Top Health Insurance Companies

A number of companies make upA number of companies make up Shelter Insurance companies

The Group of Shelter Insurance Companies has history and experience as its two pillars. It is one of the most successful group of companies in terms of selling insurance to it client base. Their headquarters are in Columbia, Missouri. Missouri Farmers Association, MFA decided in nineteen forty six to have an insurance company named Shelter under the brand name MFA Insurance. The name Shelter was take from the then mission statement of the company which was: MFA is your shield of shelter. They have ever since lived up to those standards and have been in the business of providing, Shields and Shelter to those who require it. They currently have their presence in fourteen states in The United States of America including, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, and Oklahoma. The Shelter Insurance Companies have a group of insurance companies that cater to the different needs of the difference insurance policy holders. Their companies are into general insurance, life insurance, mutual insurance, banking reinsurance and benefits management.

To be more specific in the genre of insurance they specialize in let me give you some of the coverage they actually do for their clients. The provide insurance to apartment owners. They also provide insurance to boat owners and automobile owners. This is an interesting aspect of insurance and you have to have the knack and experience in advising the client on the right sort of insurance. Customers are generally not aware of the pros and cons of any policy and they are also not aware of what is the best and most appropriate for their vehicles. You need to have agents who have mastered the art of knowing what the customer requires only by looking at the car he drives. At Shelter Insurance companies this is what they do. All Agents working for Shelter Insurance companies have a vast knowledge and experience is allotting insurances to customers. They are also people who take care in seeing that the customer is satisfied. What more could you want from an insurance company?

The other insurance that caught my eye was Commercial, dwelling and farm fire. Since most of the states mentioned above have a large number of population who have farming as their profession, the insurance companies made sure they had laws pertaining to farm insurance policies. Owning a commercial business can be quite a hassle. It comes with a lot of challenges. The one thing I can advice is that taking Fire insurance from Shelter Insurance Companies will be a wise choice. Don’t misunderstand what I just said but life can bring anything your way and it is always better to be safe than sorry. Everything is not in your control and certain things are just fate, but you have a chance of changing that by taking a wise decision and investing is the right coverage for you home or business, and you can be assured that you are in experienced hands and that they would take care of you.

The Group of Shelter Insurance Companies has history and experience as its two pillars. It is one of the most successful group of companies in terms of selling insurance to it client base. Their headquarters are in Columbia, Missouri. Missouri Farmers Association, MFA decided in nineteen forty six to have an insurance company named Shelter under the brand name MFA Insurance. The name Shelter was take from the then mission statement of the company which was: MFA is your shield of shelter. They have ever since lived up to those standards and have been in the business of providing, Shields and Shelter to those who require it. They currently have their presence in fourteen states in The United States of America including, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, and Oklahoma. The Shelter Insurance Companies have a group of insurance companies that cater to the different needs of the difference insurance policy holders. Their companies are into general insurance, life insurance, mutual insurance, banking reinsurance and benefits management.

To be more specific in the genre of insurance they specialize in let me give you some of the coverage they actually do for their clients. The provide insurance to apartment owners. They also provide insurance to boat owners and auto mobile owners. This is an interesting aspect of insurance and you have to have the knack and experience in advising the client on the right sort of insurance. Customers are generally not aware of the pros and cons of any policy and they are also not aware of what is the best and most appropriate for their vehicles. You need to have agents who have mastered the art of knowing what the customer requires only by looking at the car he drives. At Shelter Insurance companies this is what they do. All Agents working for Shelter Insurance companies have a vast knowledge and experience is allotting insurances to customers. They are also people who take care in seeing that the customer is satisfied. What more could you want from an insurance company?

The other insurance that caught my eye was Commercial, dwelling and farm fire. Since most of the states mentioned above have a large number of population who have farming as their profession, the insurance companies made sure they had laws pertaining to farm insurance policies. Owning a commercial business can be quite a hassle. It comes with a lot of challenges. The one thing I can advice is that taking Fire insurance from Shelter Insurance Companies will be a wise choice. Don’t misunderstand what I just said but life can bring anything your way and it is always better to be safe than sorry. Everything is not in your control and certain things are just fate, but you have a chance of changing that by taking a wise decision and investing is the right coverage for you home or business, and you can be assured that you are in experienced hands and that they would take care of you.

