The number that matters is the cost to rebuild — not the price you paid.
Most homeowners policies quietly cap what they'll pay to rebuild, and after a total loss that gap lands on you. Auto-Owners is one of a handful of carriers that still offers true guaranteed replacement cost — the full cost to rebuild, with no cap. Here's what a home policy covers, the coverage worth insisting on, what it won't touch, and how the home and the cars work better under one roof. From an independent agency that places Auto-Owners every day.
The short answer
An Auto-Owners home policy covers the standard six — dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, liability, and medical payments — but the reason to look hard at it is true guaranteed replacement cost: after a total loss it pays the full cost to rebuild with no cap, even above your dwelling limit, with a buy-out option if you'd rather take the value than rebuild. Add the shared home-and-auto deductible, the flexibility to put your boat on the home policy or its own, an A+ (Superior) carrier, and 40+ carriers to compare against — placed only through an independent agent like Cribb.
The six coverages on a home policy.
Every homeowners policy is built from the same six parts. What separates a good policy from a thin one is how each is valued — and that's where we spend our time.
Dwelling
The house itself — structure, roof, built-ins. This is the number that has to reflect the cost to rebuild, not the market price, and it's where guaranteed replacement cost earns its keep.
Other structures
Detached garages, sheds, fences, and shops. Usually set as a percentage of the dwelling limit — worth checking if you've got a big shop or outbuilding that's worth more than the default.
Personal property
Your belongings — furniture, clothes, electronics. Ask for replacement-cost rather than actual-cash-value settlement, and schedule the high-value items (jewelry, guns, tools) that carry sublimits.
Loss of use
Pays for a place to live and added expenses while your home is rebuilt after a covered loss. Easy to overlook until a fire or storm makes your house unlivable for months.
Personal liability
Covers you if someone is injured on your property or you're liable for damage — legal defense included. This is the limit an umbrella sits on top of, and it's usually set too low by default.
Medical payments to others
Pays smaller medical bills for a guest hurt on your property, regardless of fault — a way to handle minor injuries without them turning into a liability claim.
Guaranteed replacement cost — no cap.
Most "replacement cost" policies quietly stop at your dwelling limit, or add a 25–50% cushion and stop there. When rebuild prices spike after a widespread storm, that ceiling becomes your out-of-pocket.
The gold standard — and only a handful of carriers still offer it.
With true guaranteed replacement cost, Auto-Owners pays the full cost to rebuild your home to like kind and quality after a covered total loss, even if that exceeds your dwelling limit — with no percentage cap. If materials and labor have jumped since your policy was written, the carrier absorbs the difference. Many insurers cap the extra at 25% or 50% (that's extended replacement cost), and some offer nothing beyond the stated limit at all. Auto-Owners is one of the few that still writes the real thing.
It also includes a buy-out provision: if you decide not to rebuild after a total loss — you'd rather relocate, or take the money — you can take the policy's coverage value as a settlement instead. That's a genuinely different outcome than being told you must rebuild on the same lot to collect. Guaranteed replacement cost is an endorsement with eligibility rules — generally you insure the home to its full replacement value and keep that figure current — and it has to be in place before a loss. Setting it up correctly, and keeping the rebuild number honest, is exactly the part we handle.
Why "insured for what I paid" is the trap.
Homes are often insured to their market value or the mortgage balance — but a total loss is priced at rebuild cost, which today can run well above either. Guaranteed replacement cost is the safety net for exactly that gap, but it only works if the dwelling figure was set honestly to begin with. We build the rebuild estimate with you, then let the guarantee cover the surprises.
The endorsements that close real gaps.
A base policy leaves a few predictable holes. These are the add-ons we most often put on an Auto-Owners home policy in Northwest Arkansas.
Water & sewer backup
A standard policy excludes water backing up through drains or a failed sump pump — a common basement and slab loss. This endorsement adds it back, and it's inexpensive.
Service line coverage
The water, sewer, and power lines from the street to your house are the homeowner's responsibility to repair. Service line coverage pays to dig up and replace a failed one.
Equipment breakdown
Covers the sudden mechanical or electrical failure of home systems and major appliances — the HVAC, water heater, or panel — that a standard policy treats as wear, not a covered loss.
Identity theft coverage
Helps with the cost and legwork of recovering from identity theft — the expenses, the paperwork, and the legal help — for a small add to the policy.
Watercraft — here or its own
With Auto-Owners you choose: a boat and trailer can ride on the home policy, or go on their own watercraft policy. Smaller boats often sit neatly on the home policy; larger or higher-value ones usually do better standalone.
Shared home-and-auto deductible
When home and auto are both with Auto-Owners and one event damages both, your auto deductible is reduced by the property deductible — or waived if it's the smaller of the two.
Not required by law — but don't stop there.
