Bottom Line: Most homeowners are flying blind when it comes to their insurance policies. Over half of homeowners (57%) are unsure exactly what their policy does or does not cover. Among the 46% who say they understand their coverage clearly, the majority (77%) still take a hands-off approach to managing it.
The generational divide in how homeowners shop, choose, and stick with providers reveals a market in transition, at a time when insurers are tightening their belts and premiums have risen an average of 24% nationwide. One thing remains constant: insurance remains frustratingly complex for most consumers, and that holds many homeowners back from potential savings. “One of the most surprising things I’ve learned working in this industry are the hidden inefficiencies of traditional homeowners insurance, and how that translates to people paying more than they need to” says Peter Kerr, VP of Guardian Service.
As home insurance premiums continue to rise, our study of 2,000 homeowners explores how U.S. homeowners are evaluating policies, comparing home insurance quotes, and choosing the coverage that best fits their needs.
About Guardian Service: We’re an independent insurance agency reimagining the insurance experience for homeowners. Our agents aren’t commissioned (seriously — zero commission), and our entire model is based on getting the right coverage for each person by continually re-shopping across 30+ carriers. It’s insurance designed to adapt to homeowners, not the other way around.
Key Takeaways
- When choosing a provider, homeowners stick with convenience: 1 in 3 homeowners bundle with the same provider they use for their auto insurance.
- The majority of homeowners are hands off when it comes to actively managing their policy (62%). A majority of these homeowners only deal with it when they are required to, while the rest take a “set and forget it” approach.
- Only 16% of homeowners shop around for better homeowners insurance rates every year. Millennial homeowners were the most active in terms of shopping: 22% shop for a new policy annually.
- Reshopping homeowners insurance is a significant hassle for homeowners: 30% said they don’t re-shop their policy because of their home and auto bundle, and 1 in 3 homeowners feel it’s too time-consuming and the savings won’t be worth it.
- Gen Z was the most loyal to their current provider (35%) compared to Gen X, who was the least loyal (17%).
- Less than half (43%) of all homeowners surveyed were satisfied with their coverage. Gen Z homeowners were the most satisfied, with over half (51%) reporting they felt satisfied.
- 57% of homeowners are unsure exactly what is or isn’t covered by their policy today.
- Homeowners had mixed experiences with providers when it came to explaining their policies: 43% of homeowners said providers were only somewhat helpful in explaining coverage, while 19% felt their providers weren’t helpful at all.
How Homeowners Choose Insurance: Convenience Over Savings
The majority of homeowners (69%) prefer not to dive into the details of their homeowners policy, which is likely holding them back from finding better rates annually. When it comes to selecting homeowners insurance, convenience is key: nearly one in three homeowners simply bundle with their auto insurance provider. This approach offers the most convenience: one relationship to manage, potentially simplified billing, and oftentimes some modest discounts. An additional 21% turn to friends and family for recommendations, treating insurance selection like other major purchases where personal experience carries weight.
How homeowners choose their provider shifts by generation, showing a divide between digitally native consumers and more traditional shoppers: Millennial and Gen Z homeowners are more likely to use a mix of sources, but lean on online comparison tools more than older generations. Interestingly, Gen Z places more trust in their mortgage lender recommendation over their agent’s, while baby boomers trust their agent’s recommendation just as much as they do their family and friends’.
These patterns suggest younger homeowners prefer more diverse sources of information, including their own research, but may be more influenced by the immediate experience of home purchasing, where mortgage lenders hold sway. In contrast, older generations lean on institutions and relationships to help drive decision-making.
Managing Your Home Insurance Policy
If convenience was the top factor in how homeowners choose a policy, it’s reasonable to assume that homeowners are hands-off when it comes to managing it. The data from our consumer survey backs this up: 62% of homeowners “set it and forget it” when it comes to their insurance.
Generationally, active management preferences don’t change much, but when we analyzed homeowner habits by household income, the habit of reviewing and updating homeowners policies becomes much more common among those with higher household income. Households with higher incomes may have more assets to protect and more risk, but it could also be a product of having good financial hygiene habits.
| Annual Income Group | Percentage Who Actively Manage Their Policy |
|---|---|
| < $25,000 | 22% |
| $25,000 – $49,000 | 14% |
| $50,000 – $74,000 | 19% |
| $75,000 – $99,000 | 24% |
| $100,000 – $149,000 | 25% |
| $150,000 + | 27% |
Regardless of differences in habits and incomes, data suggests many homeowners may benefit from more active engagement: According to the Consumer Federation of America, a non-profit organization that investigates consumer issues, annual insurance premiums increased by 24% on average from 2020 to 2024, translating to a $648 average annual increase for policy-holders. A third of policy-holders saw an increase of more than 30%. More active management of policies could help homeowners get ahead of changes to their premium, or at the least, understand changes in coverage that could impact them should the worst happen.