Unitrin.Inc is a large corporation dealing with a large diversity of insurance products. The best thing about this insurance company is that it has made things simple for its clientele. Most of us I’m sure get quite tangled up in the web of various insurances and take quite some time to get use to the whole thing. This particular insurance corporation has made individual brands for all its products under the banner of Unitrin.Inc. As a customer who requires insurance I want to be sure for what I want to apply for. Many times we find our selves reading through a Boucher or a website trying really hard to figure out what kind of insurance you require. People who work at Unitrin.Inc have made it simple for their customers to find the product of their desire easily.

Under the brand of Unitrin.Inc you have many sub brands selling various insurance products. Kemper, is one of their sub brands that deals with providing home insurance, personal automobile insurance, personal life insurance, boat owner insurance and many more. If you are looking for a insurance for home appliances or a new gadget that you have purchased then you know that Kemper has it. Anything to do with personal insurance and you’ll be sure to find it here. The next sub brand would be Unitrin Specialty, deals with personal and commercial automobile insurance. Automobile insurance could be tricky and confusing, but at Unitrin.Inc, like I said before you are assured to get everything under one roof. There is a difference when it comes to personal and commercial automobiles. Let’s looks at trucks for example. You could be owner of a truck company looking to get the best insurance possible. Unitrin Specialty will help you find the ideal insurance for any automobile that you own for a commercial reason. You don’t only have to be a owner of a truck company. You could also be a person running a simple door to door delivery business and just have one automobile that you are using for the purpose of your business but even then you can get a cover for commercial automobile insurance.

Unitrin.Inc also has two banks under its banner. Reserve National and Fireside bank are the two banks that operate for Unitrin.Inc. Fireside bank is a bank that deals with industrial law. To make that simple for you it is an automobile financing bank. It deals with collecting outstanding loan dues and check on the regular payments of interest on the customers account. On the other hand Reserve National Bank on the other hand deals with insurance for home and automobile but the difference here is that it is based in more rural parts to reach out to the folks there. It also deals with a lot of health insurance plans too.

Where can you find such diversity without being confused about any product? Unitrin.Inc had emerged as a brand which is not only trust worthy but also customer oriented. This is what makes up great banking and insurance.

To protect a person from losing valuable investments like his home; companies, organizations, and businesses offer homeowner’s insurance. Homeowner’s insurance actually covers various personal and individual possessions, including the loss of the home itself due to natural occurrences or accidental causes; additionally, homeowners insurance covers the loss of personal and valuable items inside the home. Experts in this field advise that it would be best to purchase homeowner’s insurance from the top homeowner’s insurance companies.

Who are the top homeowner’s insurance companies?

The top homeowner’s insurance companies offer the best kind of protection and insurance for homeowners. However, this does not necessarily mean having to pay a larger amount of money for homeowner’s insurance.

What are characteristics of the top homeowner’s insurance companies?

The top homeowner’s insurance companies are those companies that offer the best services at competent prices. They have agents who are very knowledgeable about the products they are offering. They take the utmost care in informing their clients about the coverage and the requirements for homeowner’s insurance. Most of these companies allow their clients to purchase their insurance policies through the Internet or via telephone.

The top homeowner’s insurance companies make sure that your needs and your ability to pay are taken well into account. However, they also make sure that you, as the homeowner, are properly and conveniently insured, and they make sure that you get the best kind of homeowner’s insurance policy for yourself and/or your family.

Where do you find the top homeowner’s insurance companies?

Try using your favorite search engine to browse through the Internet. You will certainly have to go through a long list of homeowner’s insurance companies. However, make sure that you try to get information about your chosen homeowner’s insurance company before purchasing a policy. Try to see if you can easily contact them for inquiries, information, or other important matters regarding homeowner’s insurance.

