On this page
Homeowners insurance in Tennessee costs $2,856 a year on average in 2026 for a $300,000 dwelling policy, according to InsuranceQuotes data built from insurers’ filed rates as of September 30, 2026. That works out to about $238 a month. Other datasets put the same state average as high as $4,220 a year, because they price a larger house or a different mix of insurers. This guide lays out what each dataset actually measures, what Tennessee homeowners pay by city, and where the cheapest rates hide.
The gap between the datasets is large enough to confuse anyone shopping for a policy, so it helps to know why it exists. InsuranceQuotes prices one sample house, a 2,000 square foot wood frame home built in 1997 with $300,000 of dwelling coverage and a $1,000 deductible, and quotes it in all 301 Tennessee ZIP codes in its data. NerdWallet prices a $400,000 dwelling for a 40 year old homeowner with good credit. LendingTree prices a $400,000 dwelling too, but its quotes come from Quadrant data collected in February 2026. A bigger house costs more to insure, and a February quote can differ from a September filed rate. The numbers disagree because the houses and the dates disagree.
How much is homeowners insurance in Tennessee in 2026?
For a $300,000 dwelling with a $1,000 deductible, Tennessee homeowners pay about $2,856 a year on average in 2026, or roughly $238 a month, per InsuranceQuotes and Quadrant Information Services. For a $400,000 dwelling, LendingTree puts the average at $3,757 a year, or about $313 a month, and NerdWallet puts it at $4,220 a year, or about $352 a month. The same house, priced by four insurers in 301 ZIP codes, ran from $182 to $336 a month depending on the carrier.
| Source and method | Tennessee average | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| InsuranceQuotes / Quadrant, rates as of Sept. 30, 2026 | $2,856 a year ($238 a month) | Quoted $300,000 dwelling, $1,000 deductible, same sample house in 301 ZIP codes, 4 insurers |
| LendingTree / Quadrant, quotes from Feb. 2026 | $3,757 a year ($313 a month) | $400,000 dwelling, statewide average across Tennessee ZIP codes |
| NerdWallet, updated May 6, 2026 | $4,220 a year ($352 a month) | $400,000 dwelling, $300,000 liability, $1,000 deductible, 40 year old with good credit |
| NAIC, 2022 data | $1,492 a year ($124 a month) | Average HO-3 premium actually paid, all homes and policy ages, not a fresh quote |
The NAIC figure deserves an explanation, because it looks like a bargain next to the others and it is not one. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners reports what policyholders actually pay on average, total premium in force divided by policies in force. That includes smaller homes, older policies bought before recent rate hikes, and discounts built up over years. A fresh quote for a $300,000 house in 2026 is a different number from the average of every policy already in force. Both figures are correct for what they measure, and the gap between them is a measure of how fast Tennessee rates have risen. LendingTree reports Tennessee home insurance rates rose about 43 percent from 2019 to 2025.
What does the same house cost in Memphis and Knoxville?
Memphis is the most expensive large city in Tennessee for homeowners insurance, at $284 a month on average for the sample house, per InsuranceQuotes. Knoxville is the cheapest large city in the data, at $190 a month. The gap is $94 a month, or $1,128 a year, for identical coverage on an identical house. Nashville sits in the middle at $223 a month, and Chattanooga at $218.
| City | Average per month | Average per year | Compared with state average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsport (3 ZIP codes, small sample) | $173 | $2,081 | 27.2 percent below |
| Johnson City (3 ZIP codes, small sample) | $181 | $2,168 | 24.1 percent below |
| Knoxville (16 ZIP codes) | $190 | $2,283 | 20.1 percent below |
| Chattanooga (11 ZIP codes) | $218 | $2,612 | 8.5 percent below |
| Nashville (17 ZIP codes) | $223 | $2,679 | 6.2 percent below |
| Murfreesboro (4 ZIP codes, small sample) | $259 | $3,113 | 9.0 percent above |
| Memphis (25 ZIP codes) | $284 | $3,413 | 19.5 percent above |
ZIP code averages for the same house ran from $173 a month in Kingsport’s 37664 to $308 a month in Dyersburg’s 38024. The five highest priced ZIP codes in the data are Dyersburg at $308, Waynesboro at $306, and three Memphis ZIP codes at $302 to $305 a month. The five lowest are all in the Tri-Cities area around Kingsport, Bristol, and Bluff City, at $173 to $175 a month. East Tennessee’s mountain shelter and lower storm exposure keep its rates down, while West Tennessee’s flat terrain and tornado exposure push its rates up. LendingTree’s city analysis points the same way: the three most expensive policy rates in the state sit in Yorkville, La Grange, and Laconia, small communities that see more tornadoes than most of the state.