Arkansas doesn't require homeowners insurance, but your lender will — and Northwest Arkansas storms mean the roof, the deductible structure, and the settlement terms deserve a closer look than the price alone.
Where a home claim quietly gets smaller.
Two Northwest Arkansas details decide a storm claim. First, the roof: many policies now settle roof losses on an actual-cash-value basis as the roof ages, so an older roof pays out depreciated — a nasty surprise after a hail event. Second, the deductible: wind and hail can carry a percentage-of-dwelling deductible rather than a flat dollar figure, which on a larger home is a much bigger number than people expect. We read both before you buy.
And flood is never covered by a homeowners policy — it needs a separate flood policy through the NFIP or the private market. If any part of your property sits near water or in a flood zone, that's a conversation to have up front, not after the water's in the house. This is general information, not legal advice.
What a home policy won't cover.
Even a strong policy has hard lines. Knowing them beats discovering them mid-claim.
Flood & rising water
Water that rises from outside — a creek, flash flood, or storm surge — is never covered by homeowners. It needs a separate flood policy, and there's usually a waiting period, so don't wait for the forecast.
Earth movement
Earthquake, sinkhole, and landslide are excluded from a standard policy. Given the New Madrid zone's reach into the region, earthquake coverage is worth a look for many Arkansas homes.
Wear, maintenance & neglect
Insurance pays for sudden accidental damage, not a slow leak, an aging roof, rot, mold from long-term moisture, or deferred maintenance. Upkeep is the homeowner's job; the policy handles the sudden and the accidental.
The home is the anchor of the whole account.
Home, auto, and the umbrella have to agree.
The home policy sets the liability floor your umbrella sits on, its deductible ties to the shared home-and-auto feature, and the boat, the toys, and the cars all connect back to it. When one agency holds the household, those limits and deductibles are set to line up — and you collect the multi-policy credits instead of leaving them on the table by splitting the home off on its own.
Three things to get right on your home policy.
First, insure to full rebuild cost and add guaranteed replacement cost — the one coverage that saves you after a widespread storm sends prices up. Second, add water backup and check the roof settlement terms, the two places a claim quietly shrinks. Third, keep home and auto together for the shared deductible and the credits — then review the rebuild number yearly, because construction costs don't stand still.
Backed by an A+ (Superior) carrier.
AM Best rates the members of Auto-Owners Insurance Group — the companies behind your Arkansas home policy — with a Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "aa" (Superior), stable outlook, per its rating action dated October 31, 2024. A+ (Superior) is the second-highest of AM Best's rating levels and sits in its top "Superior" category. A financial strength rating is an opinion about an insurer's ability to pay claims — its solvency — not a grade of how a specific claim is handled, and not a recommendation. The current rating is at ambest.com.
Where we earn it on your home policy.
The quiet home mistakes are a dwelling limit set to market value instead of rebuild cost, no guaranteed replacement cost, a roof that settles at actual cash value, and no water backup. We build an honest rebuild figure, add the guarantee and the buy-out, check the roof and deductible terms, and line the home up with the auto and umbrella. We don't adjust your claim and can't overrule an adjuster — but we make sure the policy was built to pay, and we'll move you to another of our 40-plus markets if Auto-Owners isn't the best fit for your home.
Driven by the home, not a sticker price.
A typical annual range for bundled homeowners policies placed through Cribb Insurance Group across our markets, reflecting a five-year-old $400,000 Northwest Arkansas home — a planning figure, not a quote, not carrier-specific, and not a guarantee. Your premium turns on the rebuild value, roof age and material, construction type, protection class, the deductibles and endorsements you choose (guaranteed replacement cost among them), claims history, and — where Arkansas allows it — a credit-based insurance score. Some homes fall below this band and some fall well above it. Send your current declarations page and we'll build the real figure with you, Auto-Owners against 40-plus carriers.
The home rarely travels alone.
Auto-Owners home insurance questions.
Is homeowners insurance required in Arkansas?
Not by the state — Arkansas has no law requiring you to carry homeowners insurance. But if you have a mortgage, your lender will require it, usually at a level that protects the loan rather than necessarily your full rebuild cost, and they can buy expensive force-placed coverage on your behalf if you let it lapse.
Even with no mortgage, a home is most families' largest asset, and going without coverage means absorbing a total loss yourself. The real question isn't whether you're required to have it — it's whether the policy you have would actually rebuild your house at today's construction prices. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is it true Auto-Owners offers guaranteed replacement cost with no cap?
Yes, and it's one of the strongest reasons to look at Auto-Owners for your home. Guaranteed replacement cost means that after a covered total loss, the policy pays the full cost to rebuild your home to like kind and quality even if that exceeds your dwelling limit — with no percentage cap. Only a handful of carriers still offer true guaranteed replacement cost; many cap the extra at 25 percent or 50 percent, and some offer none at all.