Home Owner Insurance Company provides detailed information on Home Owner Insurance Companies, Top Home Owner Insurance Companies, Home Owner Insurance Company Ratings, Home Owner Insurance Coverage and more. Home Owner Insurance Company is affiliated with Home Owners Insurance Policies.

Website – http://www.aaa.com
Located – Heathrow, FL
Phone – 1-800-222-4357
Employees – 850
Revenue (mil.) – $37.6
Description – This isn’t your great-grandfather’s American Automobile Association (AAA). The not-for-profit organization is best known as providing emergency roadside assistance to its members. AAA has extending its reach into other areas, however, such as offering a variety of financial and travel-arrangement services (foreign currency exchange and travelers checks), as well. The organization offers its members credit cards, insurance, and vehicle financing. AAA operates travel agencies and publishes maps and travel guides, to boot. AAA and its affiliated auto clubs maintain about 1,100 facilities to serve more than 50 million members that span the US and Canada. AAA was founded in 1902.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

susiee’s Full Review of AAA Home Insurance Group

When my husband and I got married and bought our first house, we compared pricing and services on homeowner’s insurance, and ended up with AAA. Their price was not the lowest, but they were very easy to work with, offered the types of coverages and options we wanted, and the agent spent a lot of time with us, as new homeowners, explaining all the different bits and pieces of homeowner insurance. We were very pleased with our agent.

You must be a AAA member to get their homeowners’ insurance. Even with this extra expense, the rate was comparable to other agencies, plus we get the benefits of AAA membership.

When we bought our second house, we decided to check rates and services again. This time, AAA had the best rate out of several companies, including one that offered us a discount because we had our auto insurance through them. Some could match the rate but only with higher deductibles and lower coverage limits.

(A side note, for many years, we had one car insured through AAA and another through State Farm, because for some reason, the rates were so different, that even a multiple car discount did not lower the rates to what we were paying through the other companies. )

We had several claims on our first home, which made my husband afraid that they would cancel us or raise the rates. While our rates did go up slightly, they were still lower than at the other agencies we checked.

One claim was a weird situation. One day while cleaning the bathroom, my hand went straight through the tile in the tub area, putting a big hole in the wall. We called our agent and he came out the next day to determine what was wrong and whether it was covered. He okayed the claim. We decided to eliminate the tile and put in a nice, easy to clean tub enclosure, including a shower door, which we did not have before. AAA paid for the materials and the work to be done.

We filed another claim when a pipe burst in our basement, flooding everything and damaging tons of boxes of our stuff. In this instance, the agent came out right away again. He explained that we were lucky that the reason for the flooding was the broken pipe. It is about the only time that water damage to the basement is covered. It is not covered if your sump pump breaks down, if your basement itself leaks, if the windows leak, etc. Only a broken pipe is a valid claim. (Unfortunately for us, in our second house, we have had water in the basement for all the other reasons, but never from a broken pipe.)

This claim was a bit more difficult to handle. First, we had to make a list of all the items that were damaged and their approximate replacement value. This took quite a while, and I am sure we missed many items. For a few things, we had to “estimate” what we had. For example, we are big readers, but in that small house we had no room for most of our books. We had 25 boxes full of books that got completely ruined. It was next to impossible to sort through the boxes to get an exact count of how many books we lost, and forget even getting a list of the books themselves. 12 years later we are still going I had that book, oh, it must have been in the flood.

When we submitted our list, we got our first surprise. At our agent’s recommendation, we had “replacement value” coverage for our losses. This means, that if something is damaged, stolen, etc., you are given the money for replacing the item, instead of its current market value. This made sense, since if something is several years old, it may cost you quite a bit to replace it, while its depreciated value is fairly small.

The way AAA handled this was to give us a check for 50% of the amount we listed for all the items at the replacement value. When I called to complain, I was told that this is how it works: You get a check for part of the money, then as you replace each item, you submit the receipt and get reimbursed for the rest of the item.

