Home insurance premium estimator
Five inputs, one honest range. Built from your home’s rebuild cost — the number insurers actually rate — with the model printed in full below.
How this tool works
Insurers price homeowners coverage mainly off the dwelling limit — what your home would cost to rebuild — so this estimator starts there: square feet × your local rebuild cost per square foot. Published rebuild-cost references put most U.S. homes in a broad $150–$300 per square foot band (a NerdWallet analysis of First Street data puts the national median at about $280); our default of $225 sits mid-band, and you should adjust it for your market.
The premium model is deliberately simple and printed in full: estimated midpoint = dwelling × 0.55% — an anchor consistent with III/NAIC average premium data (average premium $1,569/yr in the 2022 III series against typical dwelling limits) — then adjusted: deductible $500 ×1.08, $2,500 ×0.93, $5,000 ×0.88; roof over 15 years ×1.12, roof age unknown ×1.05, roof 6–15 years ×1.03; home over 50 years ×1.10, 31–50 years ×1.05, under 10 years ×0.97. The result is shown as a range from 0.80× to 1.25× the midpoint, because your exact address, claims history, fire-protection class, and (where allowed) credit-based insurance score move real quotes widely. Anyone showing you a single precise number from five inputs is performing, not estimating.
Questions people ask
Why does the estimator use rebuild cost instead of my home's value?
Your policy rebuilds a structure; it does not buy your land or pay your neighbourhood premium. Market value and rebuild cost routinely differ by six figures in both directions.
Is the midpoint my quote?
No — it is the centre of a planning range from a published model. Only an insurer can quote your address.
What is the most common surprise in home premiums?
Separate wind/hurricane percentage deductibles in many coastal states, and dwelling limits that quietly fell behind rebuild costs during the recent construction-cost spike.
Does this cover flood?
No standard homeowners policy covers flood, and this estimator prices a standard policy. Flood is a separate policy (NFIP or private).
Sources: Insurance Information Institute / NAIC average homeowners premium ($1,569/yr, 2022 series) as the model anchor; NerdWallet analysis of First Street rebuild-cost data (U.S. median ≈ $280/sq ft) and published $150–$300/sq ft rebuild ranges for the default input guidance.