Which Tennessee insurer is cheapest?
Allstate has the lowest average of the insurers anyone can buy from, at $200 a month ($2,397 a year) for the sample house, per InsuranceQuotes. State Farm averages $235 a month ($2,814 a year) and Erie averages $336 a month ($4,026 a year). USAA averages $182 a month ($2,188 a year), the lowest in the data, but it sells only to military members, veterans, and their families. LendingTree, pricing a $400,000 dwelling, also names State Farm as the best overall carrier in Tennessee for its coverage options and low rates, and notes Allstate as a strong cheap option.
| Company | Average per month | Average per year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| USAA | $182 | $2,188 | Military families only |
| Allstate | $200 | $2,397 | Cheapest open market insurer in this data |
| State Farm | $235 | $2,814 | Best overall per LendingTree |
| Erie | $336 | $4,026 | Highest in this data, up 3.7 percent since Nov. 2025 |
The spread between Allstate and Erie is $154 a month, or $1,848 a year, for the same house and the same coverage. That is larger than the gap between the cheapest and priciest large cities. Carrier choice matters more than city choice in Tennessee, which is why the cheapest insurer list is the first place to look rather than the last. Rates moved little over the last year: the Tennessee average rose 2.0 percent from November 2025 to September 2026, with Erie up 3.7 percent, USAA up 3.6 percent, and Allstate and State Farm unchanged.
Why is Tennessee homeowners insurance expensive?
Tennessee sits in the middle of the country for homeowners rates, but its trend is what worries homeowners. LendingTree reports rates rose about 43 percent from 2019 to 2025, driven by more frequent severe weather. Tennessee averages roughly 30 tornadoes a year, and the state sits on the eastern edge of Tornado Alley, with the highest risk concentrated in West and Middle Tennessee. Hail, straight line wind, and flash flooding add to the loss picture, and insurers have repriced for it.
Rebuilding costs are the second driver. Construction labor and materials rose sharply after 2020, and Tennessee’s housing stock is older than the national average in many counties. An older home costs more to insure because its roof, wiring, and plumbing are closer to the end of their life, and a claim on an older home is more likely to uncover code upgrades the policy must pay for. The sample house in these datasets was built in 1997, so a home built in the 1960s or 1970s will price higher than the averages here.
Compared with its neighbors, Tennessee is not the most expensive state in the region. InsuranceQuotes priced the same $300,000 house in every neighboring state: Georgia at $211 a month, Alabama at $276, North Carolina at $293, Kentucky at $294, Virginia at $317, Arkansas at $320, Mississippi at $332, and Missouri at $432. Tennessee at $238 sits second cheapest among its eight neighbors, ahead of only Georgia. Homeowners in Kentucky and Indiana pay more and less respectively for the same house, which shows how much state lines matter even when the weather does not change much across them.
What does a Tennessee policy cover, and what is excluded?
A standard HO-3 policy covers the house itself, other structures like a detached garage, personal property, loss of use while repairs keep you out, personal liability, and medical payments for a guest hurt at your home. On the $300,000 sample house, that means $300,000 of dwelling coverage, $30,000 for other structures, $150,000 for personal property, $30,000 for loss of use, $300,000 of liability, and $5,000 of medical payments. Flood and earthquake damage need separate coverage. Tennessee sits near the New Madrid Seismic Zone, so earthquake cover is worth pricing for homeowners in the Memphis area even though the standard policy excludes it.
The deductible is where many Tennessee homeowners get surprised. The sample policy uses a $1,000 flat deductible, but many Tennessee policies carry a percentage wind and hail deductible of 1 or 2 percent of the dwelling limit instead. On a $300,000 home, a 2 percent deductible is $6,000 out of pocket before wind coverage pays. A roof repair that costs $15,000 would pay $14,000 under the flat $1,000 deductible and only $9,000 under the 2 percent deductible. Our guide to home insurance deductibles explains how to tell which type your policy uses and when the percentage version is worth it.