I was not thrilled about this. Some items that were damaged could not be replaced. For example, my husband had some very expensive nutcrackers that were purchased by his parents 30 years ago in Germany. These were expensive then, and were collector’s items that could not be replaced. We only got half the value, and our estimate as to their value was low, since we didn’t have them appraised recently.

Other items we did not bother to replace. We had a large collection of board games that we really did not play much. Since we did not replace them, we did not get the “replacement” value for the items.

It was also a bit inconvenient, having to save all the receipts for things I purchased and sending them to AAA. However, they were very prompt about sending out the checks when they received my receipts. There was a time limit to how long we had to replace the items and submit receipts. I do not remember the exact amount, but I think it was around a year.

So far, we have not had any claims in our second home (knock on wood). We tried to file a claim when our basement flooded due to a crack in the walls and leaky windows, but the agent showed us that it was not covered. I called several other insurance agents at that point to find out if they would have covered this type of thing (figuring on using it as ammunition if they would, or possibly changing insurances anyway), but the three I tried said that it would not be covered.

We have several riders on our policy for some items that we felt required extra coverage: my jewelry and our computer equipment (we have 7 computers in the house right now). It was very simple to add these riders to our policy and very inexpensive. We get a form each year detailing what we have on the riders, asking us to check over the items and to submit updated appraisals and lists, if needed.

When we refinanced our house, we did not include our homeowners insurance in the financing. I had to contact AAA to arrange for billing us for the insurance directly instead of having the mortgage company arrange it. It was very easy to accomplish and was taken care of without any problems.

We have used different agencies for the two homes, and have been pleased with the agents at both locations. The customer service has been very good. All our calls and questions have been handled promptly, correctly, and without much effort required on my part.

Their pricing is competitive to other companies in my area. If you have multiple insurance types with them, you get a discount (for example, if you also have their auto insurance, life insurance).

The website for AAA is www.autoclubgroup.com. You can file a claim online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (I have not used this feature myself, but it is there if I need it.) You can pay your bills online, get quotes, change address, and perform many other functions.

As a AAA member, you get a lot of extra benefits unrelated to your homeowners insurance. One of my favorites is Trip Tiks, which are little booklets of maps that plan your trip from start to finish, showing any traffic problems, construction, etc.

If you are looking for homeowners insurance, I would recommend checking out AAA as one of your options. They have done a good job on our claims, and the agents were very good at explaining the policy to new homeowners. We have now had this insurance for 14 years on 2 different homes, and have been very satisfied with our experiences with this company.

bakw’s Full Review of AAA Home Insurance Group

I had an experience of luring by their AUTO agent to take their home insurance. So we spent time with their paper work, meeting and home-inspection process. Then they asked us to renew our membership to take effect. After we done that, an ‘assistant’-manager told us that they had few problems with our house. Things like roof, bathroom-fan, cracks and stairs. He said if we fix the rest beside the roof, he will approve it. So we sacrificed our year-end vacation to fix all that. Then this manager showed up and said ‘hire a contractor to inspect the roof before we can qualify you.’
This is a joke, right? Not really, even the regional manager wouldn’t want to do anything about this person behavior, would not send their own inspector and won’t insure our home. A frustrated southern Californian

Source: http://www.epinons.com

Website – https://www.safeco.com
Located – Seattle, Washington
Phone – 1-800-242-6422
Employees – 7,200
Revenue (bil.) – $6.29
Description – While the name doesn’t tell you much about the business, Safeco does sound secure, and with insurance that counts for a lot. Through its Safeco Insurance Co., the company offers personal property/casualty insurance including auto, homeowners, and fire coverage. Its commercial business includes workers’ compensation, multiperil, and general liability geared towards small to midsized companies. In addition to its property/casualty business, Safeco also offers surety bonds to its long-term construction and corporate customers. Liberty Mutual acquired Safeco in a 2008 deal valued at $6.2 billion.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

MGreen8′s Full Review of Safeco Home Insurance Corporation

As a prior employee of SAFECO Insurance Company, I can say that it is one of the best homeowner’s programs out there. I know this because I was the person who determined the value of your home in the regrettable case of a fire or other devastating event. I left SAFECO only because I moved across the country to a location where there was no Headquarters. Because I have no further vested interest in this company, I can give you an educated and honest opinion of their Homeowner products.

