For members of AARP, AARP offers home insurance through The Hartford. It comes with unique benefits and services you can’t find with other home insurance companies, and you can personalize and customize your coverage to make it suit your needs.
You don’t have to join AARP to purchase home insurance through The Hartford, but if you are a member, you will save more each month and get access to unique benefits not offered to non-AARP members.
If you’re 50 or older, AARP home insurance is worth your consideration.
AARP home insurance review
| Price | Varies by location, home and other factors |
| Best for | Senior citizens |
| Not for | 49 and younger |
| States served | 50 |
| Discounts | Home security New home No claims Bundling Smoke detectors and monitored fire alarms |
| AM Best Rating | A++ |
| Standout features | Disappearing deductible Old for new replacement |
The claim
Aarp offers its members a unique home insurance option through The Hartford with multiple coverage options available as well as ways to save.
Is It True?
Hartford enables its customers to customize their policy with add-on options. For example, you can pay extra to protect things like valuable jewelry or china, and there’s even an option to protect your appliances.
As for discounts, Hartford through AARP does offer a variety of ways to save, but it isn’t necessarily better than its competitors. It is generally about what you would expect from another provider.
For example, you can save by bundling your home and auto insurance together, which is great, but that’s something you can do with most providers. You can also save by getting a home security, but again, that’s a typical discount.
Unique to AARP homeowners is the ability to save for being retired. If you work fewer than 24 hours a week, you can save on your home insurance. Another option is the ability to save for renewing your policy for four years.
J.D. Power & Associates scored The Hartford a three out of five, placing it almost exactly in the middle of the rankings—12 companies above it and 11 below it.
AARP Home Insurance Coverage Options
AARP and The Hartford offer several coverage options that are unique or outside the standard home insurance policy:
- Equipment protection: If any of your appliances or electronics break down from normal use, The Hartford will pay for their replacement. Opt for a more eco friendly option, and the provider will pay for the replacement up to 125 percent.
- Identity theft protection: This feature offered to AARP members will cover you for out-of-pocket expenses related to identity theft or fraud up to $ 25,000.
- Lock change reimbursement: Should you lose a key, Hartford will pay up to $ 500 to replace your locks after you pay the $ 100 deductible. Hartford knows replacing your locks can help keep your home out of harm’s way.
- Loss of use: Should your home be unlivable after a catastrophic event, loss of use coverage will cover your living expenses up to your policy limit. This is a great option to have while repairs are done!
- New for old: Perhaps the greatest protection that The Hartford offers AARP members, new for old coverage will replace covered items with new ones if they are damaged in a covered event. It doesn’t even matter how old they were or what their condition was before the catastrophic event.
- Other structures: Do you have a shed, garage, greenhouse, barn or other type of structure on your property? This coverage will pay for their repair should they be damaged during a covered event. If you live in an area prone to flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes or heavy snowstorms, this is something you want to have.
- Personal injury liability: This feature will pay for any damages from either a libel or slander lawsuit. This exceeds most companies liability coverage.
- Valuable items: Should a valuable item be lost, stolen or severely damaged, The Hartford will cover the payout for such items up to $ 10,000 per item.
AARP Home Insurance Discounts
Besides offering a general discount because of the audience it serves, AARP offers a few discounts to help customers save money:
- Bundled coverage: If you get both car and home insurance through AARP, you can save 5 percent on car insurance and 20 percent on home, renters or condo insurance.
- Claims-free: The longer you go without making a claim, the bigger of a discount you can get.
- New home: People in California and New York can get a discount if they’ve recently bought a new home and insured it with AARP.
- Protective devices: Safety features like deadbolts, home security systems, smoke detectors, fire sprinkler systems and burglar alarms can help get you a discount.
- Retirees: People who have retired can receive credits toward their insurance.
Discounts are subject to change and can vary depending on your location and circumstances. Talk to your agent to see what you qualify for.
AARP Home Insurance Rates
The only way to determine how much home insurance will cost through AARP is to ask for a quote. Many things go into determining how much you’ll pay for home insurance (such as age of home, location of home and credit score). Each company has an algorithm to determine what customers will pay for coverage, which is why it’s important to shop around.
If you add additional coverage, such as flood insurance or earthquake coverage, these will increase your yearly costs.
Other ways to save money on AARP home insurance rates
Unless you’ve paid off your mortgage, your lender likely requires you have home insurance. Therefore, when it comes to cheaper or free alternatives, there aren’t any, but there are ways you can lower your monthly premium.
Take Advantage of Discounts
If you can lower your premium for doing something you do anyway, why wouldn’t you? This involves installing smoke alarms, disaster proofing your home or installing a security system.
Opt for a Higher Deductible
The higher your deductible is, the lower your monthly costs will be. This could potentially save you money. However, if you go this route, make sure you have the deductible amount set aside in a separate savings account so you have it when you need it.
Bundle and Save
You know you need both car and home insurance, so why not save by bundling the two together? Often, you’ll save more by sticking with the same company for both.
Improve your Credit Score
Your credit score has an impact on your insurance premium. Improve it, and you won’t pay as much to insure your home or your car.
AARP’s Competitors
AARP might not be the best option for you. Here are some competitors and how they stack up.
Allstate
Allstate falls just shy of State Farm with a three out of five overall customer satisfaction rating. It has a superior (A+) rating with AM Best, and an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. It does have a number of complaints filed against it, but for a company of its size and scope, this is to be expected. If you’re looking for a company that knows it’s the 21st century and offers excellent apps and online features, Allstate is it.
Amica
Amica was chosen as the top provider for home insurance by J.D. Power for several years in a row. It scored top marks in every category but one, which was price. However, for that it still received four out of five. With a best in class rating, and an A+ (superior) rating from AM Best, this company deserves a call from anyone shopping for home insurance.
Erie
Like Amica, Erie received five out of five for overall customer satisfaction. It received average marks (three out of five) for billing process and policy information, and a “better than most” (or four out of five) for claims. With numerous ways to save on your premium and a robust online presence, Erie is worth considering.
State Farm
State Farm scored a four out of five for overall customer satisfaction in 2019. It has a strong, online presence (filled with tools and information) as well as a fully functioning mobile app (which isn’t common for an insurance company). Furthermore, it has the highest possible rating with AM Best with an A++ grade.
What others are saying
The Better Business Bureau gives The Hartford an A+ rating but acknowledges the company hasn’t been fully accredited yet. For an insurance company, it doesn’t have that many claims filed against it, but it does have a few (331 in the past 3 years). Most complaints revolve around either billing or service. In the few responses that are posted on BBB, Hartford appears to have trouble locating some customers’ accounts, but this could be for a variety of reasons.
On Consumer Affairs, there is a theme of customers only receiving partial payment for a claim. Hartford doesn’t respond to complaints written on Consumer Affairs, so partial payment for a claim could happen for a variety of reasons, one of which would be policy limits.
The Bottom Line
AARP homeowners insurance through The Hartford is about average. It offers a few perks and bonuses for joining, but it’s worth researching several providers to see if this one has everything you want for the price you’d be comfortable paying.