A worked example: the $15,000 roof repair and two deductibles
Take a Nashville homeowner with a $300,000 house and a roof damaged by hail, with repairs quoted at $15,000. With a $1,000 flat deductible, the insurer pays $14,000 and the homeowner pays $1,000. With a 2 percent wind and hail deductible, the homeowner pays the first $6,000 and the insurer pays $9,000. The difference is $5,000 out of pocket on a single claim.
The percentage deductible usually comes with a lower premium, often 10 to 20 percent less than the flat deductible version. On the $2,856 Tennessee average, that saves roughly $285 to $570 a year. At the low end of that range, it takes about 17 claim free years to save the $5,000 the deductible would cost on one hail claim. At the high end, about 9 years. Tennessee homeowners who have filed a hail claim in the last decade should run that math before accepting a percentage deductible, because the saving looks smaller once the claim actually happens.
How to cut your Tennessee premium
Compare at least three carriers, and include Allstate and State Farm in the mix. The $154 a month gap between the cheapest and priciest insurer in the data is the single largest saving available to most Tennessee homeowners. A quote from Erie at $336 a month against Allstate at $200 is a $1,848 a year difference for the same house, and no discount closes a gap that wide.
Raise the flat deductible from $1,000 to $2,500 if you can cover the extra $1,500 after a claim. The saving is typically 10 to 15 percent, or about $285 to $430 a year on the Tennessee average. Do not accept a percentage wind and hail deductible without running the worked example above against your own roof and savings.
Bundle home and auto with the same carrier, ask about a new roof discount, and check whether a monitored alarm or a claims free history earns a reduction. Roof age is the discount Tennessee homeowners most often miss. A roof replaced in the last five years can earn a meaningful discount, while a roof over 15 years old can carry a surcharge or a replacement cost limitation. If your rate jumped at renewal, our guide on why home insurance went up in 2026 explains the most common causes.
Check the flood gap before you sign. A standard policy does not cover flood, and Tennessee’s flash flooding reaches well beyond the mapped floodplains. A separate flood policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood insurer is the only cover for rising water. Our flood insurance rates by ZIP code guide shows what that cover costs. Drivers who also need to insure a car in the state can see what the market looks like in our guide to the cheapest car insurance in Tennessee.
Frequently asked questions
How much is homeowners insurance in Tennessee in 2026?
About $2,856 a year, or $238 a month, for a $300,000 dwelling policy with a $1,000 deductible, per InsuranceQuotes and Quadrant Information Services. For a $400,000 dwelling, LendingTree puts the average at $3,757 a year and NerdWallet at $4,220 a year. Your own premium depends on your ZIP code, roof, credit, and claims history.
Who has the cheapest homeowners insurance in Tennessee?
Allstate, at $200 a month ($2,397 a year) for the sample house, per InsuranceQuotes. USAA is lower at $182 a month but sells only to the military community. State Farm averages $235 a month and Erie $336 a month for the same house.
What is the cheapest city for homeowners insurance in Tennessee?
Knoxville, at $190 a month on average for the sample house, per InsuranceQuotes. Kingsport is lower still at $173 a month but on a small sample of three ZIP codes. Memphis is the most expensive large city at $284 a month.
Why did Tennessee homeowners insurance go up so much?
LendingTree reports Tennessee rates rose about 43 percent from 2019 to 2025, driven by more frequent tornadoes, hail, and severe thunderstorms, plus higher rebuilding costs. The statewide average rose only 2.0 percent from November 2025 to September 2026, so the recent pace has slowed.
Does homeowners insurance in Tennessee cover tornado damage?
Yes. A standard HO-3 policy covers wind damage from tornadoes, including roof and structural damage. Flood damage from the same storm is not covered and needs a separate flood policy. A percentage wind and hail deductible may apply to the tornado claim, so check whether your policy uses one.
Does homeowners insurance in Tennessee cover flooding?
No. A standard homeowners policy excludes flood. Tennessee flash flooding reaches beyond mapped floodplains, so homes that have never flooded can still need cover. A separate flood policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood insurer is the only option, and NFIP policies generally carry a 30 day waiting period.
InsuranceQuotes publishes the Tennessee state figures used above in its Tennessee home insurance rates page, with rates as of September 30, 2026, built from insurers’ filed rates and compiled by Quadrant Information Services. LendingTree publishes its Tennessee average and carrier table in its Tennessee homeowners insurance cost guide, based on Quadrant quotes from February 2026. NerdWallet publishes its $400,000 dwelling state table in its average homeowners insurance cost guide, updated May 6, 2026.