What most homeowners do not understand is this: if your home burns to the ground and needs to be replaced you need money to do so. The amount of coverage you place on your home determines what you get. When you’re figuring the price of your home, don’t assume it is the price you paid for it. You have to take every single detail into account; door-knobs, pipes, stairs, wiring, roofing, vents, etc. If you chose to buy a home with ornamental decoration — don’t you want your new home to have the same characteristics? SAFECO will make sure that you are covered to do exactly that.

SAFECO uses a system which takes the following into account: the age of your home, materials used to construct your home (ex: special moldings, plaster walls, etc.), size of your home, number of bathrooms, etc. This system accurately analyzes what it would cost TODAY in YOUR CITY to rebuild your home. This is the total coverage they will suggest to your Insurance Agent. Why? Because SAFECO will insure that if something happens to your home that you get the closest possible replica in the re-building process. Additionally, in the binding process, they may request an agent to do an appraisal of your home and send photos to the company. They will use these to determine even more accurate pricing.

Who wants to deal with a company that will give you less coverage for less money if in the end you aren’t really insuring the total value of what you have? Additionally, SAFECO has Claims Representatives that will travel to your home in less time than the industry standard to settle your claim. Their Claims representatives are professional and respectful. They take the time to explain everything to you.

Additionally, SAFECO offers discounts for alarm systems and if you have your auto insurance with them you’ll get a discount for placing both lines with the company.

SAFECO has one of the best training programs for Underwriters in the industry. (The UW is the person who determines whether or not you are a good risk and what limits your home should have). Because of the intense training program your insurance needs will be met and your expectations will be exceeded. You may pay a small amount more in premiums, but you’ll also be dealing with a company that will make sure you are aptly covered in the event of a tragedy.

logan1973′s Full Review of Safeco Home Insurance Corporation

In 1995, I took an entry level position with a personal lines insurance company in Gainesville, Florida. I had just graduated from college and figured I would work there for a few months until I found something in the telecommunications field.

I never left.

After gaining a bit of tenure, I progressed to positions of increasing responsibility. Two years ago, I relocated to Portland, OR with the same insurance organization.

While I would not hesitate to recommend the insurance carrier I work for to others, I have always chosen to secure my own insurance elsewhere. I do this to avoid any possible conflict of interest or perceived conflict of interest. (I liken it to auditing your own taxes or grading your own med school final examination).

After settling in to the Pacific Northwest, I bought a home. At the urging of a friend, I decided to insure with Safeco. Prior to moving to the out here, I had heard very little about Safeco.

I contacted a Safeco agent and learned a bit about his agency and the company. He was very prompt, courteous and professional. At the same time I took out homeowners coverage, I switched my automobile coverage over to Safeco as well to take advantage of the home-car discount.

That’s usually the end of the story. Most people don’t think too much about insurance until a loss.

Earlier this year, I had a loss.

I have always been on the other side of the equation – that is, I have always been part of the insurance organization not the customer with a claim. Although I would rather not have had the claim, it gave me a new appreciation for the feelings and concerns customers have when faced with an accident.

What happened? Well to make a long story short, the parking brake on my 5 spd vehicle was not fully engaged and the vehicle wasn’t in gear. It rolled down the hill and into my garage. The garage door and it’s support mechanisms were severely damaged.

Upon calling Safeco, I was asked a few questions and told someone would contact me shortly.

The claims rep called the next day and took a statement. He was patient, flexible and provided truly excellent service. Safeco did not demand I use a particular vendor to repair the garage. At the time, I was so preoccupied with other items at work, the claims rep actually followed up with me to see what progress I had made to secure estimates. Once I received an estimate, a check was promptly issued.

