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What J.D. Power's home insurance studies measure
J.D. Power runs two home insurance studies, one on overall satisfaction and one on claims. What each surveys, the 2025-2026 results and what the scores miss.
J.D. Power publishes two separate studies about home insurance. The U.S. Home Insurance Study, released each September, scores how satisfied homeowners and renters are with their insurer overall. The U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study, released each March, scores homeowners who recently filed a claim. Both report points on a 1,000-point scale, and both measure what customers say about their experience: neither tells you whether a company is financially sound, cheap or likely to renew you.
The rest of this guide covers what each study asks, what the latest results show, and how to use a ranking without over-reading it.
The two studies side by side
| U.S. Home Insurance Study | U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Homeowners and renters who are policyholders | Homeowners who filed a property claim in the previous nine months |
| Latest release | September 15, 2026 | March 17, 2026 |
| Sample | 17,191 homeowners and renters, surveyed online July 2025 to July 2026 | 5,093 claimants, surveyed December 2024 to December 2025 |
| What is scored | Seven dimensions: product and coverage offerings, problem resolution, digital channels, people, price for coverage, trust, ease of doing business | Eight dimensions in the 2025 edition, led by fairness of the settlement, then trust and time to settle |
| Top three named | Homeowners: Amica 680, Erie Insurance 678, Chubb 676. Renters: State Farm 702, Erie 692, Amica 689 | Amica 773, The Hartford 756, Chubb 744; study average 702 |
Sources: J.D. Power releases as reported by InsuranceNewsNet (September 2026) and Insurance Journal (March 2026).
Keep the two apart. A 773 in the claims study and a 680 in the home study are not comparable numbers, and the Chubb 773 in the 2025 claims study is a different result from the Amica 773 in 2026.
What the Home Insurance Study asks
This is the study most people mean by "J.D. Power ranked this insurer first." It surveys customers about their whole relationship with the company, from the quote through billing and service, which is why price and ease of doing business sit beside trust and coverage. Homeowners and renters are scored as separate segments, so a company can lead one and not the other: State Farm led renters in 2026 but was not among the top three for homeowners. State Farm and the other companies show up by brand, which is also why 2025 coverage listed Safeco and Liberty Mutual separately even though both belong to one NAIC group.
The 2026 release carried findings that matter to a shopper more than the league table:
- Customers with high trust in their insurer were 3.0 times more likely to say they intended to stay and 2.6 times less likely to be shopping.
- Only 55% of homeowners said they completely understand their coverage. The figure rose to 60% when the insurer contacted them proactively and fell to 48% with no contact in the past 12 months.
- In the 2025 study, 47% of homeowners insurance customers had an insurer-initiated premium increase in the previous year, the highest rate in more than a decade, according to Carrier Management.
What the claims study asks
The claims study talks only to people who have been through a claim, so it is the closer proxy for what happens after a loss. The 2025 edition listed eight dimensions in order of importance, beginning with fairness of the settlement, then trust, time to settle, people, digital channels, communication on the claimant's terms, ease of starting the claim and ease of resolving it.
The 2026 study found an average of 702, up 20 points from 682. Average repair cycle time was 29.6 days and average time from first notice to final payment was 40.7 days, both shorter than a year earlier. Almost one in five claimants still called the experience "not great." Reporting a loss digitally is now common: 38% made their first notice of loss that way and 49% submitted photos. The 2025 study tied speed to satisfaction directly, scoring claims completed within 10 days at 762 against 595 for repairs taking more than 31 days.
Claims speed is only part of the picture, because it depends on who handles the loss. Read how to file a homeowners insurance claim and working with an insurance adjuster before you need them, since the best claims experience is partly the result of how well the policyholder documents the loss.
How to read a score
Treat the top of the list as a cluster. Amica, Erie and Chubb were separated by four points on a 1,000-point scale in the 2026 homeowners ranking. That is not a margin that tells you one company will treat you better than another.
Check the year and the study. J.D. Power redesigned the claims study for 2025 and says its scores are not comparable with 2024 or earlier. Do not line up a 2023 score against a 2026 score.
Expect incomplete lists. The press releases name only the top three in each segment. The full ranking, with every ranked company's score, appears as charts on J.D. Power's site, which is why a company that is not in the top three may have no published number you can find. Companies also appear and disappear: AIG, which sells high-value coverage as Private Client Select, was not ranked in the 2025 study.
Remember who is surveyed. Every score comes from customers who chose to answer, and the claims study hears only from people who filed. A company with a small number of claims can have a very different experience in a hurricane year from the one the survey caught.
What the studies do not measure
| You want to know | Look at instead |
|---|---|
| Will the company be able to pay a large catastrophe loss? | A financial strength rating such as AM Best or Demotech; see Financial strength ratings: AM Best, S&P, Moody's and Demotech |
| How many complaints reach regulators? | The NAIC complaint index; see How to use the NAIC complaint index to compare home insurers |
| How much will I pay? | Real quotes for the same limits and deductibles; see how to compare homeowners insurance quotes |
| Does the policy cover what I need? | The forms and endorsements: roof payment schedules, water exclusions, ACV roof endorsement terms |
| Does the company write in my state? | the largest home insurers in every state, 2025 and the home insurance rules by state |
Price is the clearest gap. The Home Insurance Study asks customers how they feel about price for coverage, but it does not compare premiums, and a customer who loves a company at renewal may be paying far more than a neighbor with an equivalent policy.
J.D. Power is also a commercial research firm, and its awards program lets top-ranked brands license a ranking for advertising. That does not make the survey results worthless, but it is a reason to treat an advertised "ranked highest" claim as marketing and to find the study, the segment, the year and the score behind it.
Using the studies in a decision
- Pick the right study. Shopping for a new policy: the Home Insurance Study. Worried about a claim: the claims study.
- Note the company, not just the brand. Check the legal insurer on your quote and whether J.D. Power's brand is the same company.
- Check availability. A top-ranked company does not help if it does not write your address. Compare options with the compare home insurers side by side tool.
- Add the evidence J.D. Power lacks. Pair the score with a financial strength rating, the NAIC complaint index and, in California, the state's justified-complaint study.
- Ask the agent about claims. Companies with the same score can handle roof claims, water losses or matching very differently. See choosing a home insurance company: what actually matters.
Key takeaways
- J.D. Power publishes two studies: an overall satisfaction study each September and a claims satisfaction study each March. Do not mix their scores.
- In 2026, Amica, Erie and Chubb led homeowners satisfaction (680, 678, 676), and Amica, The Hartford and Chubb led claims satisfaction (773, 756, 744).
- Four points separate the top three homeowners scores on a 1,000-point scale, so read the top as a cluster rather than a strict order.
- The studies measure customer experience, not price, financial strength or complaints to regulators.
- Use the scores alongside a financial strength rating, complaint data and real quotes for your own address.