Auto-Owners also includes a buy-out provision, so if you decide not to rebuild, you can take the policy's coverage value as a settlement instead. It's an endorsement with eligibility rules — generally you have to insure the home to its full replacement value and keep that updated — which is exactly the kind of thing we set up correctly at quote.
Can I insure my boat on my home policy with Auto-Owners?
Yes — and with Auto-Owners it's your call. A boat and its trailer can be added to your homeowners policy, or written on their own separate watercraft policy, depending on the size and value of the boat and how you prefer to structure things.
Putting it on the home policy keeps everything in one place; a standalone policy can offer broader coverage for larger or higher-value boats. There's no single right answer — it's a preference, and we'll walk through which fits your boat and your budget.
Does home insurance cover flood or wind and hail in Arkansas?
Wind and hail — the big Northwest Arkansas exposures — are generally covered by a standard homeowners policy, but the details matter: many policies now settle roof claims on an actual-cash-value basis as the roof ages, and wind/hail deductibles can be a percentage of your dwelling limit rather than a flat dollar amount.
Flood is different: it is never covered by a homeowners policy and needs a separate flood policy, whether through the NFIP or a private market. We check the roof settlement terms and the deductible structure before you buy, because those are where a storm claim quietly gets smaller than people expect.
If a storm damages both my home and my car, do I pay two deductibles?
Not necessarily. If your home and your vehicles are both insured with Auto-Owners and a single event such as a tornado, a falling tree, or hail damages both, your auto deductible is reduced by the amount of your property deductible, or waived entirely if the auto deductible is the smaller of the two.
It only works when both policies sit with the same carrier, which is one of the practical reasons to keep the household together. We'll tell you whether it makes sense for your account.
How do I get an Auto-Owners home quote in Bentonville or Rogers?
Start at our personal lines quote form or call (479) 286-1066. The fastest path is to send your current declarations page — reading what you already have is quicker than answering questions about it, and it's how we catch whether you're insured to full replacement value, whether guaranteed replacement cost and water backup are on there, and how your roof would settle.
Because Auto-Owners only sells through independent agents, an agency like ours is the only way to buy it, and we quote it against 40-plus other carriers.
If our coverage explainers are useful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas homeowners can find our local, plain-English guides.
Would your policy actually rebuild your home?
Send the declarations page for your current homeowners policy and we'll read it back to you in plain English — the dwelling limit against today's rebuild cost, whether guaranteed replacement cost is on there, how the roof would settle, and the gaps. If Auto-Owners is the right home for it, we'll place it. If one of our other 40-plus carriers fits better, we'll tell you that too.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas. We are not Auto-Owners, and this page is not endorsed, sponsored, reviewed, or approved by Auto-Owners. "Auto-Owners" and "Auto-Owners Insurance" are service marks or trademarks of Auto-Owners Insurance Company and its affiliates, used here nominatively to identify products we are appointed to place. Auto-Owners' Arkansas homeowners policies are issued by Auto-Owners-affiliated underwriting companies.
This page describes homeowners coverage in general, industry-standard terms for informational purposes only. It is not a policy, not an offer of insurance, and not a guarantee of coverage, availability, eligibility, or price. Dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, personal liability, medical payments, guaranteed and extended replacement cost, the buy-out provision, water and sewer backup, service line, equipment breakdown, identity theft, watercraft coverage, limits, deductibles, endorsements, and exclusions are set by the carrier, vary by state and by policy and over time, are subject to the carrier's underwriting approval and eligibility, and apply only as written in the policy actually issued to you. Guaranteed replacement cost is an optional endorsement subject to eligibility requirements — generally including insuring the dwelling to its full estimated replacement cost and keeping that valuation current — and must be in place before a loss; it does not cover every cause of loss and remains subject to the policy's terms, conditions, and exclusions. A boat and trailer may be written on the homeowners policy or on a separate watercraft policy depending on eligibility and the vessel; coverage differs between the two.
Statements about Arkansas — including that the state does not require homeowners insurance, that lenders do, that wind and hail are generally covered while flood and earth movement are excluded and require separate coverage, and that roofs may settle on an actual-cash-value basis and wind/hail deductibles may be a percentage of the dwelling limit — are general information, not legal advice, are simplified, and are subject to change and to the terms of your policy. Confirm specifics with the carrier, the Arkansas Insurance Department, or a qualified professional.
Financial strength ratings are opinions of an insurer's ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations, are subject to change, are not recommendations to purchase, hold or terminate any policy, and do not address an insurer's claims-handling practices; current ratings are at ambest.com. The A+ (Superior) rating referenced applies to the members of Auto-Owners Insurance Group. Cost figures reflect policies placed through Cribb Insurance Group across our markets, are a planning range rather than a quote, and are not carrier-specific and not a guarantee of your rate.
Last reviewed July 2026.