Never once was the claims rep I dealt with cynical or reticent to provide coverage. For a bad situation, I could not have asked for better service.

Recently, I learned Safeco is going through a major reorganization. I will continue to insure with them and hope the service I received will survive any restructuring efforts. Even if a premium increase is warranted, I would still continue to insure with Safeco.

asargent’s Full Review of Safeco Home Insurance Corporation
Safeco came through for me when some of my personal property was stolen out of the back of my truck. I went through all the standard procedures — such as reporting the theft to the police department, showing them how the break-in occured, and mailing my original receipt to Safeco — and having done that, I got a check back in reasonable time. The total theft amount was for about $2000.
I’m moving into a new place, and I’m getting Safeco insurance again.

Granted this is just one person’s opinion, but since this the first comment on Safeco Home Insurance I hope it’s useful to someone considering renter’s insurance.

Source: http://www.epinions.com

Website – http://www.libertymutual.com
Located – Boston, MA
Phone – 1-800-837-5254
Employees – 41,000
Annual Revenue – $25,961,000
Description- Boston boasts of baked beans, the Red Sox, and the Liberty Mutual Group. Liberty Mutual Holding is the parent company for the Liberty Mutual Group and its three principal mutual insurance companies, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance, and Employers Insurance Company of Wausau. Liberty Mutual is one of the top property/casualty insurers in the US and among the top 10 providers of automobile insurance. The company also offers homeowners’ insurance and commercial lines for small to large companies. Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer with operations throughout the world.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

TheSmartTraveler’s Full Review of Liberty Mutual Home Insurance Group

I have recently switched from Allstate Homeowners Insurance to Liberty Mutual. To say that I am pleased would be an understatement. The agents I have encountered at Liberty Mutual are highly professional, courteous, and thorough. Liberty Mutual has written a Homeowners Policy on my home with a deductible of $1000 versus the deductible of $6,500 from Allstate, giving me much more coverage on structure and contents, and the best thing is that I am paying over $700.00 less in annual premiums than I was paying to Allstate.

I have recommended Liberty Mutual to many friends. Some of their names are Albert, Tony, and Ray. Albert and Tony also had Allstate and have saved more money than I have. Ray has just closed in the last couple of weeks on a dynamite house in Miami Springs. Also, Ray’s wife has been working for State Farm Insurance for the last couple of years. The premium Ray is paying from Liberty Mutual is mega bucks less than he could have gotten anywhere else, including his wife’s company.

When your Allstate policy is up for renewal and you want to save a bundle, compare the rates and coverage that Liberty Mutual Insurance can offer. I have only had wonderful experiences with the folks at Liberty Mutual.

I have highly recommended my friends check out the rates of Liberty Mutual when their existing homeowners’ policy is up for renewal, and I highly recommend the same for you.

thriftymommy’s Full Review of Liberty Mutual Home Insurance Group

I became a Liberty mutual auto insurance policy holder in 1997 after transferring to New Jersey where Geico is not available. After we purchased our first home and used our mortgage company’s recommended insurance company, I decided to investigate our homeowner’s policy on my own.

Customer Service
I made the initial phone call about five months after our home purchase. The houses in our area began selling for much higher than we had purchased our home for in 2002. I called our insurance company and learned that if we wanted to increase our insurance policy it would cost us $600 more annually and our deductible would increase from $500 to $2000. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t have an extra $2000 laying around to meet a deductible if something should happen to our home.

I already had our auto policies with Liberty Mutual so I gave them a call for a quote. One of the first things I learned was that they do not insure homes with inground oil tanks. Luckily, our home has an above ground oil tank and they could insure us!

I also learned that our current homeowner’s policy (underwritten by Zurich Direct) was insufficient in the current home market. We paid $129,900 for our five bedroom two bathroom two car detached garage home and saw the prices in the area skyrocket to $229,000 for a three bedroom. Our original homeowner’s policy only covered $145,000 replacement value for the home and $38,000 for the garage was insufficient to meet the current market prices. Since we had paid $452 at closing for the Zurich policy, I was a bit leery to change mid-year.

