands of acres in a matter of days.
Home insurance policies typically include fire damage as well as additional living expenses coverage, but your policy’s exclusions may leave you stuck with the repair bill after a wildfire. Fire insurance helps fill the gaps where your policy falls short, helping pay for home repairs, replacing your personal belongings, and offsetting the cost of your family’s living expenses if you need to leave your home while it’s being repaired.
Check to see what your homeowners policy covers—and what it doesn’t—to determine whether an additional fire insurance policy will help boost your home’s protection. You policy documents hold this information. If you have additional questions, contact your insurance agent.
How to Find the Cheapest Home Insurance in Oakland
Oakland is teeming with picturesque views of the Bay, ample hiking trails among the Oakland Redwoods, and deep cultural roots. Don’t let insuring your home stop you from enjoying the neighborhood around you.
Use Insurify to compare homeowners insurance quotes for your property in Oakland.
Frequently Asked Questions
If your home is located in an area prone to natural disasters or if you’ve filed multiple home insurance claims in the past, you may have trouble finding a home insurance company willing to cover your home. The California FAIR Plan insures homes that private insurance companies refuse to. FAIR Plan policies will not provide the same liability coverage as a typical homeowners policy but will ensure that your home has the coverage it needs in case of an emergency.
Your insurance provider will reimburse you based on whether you have a replacement cost or actual cash value policy. You should file a police report and take inventory of your damaged or stolen items and their replacement costs to make the insurance claims process easier for you and your insurer. Check out Insurify’s home burglary guide for a more detailed explanation of steps to take after a break-in.
Some areas of Oakland are at risk for flooding, but home insurance doesn’t cover flood damage. Purchasing flood insurance isn’t a bad idea, even if your home isn’t in a designated flood zone. Oakland participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, so even homeowners in high-risk areas can purchase flood insurance.
Compare Home Insurance Quotes Instantly
- Personalized quotes in 5 minutes or less
- No signup required