Openly Home Insurance Review 2024

Openly’s policies include guaranteed replacement coverage for your home — a rare perk.
Sarah Schlichter
By Sarah Schlichter 
Updated
Edited by Caitlin Constantine

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insurance-product-card-logo

Openly

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Premium coverage for high-end homes.

Coverage options

About average

Discounts

Average set of discounts

NAIC complaints

Far fewer than expected
insurance-product-card-logo

Openly

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Premium coverage for high-end homes.

Coverage options

About average

Discounts

Average set of discounts

NAIC complaints

Far fewer than expected

About Openly home insurance

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

Openly homeowners insurance earned 4.5 out of 5 stars for overall performance. Openly sells premium coverage primarily to owners of high-value homes. Its policies include features that typically cost extra from other insurers, if they’re available at all. The company sells insurance exclusively through independent agents.

Our star ratings are based on consumer complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; financial strength grades from AM Best; coverage and discounts available; and the overall consumer experience. See our criteria for evaluating home insurance companies.

Our writers and editors follow strict editorial guidelines that ensure fairness and accuracy in order to help you choose the financial products that work best for you.

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Where Openly stands out

Generous coverage. Not all insurance companies offer guaranteed replacement cost coverage for your dwelling, and having it included in a standard policy is even more rare.

No dog breed restrictions. While some companies refuse to insure certain breeds such as pit bulls or Dobermans, Openly will provide liability coverage for any dog as long as it doesn’t have a history of aggression. Learn more about homeowners insurance and dog bites.

Where Openly falls short

Online presence. With no mobile app and no online quote feature, Openly doesn’t offer as extensive a digital experience as many larger insurers.

State availability

Openly insurance is currently available in 21 states.

Availability may change at any time. Coverage may not be available to all homeowners in a given state.

Openly home insurance coverage

You can customize your homeowners policy with numerous add-ons, but below are the types of coverage that generally come standard:

Type of coverage

What it does

Pays to repair or rebuild the structure of your home.

Covers damage to unattached structures such as sheds or fences.

Pays to repair or replace personal belongings such as furniture or clothing.

Pays for hotel stays, restaurant meals or other expenses if you have to live elsewhere while your home undergoes covered repairs.

Covers legal expenses and damages if you're responsible for injuries to other people or their property.

Covers injuries to guests in your home, regardless of fault.

Openly’s default homeowners policy goes significantly beyond these basic coverage types. Most notably, it offers guaranteed replacement cost coverage for the structure of your home. That means if your house is destroyed by a covered disaster, Openly will pay whatever it takes to rebuild it the way it was before, up to $5 million.

Openly also offers generous coverage for your personal belongings. Most homeowners policies cover your stuff on a “named perils” basis, meaning that they’ll pay for damage only from causes specifically named in your policy. Openly covers your belongings on an “open perils” basis instead, paying for damage from anything except perils your policy excludes.

If your things are stolen or destroyed, Openly will pay enough for you to buy brand-new replacements, rather than paying less for older items that have lost value over time.

Openly policies also include the following:

  • Ordinance or law coverage, which pays to bring your home up to current building codes during covered repairs.

  • Water seepage coverage, which pays for rot or other damage due to hidden water leaks.

  • Coverage for refrigerated property, such as food that goes bad when lightning knocks out your electricity.

  • Landscaping coverage to replace or repair damaged trees or other plants.

  • Fungi/mold coverage for property damage or liability claims due to mold, rot or bacteria.

Depending on where you live, you may be able to add the following optional types of coverage:

  • Water backup, which pays for damage due to sump pump failure or backed-up sewers or drains.

  • Home-sharing coverage for people who occasionally rent out all or part of their house.

  • Buried service lines, which pays to fix damage to underground utility lines you’re responsible for.

  • Equipment breakdown, which covers appliances if they have a mechanical or electrical failure.

  • Blanket or scheduled property for valuable items.

  • Personal cyber, which can help you recover from hacks and other online threats.

  • Earthquake, sinkhole or mine subsidence for homeowners who live in areas where these are a risk.

  • Home under construction for theft of building supplies from a new house that isn’t ready to live in yet.

Discounts

The company offers a bundling discount if you buy your Openly policy and an auto insurance policy from the same agent.

You may also be able to save by strengthening your home against windstorm damage, getting an advance quote before your policy takes effect or by choosing to have documents delivered electronically.

Discounts vary by state.

Consumer complaints

Openly received far fewer than the expected number of home insurance complaints to state regulators relative to its size, according to three years’ worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. (NAIC home insurance complaints also cover other home policy types, including mobile home, renters and condo insurance.)

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Consumer experience

Website: The Openly website has a sleek, elegant design, but it’s short on coverage details and lacks an online quote function. Instead, you can submit your details in an online form and the company will match you with a local agent.

App: Openly doesn’t offer a mobile app.

Claims: You can file an Openly claim online, by calling your agent or by calling the company at 888-808-4842. Learn more about how to file a home insurance claim.

Customer service: You can contact Openly by submitting a request form on its website, calling 888-808-4842 or using the website’s live chat function.

The bottom line

Openly may be a good fit for you if coverage is important to you and you like speaking with an agent to make sure you have what you need. Openly tends to insure higher-value homes. 

Openly may not be right for you if you’d prefer to manage your policy online, starting with an initial quote.

Other insurance companies to consider

Not ready to make a decision? You may be interested in these other homeowners insurance companies:

Current Product

Openly Home Insurance
Amica Home Insurance
Chubb Home Insurance
NerdWallet rating 

4.5

/5
NerdWallet rating 

5.0

/5
NerdWallet rating 

5.0

/5

Complaints to NAIC 

Far fewer than expected

Complaints to NAIC 

Far fewer than expected

Complaints to NAIC 

Far fewer than expected

Coverage 

About average

Coverage 

About average

Coverage 

More than average

Discounts 

Average set of discounts

Discounts 

Average set of discounts

Discounts 

Great set of discounts

Bottom line 

Premium coverage for high-end homes with no dog breed restrictions.

Bottom line 

Well-established insurer known for great customer service.

Bottom line 

Perks and high coverage limits for affluent homeowners.

Frequently asked questions

Openly sells only homeowners insurance. Its policies are available for primary homes, vacation or secondary homes, and houses used as rental properties.

Openly was founded in 2017. Its underwriter, Rock Ridge Insurance, was founded in 2001.

Openly has received funding from a number of venture capital firms. Its policies are underwritten by Rock Ridge Insurance Company, part of the Clear Blue Insurance Group. However, the company expects to start issuing some of its own policies in the future.

Methodology

Homeowners insurance star ratings methodology

NerdWallet’s homeowners insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, consumer complaints, coverage, discounts and online experience. These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our full ratings methodology for home insurance.

Insurer complaints methodology

NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2020-2022. To assess how insurers compare to one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.

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