What Homeowners Don’t Know About Their Insurance Coverage
Homeowners’ grasp of their insurance policies reflects the genuine complexity of these financial products rather than consumer negligence. Home insurance policies are complex by design, covering property damage, liability, and personal property under various conditions and exclusions. The average policy contains dozens of coverage types, limits, deductibles, and exclusions that would challenge even financially sophisticated consumers.
When we asked 2,000 homeowners how well they understood their policy, 55% lacked the full picture of what their policy does and does not cover:
When viewing confidence levels by generation, more seasoned homeowners (Gen X and Baby Boomers) contrasted sharply with Gen Z homeowners: Less than half of Gen X and Baby Boomer homeowners expressed an above-average understanding of their policies (42%), while 66% of Gen Z policy-holders felt very or extremely confident they know exactly what is and isn’t covered.
- Gen Z shows surprisingly high confidence levels, with 66% reporting they’re confident or extremely confident in understanding their policies. This confidence may reflect overestimation given their limited experience with claims and policy management.
- Baby boomers demonstrate more realistic confidence, with 46% expressing high confidence levels. Their modesty may reflect decades of experience that have taught them insurance complexity.
- Millennials and Gen X show similar patterns, with around 44% and 38%, respectively, expressing high confidence. These generations balance some experience with awareness of their knowledge limitations.
It’s important to note that self-reported confidence levels are not exactly an accurate barometer of actual understanding, especially with a financial product as complex as homeowners insurance. It could, however, reveal a potential future pain point: discovering the nuances of coverage during the claims process, which older homeowners have more experience in. This could challenge first-time homebuyers and policy holders on what they think they know about their policy.
How Helpful Are Insurance Agents in Closing the Insurance Knowledge Gap?
The majority of homeowners receive inadequate explanation of their coverage. Only 39% found their providers very helpful in explaining coverage details:
| Helpfulness | Percentage of Homeowners |
|---|---|
| Very helpful | 39% |
| Somewhat helpful | 43% |
| Not very helpful | 11% |
| They did not explain coverage details to me | 7% |
The lack of help from insurance agents in understanding coverage may be an underlying reason why online comparison tools, mortgage lenders and recommendations from family and friends hold more weight in decision-making among younger homeowners.
Shopping for Better Insurance Rates
Only 16% of homeowners shop around for better rates every year, a surprisingly small percentage given that 95% of U.S. zipcodes experienced premium increases from 2021 to 2024. Millennials lead in proactive shopping with 22% shopping annually and an additional 33% shop every 2-3 years, suggesting this generation maintains more active engagement with the insurance market.
Why isn’t homeowners insurance treated with as much scrutiny compared to other major annual household expenses? Kara Credle, a licensed personal lines insurance producer at Guardian Service, suggests that for the most part, policy holders simply don’t notice the “rate creep” enough to take action: “Homeowners likely scrutinize the number of streaming services they subscribe to and the cost difference between internet providers but let their homeowners policies renew, untouched, for years. People often don’t notice when their premiums increase at their annual renewal, and they don’t realize that insurance is a product that you can shop around for to get the best deal.”
Complexity Keeps Homeowners From Potential Savings, But Guardian Service Can Help
The most expensive 5 words in personal finance might be “set it and forget it” (except when it comes to your 401k). Despite only 43% of homeowners reporting that they’re satisfied with their coverage, many prefer to take this approach to their homeowners insurance. But Credle says, without the help of an insurance agent, the task of switching providers can feel intimidating to the average homeowner: “Switching insurance providers feels so complex to the average homeowner because it is complex. Switching can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t have an insurance agent who has your best interests in mind. When you buy an insurance policy with a different carrier, you’re moving a live, legally-binding contract that’s often tied to your mortgage and your personal risk profile.”
Counter to conventional wisdom about young consumers being disloyal brand-hoppers, Gen Z homeowners show the highest provider loyalty at 35%. Half of all Gen Z homeowners are satisfied with their current provider, the highest satisfaction rate across all homeowners we surveyed. But 1 in 3 homeowners surveyed doubt the effort of switching policies will be worth the reward, keeping them from paying attention to their policies. Credle says that the time to act is now: “If they aren’t already, homeowners should start paying attention to their policies. The ground is shifting under the insurance industry right now. Everything is climbing: construction costs, weather-related catastrophic losses, and the price of re-insurance (how insurance carriers insure themselves). Insurance is a business like any other, and carriers are trimming coverage and raising rates. If you don’t know exactly what’s in your policy or what exactly you’re paying for, you could discover after a claim that you’re underinsured or facing a deductible you didn’t anticipate.”
Against the backdrop of tightening markets and rising costs, most homeowners remain passive shoppers, and this could cost them. North Carolina residents recently saw a base rate increase of 7.5%, with another on the way in June 2026. If complexity is keeping you back from switching to a more affordable provider, Guardian Service’s zero-commission agents and reshopping technology are uniquely poised to help homeowners navigate the next few years of insurance increases.
Methodology
Guardian Service surveyed 2,000 homeowners using third-party platform, Pollfish, to explore how they shop and manage their homeowners insurance policies. The survey was fielded between June 6, 2025 to June 9, 2025. Data was weighted to produce a nationally representative sample.
