Guide to off-grid home insurance

A home that runs on solar panels, a private well and a septic system is insured by a standard homeowners policy, which covers the structure, your belongings and your liability the same way it would for a house wired to the utility grid. No separate off-grid policy exists.

The harder part is finding a company willing to write it. Insurers weigh how you heat the home, where your water comes from, how the home was built, and how far it sits from a fire station or hydrant; some decline off-grid properties on those grounds alone. How often you’re there matters as much as how the house is powered. A homeowners policy is written for a home someone lives in year-round, so an off-grid cabin you use seasonally usually gets moved to a dwelling fire policy instead.

Get quotes through an independent agent who works with several carriers, and ask each one what your solar array, generator, well pump and septic system are insured for. Those are the pieces keeping the house running, and a policy written for a house on the grid may not carry enough coverage to replace them.

What is off-grid home insurance, and how does it work?

If you live in an off-grid home full-time, you’ll get a standard homeowners policy that runs independently from municipal power or water. Just like home insurance for a standard home, your off-grid home will also be covered for the usual perils such as fire, wind, water damage and theft. 

The only difference is that instead of relying on traditional utilities, you use alternative sources such as solar panels, well water, propane, and geothermal systems for your day-to-day needs.

The main thing to check is that your coverage limits are high enough to replace the equipment that keeps your home running. Solar panels, generators, and well systems can be expensive to rebuild.

Your homeowners policy splits into separate coverage lines, and an off-grid home uses the same ones: 

Do off-grid homes need special insurance?

Generally, you do not need a special insurance policy for an off-grid home if you live in the home full-time. A standard homeowners policy covers most off-grid properties. However, what decides whether a company will write a policy to cover your home is the setup itself — how you heat the house, where the water comes from, whether the work was permitted, and how far the fire department has to drive.

“We have no problem insuring homes that are off the grid,” says Jeff McCollum, a spokesperson for Donegal Insurance Group. “We’ve been around more than 80 years, so we were insuring homes that were off the grid before there was a grid.”

Insurers look at your heating source, water supply, construction quality, location, and proximity to emergency services. A solar-powered home with a drilled well on a maintained road gets quoted like any other house, while a cabin heated by a wood stove with hauled-in water and no county permits on file will likely be declined.

Which coverage pays for your solar panels, generator and well pump?

The coverage that applies to each piece of equipment determines how much your insurer will pay to replace it. Progressive and GEICO both cover roof-mounted panels under dwelling coverage and ground-mounted arrays under other structures, and GEICO notes that the other structures coverage limits run lower than your dwelling limit and may not cover a large array at all. Leased panels usually aren’t your policy’s problem, since the leasing company insures them. Ask your agent which line each item falls on and compare that limit to the cost of installing the equipment.

What extra coverage do off-grid homes need?

A standard policy covers an off-grid home, but the standard limits may be below what your equipment costs to replace. Ask your agent about these add-ons before you sign.

• More coverage for anything not attached to your house. Your policy pays for detached buildings and ground-mounted equipment out of ath either structures coverage, which is usually 10% of the dwelling coverage limit. A ground-mounted solar array, a pump house and a workshop all come out of that one pot, so ask what the limit is and whether it covers all three.
• Equipment breakdown coverage. Your policy pays for a generator a tree falls on. It doesn’t pay for one whose engine seizes, and this add-on does.
• Extended replacement cost. Rebuilding on a remote property costs more when crews and materials have to be hauled in, and this raises the ceiling on what your insurer will pay.
• A policy for a secondary home. This one replaces your homeowners policy rather than adding to it. If the off-grid house isn’t where you live year-round, insurers write it on a seasonal or secondary home policy instead.

How much does off-grid home insurance cost?

Off-grid home insurance doesn’t automatically cost more than a standard policy. Insurers price based on your specific property and setup — what drives your premium up is risk, not the off-grid label itself.

“If someone is living in a house with no heat and no water, that’s not somebody we would like to insure,” says Cyril Greenya, former Chief Underwriting Officer of Donegal Insurance Group. “If they have wood fireplaces or coal stoves, that’s not something we want to insure. Now you’re talking about a fire hazard. But geothermal and solar are different. They’re safe.”

Here’s some things that can raise your premium:

• Remote location: Longer emergency response times mean bigger losses when something goes wrong
• Wildfire or weather exposure: Higher likelihood of a total loss claim if you live in an area that experiences extreme weather conditions.
• Wood or coal heating: Increased fire risk inside the home
• DIY electrical work: Most insurers won’t cover unlicensed installations at all
• No reliable water source: Required for coverage by most insurers
• Seasonal or vacant periods: Higher theft risk and slower damage detection
• Long private road or poor winter access: Limits emergency response

How to get your off-grid home insured

To qualify for off-grid home insurance, make sure your electrical, plumbing, and heating systems are professionally installed and up to local building codes. Insurers also want to see a reliable water source, working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and documentation of any upgrades or inspections.

Here’s what insurers look for:

• Professional installation: Electrical, plumbing, and heating systems need to be installed by licensed contractors. Self-installed systems are a hard no for most insurers.
• Code compliance: Your home should meet local building codes. If it was built without permits, get an inspection and bring it up to code before applying.
• Reliable heating: Wood stoves and coal heating raise flags. Geothermal, propane, or electric heating powered by solar is a much easier conversation to have with your insurer.
• Water supply: You need a reliable, documented water source — a well, rainwater collection system, or cistern. No water access means no coverage with most insurers.
• Fire and smoke protection: Working smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire extinguishers are non-negotiable.
• Documentation: Keep records of every upgrade, installation, and inspection. Photos, receipts, and contractor invoices are your best evidence that the home is well-maintained.

Can you get a discount on off-grid home insurance?

You may not get a discount specifically for being off-grid, but for the features that often come with it. Some insurers offer green home discounts for using eco-friendly materials or renewable energy systems, and as alternative energy becomes more mainstream, more carriers are expected to follow. 

Here are some discounts that may apply to your off-grid home: 

• Green discounts: While insurers do not discount off-grid insurance specifically, you could receive green home discounts when you use eco-friendly materials or resources within your home.
• Smoke detector discount: Most insurers will pass along savings when you lower your risk of a claim by installing a smoke detector or other fire safety device in your home.
• Security discount: Installing a home security system could earn you extra savings.  
• Multi-policy discount: Many companies also offer an additional discount when you bundle your home and auto insurance policies. 

Before you purchase your policy, ask your insurance agent what discounts may apply to your specific policy to lower your total premium.

How to insure a seasonal off-grid home

A seasonal off-grid house sits empty most of the year, so a break-in, a burst pipe or a fire can run for weeks before anyone notices. Insurers treat that as a different risk and write the home on a dwelling fire policy, most often the DP-3 form.

The DP-3 covers the building the same way a homeowners policy does — damage from any cause the policy doesn’t exclude, paid at what it costs to rebuild today. Detached buildings and ground-mounted equipment still come out of other structures, so the pump house, the workshop and the ground-mounted array are covered.

Your belongings are paid at actual cash value, the used value after depreciation rather than the price of a new one. A generator you’ve owned for years pays out at what that generator is worth today. Liability isn’t in the policy at all and has to be added as an endorsement.

Ask your agent what the policy pays if the house is unlivable after a fire, since that coverage is written around a landlord’s lost rent rather than your hotel bill.

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