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Founded in 2015, Lemonade Homeowners Insurance is a major player in the Insurtech space. The company prides itself on doing things differently. One of the main differences?
The claim payment process is advertised as instantaneous. Auto, home, pet, and life claims can be filed online or through its app. However, the system is highly depersonalized, relying heavily on policyholders' ability to use its tech-based systems.
Maya, the company's chatbot, guides buyers through the claims or homeowners insurance quoting process. However, in our trial run through the quoting process, we found Maya requests a fair amount of information the average homeowner wouldn't necessarily know but provides no guidance on where to find it. Most companies collect this information from public websites or hire insurance agents to research for you.
At the time of this review, Lemonade is available in 23 states with varying insurance options, and the company advertises it's expanding.
Types of Homeowners Insurance Plans from Lemonade
Lemonade's homeowners coverage options are similar to other leading providers. The company offers coverage for houses, cooperatives, condominiums, and renters. But coverage is unavailable in some states depending on the type of home you want to insure.
With a standard HO-3 insurance policy for a single-family residence, Lemonade covers the following.
- Dwelling: This coverage protects your home and any attached structures, like the garage, from all the listed perils in your home insurance policy. But risks aren't covered if not listed in the policy documents. Dwelling coverage is significantly lower or not required for condos.
- Other structures: Pools, guesthouses, detached garages, and sheds all fall into this coverage category. This coverage is calculated based on the replacement cost of your home. This coverage is not included in condo HO-6 policies.
- Personal property: This part of the policy covers all personal items within the home. Personal items can include everything from kitchen spatulas to bed frames, but not cars or other motorized vehicles. Insurance agents may recommend $100,000 for condos and $300,000 for single-family homes. You can discuss higher coverage limits with your agent if you have more personal belongings.
- Loss of use: If you cannot use your home to damage, loss of use coverage helps cover the cost of hotels and other living expenses. Especially if you have a mortgage, loss of use helps policyholders keep their regular mortgage and extra living costs in balance.
- Personal liability: If a person or their property is injured due to your actions or neglect while they are on your property, personal liability coverage can help. This can also include coverage for broken stairs, a trampoline or pool accident, a dog bite, etc. However, pet owners should be aware of Lemonade's exclusions for its "high-risk" breeds list.
- Medical payments: This coverage is for if a guest is injured while on your property. Medical payment coverage covers medical bills under $5,000.
Lemonade's standard homeowners insurance policies cover the basics, similar to other large insurance providers. The coverage doesn't offer any extra perks. However, homeowners may be pleasantly surprised that Lemonade homeowners coverage uses replacement cost, meaning the company will pay to replace your belongings and home based on how much it costs now.
Additional Coverage Options (Riders)
Lemonade offers a minimal selection of coverage riders. You'll also need to work with alternative providers to add flood and earthquake coverage. The only exception is for California residents.
If you need flood insurance, you can often add on a government-run National Flood Insurance Program policy through your insurance provider. But Lemonade does not offer that option. So you need to work with NFIP directly to add coverage if you're getting your home insurance through Lemonade. Lemonade home riders include:
- Scheduled property: This add-on coverage option protects high-value items like jewelry, musical instruments, bicycles, cameras, and fine art. It offers a $0 deductible and protects against loss, theft, and damage.
- Equipment breakdown coverage: If you want to protect your appliances and electronics, Lemonade offers this coverage. But it only kicks in if there is a covered event causing damage to the equipment.
- Water backup coverage: Water backup coverage protects you in case of a broken pipe or other flooding unrelated to a natural disaster. Most buyers can add it on for just a few dollars per renewal period, but it could save you thousands in a claim. Lemonade also offers a separate rider for water damage to your home's foundation.
- Buried utility: Underground lines like sewer, water, or gas lines can cause significant damage if there's a leak, puncture, or something else. According to its website, Lemonade's buried utility coverage offers extra protection for just $3.25 per month.
- Extended reconstruction cost: Material chain delays are a typical example of things that increase the cost of rebuilding your home after a total loss. This rider offers up to 50% extra to cover these additional costs.
How Much Does Lemonade Homeowners Insurance Cost?
Lemonade's website states its base home insurance starts at $25 monthly. Some homeowners may feel this is misleading once they receive a cost estimate. However, the average cost of homeowners insurance with Lemonade is comparable to other well-known insurance providers once you add riders, set the appropriate dwelling and personal property coverage, etc.
$25 monthly may apply to condo or renters policies as dwelling coverage is minimal or not required. However, it is not realistic for townhomes, mobile homes, single-family residences, and other structures.