After calling Zurich to find if we received a refund for the remainder of the year’s coverage and finding out that, by law, we were able to receive a refund of the prorated amount, I decided to review Liberty Mutual’s offer at $645 annually with $245,000 coverage on the house, $68,000 for the garage and a $500 deductible.

The Application
The application was completed over the telephone and the confirmation letter was overnighted to our house. We signed and returned the confirmation the next day and our policy was sent to us two days later for review.

The Policy
I’m not going to line-item my policy. Most people only read what the replacement value of their home is anyway!

The policy language was straightforward and tedious. However tedious, I read the small print in every document. That said, among the numerous typos (none which affected the legality of the policy), there was a clause concerning flood insurance. New Jersey law does not require homeowners to insure against flood loss. Liberty Mutual however, requires that each of its policy holders maintain minimal flood insurance.

I called the state office on insurance and found out that, in fact, we are not required to carry flood insurance unless we live in a designated flood zone. I contacted Liberty Mutual and they removed that clause in the new policy they sent me.

Please read your homeowner’s policy: does it state replacement, restoration and repair? If not, call your insurer; some insurers will only do the minimum required by law to make your home habitable…in other words, they won’t restore it to its previous condition but instead repair the house to the state construction code’s passing grade.

Multi-policy Discounts
Since we had our auto policies with Liberty Mutual, we received a multi-policy discount of 5% per policy (two vehicles and home). This amounted to an annual savings of $350. Definitely a happy customer here!

The Claims Process
You never consider such things as bad drivers when you buy your first home. Specifically, one who runs off the road and into your front porch after a heavy night of drinking. Well, it happened to us last month. We had damage to our fence, sidewalk, mailbox (found in our neighbor’s tree), front porch and roof.

I called Liberty Mutual’s claim hotline at 2:30 in the morning. At 6:30 AM, a Liberty Mutual claims adjuster was knocking on our back door. He was polite, sympathetic, and most of all, had brought a contractor who works for Liberty Mutual with him to assist us in the claim process. The four of us surveyed the damage (our front porch had an overhang that extended from our roof and our entire roof would need to be assessed for structural damage) and the claims adjuster gave us an immediate payment of $200 to replace the mailbox (since I only paid $80 or so for the mailbox, I was confused at this point).

The contractor and the claims adjuster settled on the cost of the repairs to the roof and porch and they presented us with the offer to do all the work to restore our home.

I asked the adjuster if the drunk driver’s insurance company was going to pay for the damage to my home; he said that Liberty Mutual will file a claim through the driver’s insurance company but repair our home first and recoup the costs that way. I asked about my deductible: am I going to have to pay the $500 out of pocket and then file with the drunk’s insurance company? No, the Liberty Mutual claims adjuster said. We are not liable for the damages of the driver; this was not “going against us”. I asked for this in writing. The claims adjuster added this to the bottom of the claims form.

Yesterday, our front porch and roof were completed to original condition. Also, the drunk’s insurance company sent us a settlement check for $4000 for home repairs and pain and suffering. Liberty Mutual sent us a letter stated that the drunk’s insurance company settled with them for $6000. The contractor gave us a receipt for the work he did: $3018. Now, I don’t like math very much, but it seems to me that Liberty Mutual made out like a bandit. We made out like a bandit since we had no out of pocket expenses or were we required to pay out our deductible. Instead, we were given a settlement check and Liberty Mutual made almost $3000 of the drunk’s insurance company.
The Website
I pay my homeowner’s policy with my mortgage; I only use the website for my vehicle policies. The website is easy to navigate but does not give quotes online. You can use the website to request information.