Aside from your home's replacement costs, Lemonade considers a few other factors:
- Condition of your home: If it is in good repair with all necessary updates and maintenance, it might cost less to insure. However, if your home has an older roof, plumbing, or electrical system, Lemonade may raise other concerns.
- Insurance history: If you've maintained coverage on your home throughout ownership, it may cost less to insure.
- Previous claims: A history of multiple claims can increase your premiums and might even make it impossible to get coverage from Lemonade.
- Deductible: Your rate will usually decrease if you select a higher deductible. It's a good idea to make sure you can comfortably afford the deductible you choose, though.
How to File A Claim
With Lemonade Homeowners Insurance, the claim filing process is entirely digital. Here's the fastest way to file a claim with the company.
- File a claim in the app: Once you log in, select "file a claim." The claims process is straightforward, and the app will guide you through the steps. If you have police or other documentation, you can scan it through the app.
- Talk with a representative: When you can't access the Lemonade app in an emergency, contact the company at (844) 733-8666.
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Lemonade Homeowners Insurance
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Allstate Homeowners Insurance
Lemonade Homeowners Insurance FAQs
Lemonade homeowners coverage usually covers dog bites through personal liability coverage. But there are some exceptions, namely, if your dog has a history of biting or the dog's breed is on the company's "high-risk" list. Common excluded breeds include pit bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and Great Danes. You can find a complete list on Lemonade's website.
Lemonade takes a flat fee from annual insurance premiums and donates the remaining amount to customer-selected charities from a preapproved list. In some years, donations may not be made due to more claims.
Customers appreciate Lemonade's quick and efficient claims process. Plus, customers report the app interface is easy to use. But according to some users, Lemonade's chatbot, Maya, isn't always helpful, which can be frustrating for less tech-savvy policyholders.
Methodology: What Went into Our Lemonade Homeowners Insurance Review
While creating this review, we considered the following factors: customer reviews, coverage options, availability throughout the country, additional riders, pricing, discounts, and ease of use.
We compared Lemonade home insurance to other long-standing insurance providers like Allstate, Progressive, Farmers Homeowners Insurance, GEICO Homeowners Insurance, and State Farm Homeowners Insurance. We also considered new online providers like Hippo to create an unbiased review of Lemonade's home insurance.
You can also learn more about Insider's insurance rating methodology.
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Hippo Homeowners Insurance
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Allstate Homeowners Insurance
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Progressive Homeowners Insurance
Compare Lemonade vs. Hippo
Founded the same year as Lemonade, Hippo Homeowners Insurance is another tech-heavy option for homeowners. However, even though both companies provide an entirely digital experience for customers, that's where the similarities end.
In addition to home insurance, Lemonade offers car, pet, and life insurance. Hippo, on the other hand, only provides home insurance. Hippo also emphasizes preventing claims and provides customers with free smart technology devices to monitor their homes. The company also offers Hippo Home Care, a program with personalized support and checklists for proactive home care.
Policy premiums are similar, and both companies may present challenges for older generations or individuals who struggle with mobile apps, online tools, etc. However, an important thing to keep in mind is Lemonade and Hippo are not designed to offer comprehensive riders and coverage options you might find with big names like State Farm, Allstate, and Amica.
Compare Lemonade vs. Allstate
Allstate Homeowners Insurance is one of the largest insurance providers in the nation. It offers all major personal insurance products, including home, auto, life, etc. Licensed Allstate insurance agents handle all quotes and claims. So if you're looking for one-on-one or in-person support with your policy, you might enjoy that aspect of the company. In addition, Allstate agents do the back work, which may streamline the process.
As mentioned, Lemonade's quoting process asks for information a homeowner may not have an easy answer to without more research. Allstate agents research for you and look for discounts before returning a quote. This is true whether you only want homeowners or prefer to bundle different insurance policies with the same carrier.
Allstate offers more comprehensive coverage and riders to customize your coverage. When comparing similar policies, the two companies offer similar premiums.
Compare Lemonade vs. Progressive
Depending on your state, Progressive Homeowners Insurance may operate under slightly different names for homeowners insurance. But ultimately, you'd work with the same teams, website, etc. Buyers can also bundle home insurance with auto, motorcycle, and other policies. Progressive operates primarily online, but it also works with licensed insurance agents to quote and bind insurance policies. So it has more options for a diverse range of customers.
It should be noted Progressive has also taken the stance that it has no banned breeds. Instead, each dog is judged on personal history and merits.
Lemonade wins in automation. Its app makes it much easier for tech users to file claims, manage its policies, etc. However, Progressive's website is not far behind. Progressive offers more comprehensive riders, discounts, and coverage between the two. More importantly for some buyers, it is also licensed in all 50 states and Washington, DC.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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