Conclusion
Overall, the policy is standard and the customer service is outstanding! Four hours after my call, a claims adjuster was on our doorstep. One month after the incident, our home was restored to its pre-drunk driver condition and we have a check for the holidays. (Not to mention the money Liberty Mutual made by the other insurance company!!)

dearladyb’s Full Review of Liberty Mutual Home Insurance Group

My Personal Thoughts on Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual in Northeastern Ohio has by far to be the least exorbitant homeowner’s insurance available. We have been very fortuitous in our insurance agent Paul, and his associate (which always makes me giggle to say) Paula, both have always been very hospitable and expedient. Despite the time of day or night I may have a question they do not hesitate to answer my questions, if they cannot riposte they will attain someone who can.

Length of time with Liberty Mutual

I have been using Liberty Mutual for seventeen years without disillusion, or alteration. That is not to say I have not considered about it, or validated other prices of diverse insurance companies. It is most consequential that you have the desirable policy for your money. Therefore, yearly I shop around always concluding with Liberty Mutual

What does Liberty Mutual cover?

Depending on the estimation of your home, you will find the coverage obtainable. What I adjudged odd is that some people neglect also to include the home’s contents. This is where many run into conundrums when filing a claim. Although you may have your home insured, it does not automatically include its contents.

I experienced my lesson with my last claim with Liberty Mutual . Failing to have all of my contents covered compounded with the fact I had added new contents since my last policy went into effect, I totally lost on several items amounting to $3500. All of it absorbed, none recoverable, because I did not know what to cover.

Problems I have had with Liberty Mutual.

My problem was not actually with the Liberty Mutual my problem was with the recovering company while filing my claim. I had the impertinent representative in the world, and that is not aggrandizement. It actually came down to name calling, and her implicating me of fraud. In turn I contacted Ohio’s Insurance Commissioner. I advise anyone who has problems in recovering their losses while working with Liberty Mutual to contact their state “Insurance Commissioner, and you will not believe how fast your claim will slide through. It appears this recovering company still working under the Liberty Mutual Group does not have an admirable track record as far as paying or replacing on a claim. The company wants to replace every item lost, usually at a downgrade and not at the tangible cost of the merchandise lost.

For instance, during an electrical storm all of our phones, computers, and appliances plugged in got zapped. Some merchandise and products were new, somewhere four years’ old. The telephones were a year old, but I was miffed about this one thing. I order my phones through Ameritech, the company did not replace these Ameritech phones, instead they sent me a debauched ineffective Uniden! They did not replace the answering machine because they said it was not a “needed” feature of the phone. They replaced my flat screen monitors with the big grey ugly AOC’s, which were no where near the same as my flat screens. Nonetheless I did have a monitor and will eventually save up to replace them all again.

The biggest argument was over the fact I needed the rod replaced so that my home would not have a problem if struck again by lightening. “Grounding rods,” which this company said was implausible to be defunct. I actually had to have the Fire Marshall come to my home check the rods, remove it and write a letter to the insurance company before they would replace it.

Conclusion

Regardless at the nostrums of the recovery center the actual company Liberty Mutual has always given me respect, friendliness and fair prices. Yearly they send someone out to my home and assess it, almost like having your own personal appraiser without the cost. After they estimate, your insurance is adjusted to reflect either a decrease or increase in coverage. This year I am proud to say my coverage increased due to a few adjustments I had made to my home. I will give them their kudos for doing a great job for me.

Source: http://www.epinions.com

Website – https://www.farmers.com
Located – Los Angeles, CA
Phone – 1-800-FARMERS (1-800-327-6377)
2007 Employees – 25,935
2007 Net Income (mil.) – $147.5
Description – Don’t expect to see tractors in the parking lot of Farmers Group. The US subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services provides insurance management services to the members of the Farmers Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange, and Fire Insurance Exchange — which together form one of the leading US property/casualty insurers. Farmers Group does not own the exchanges, but acts as the companies’ attorneys-in-fact. It chooses risks, distributes policy statements to customers, collects premiums, and provides other non-claims related services. The Farmers Group also is the holding company of Farmers New World Life Insurance, and specialty insurer Foremost Insurance.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

Ginsan’s Full Review of Farmers Home Insurance Group

You never know how good an insurance company is until you need them and that is too late. I would highly recommend Farmers and I’ll tell you why. We had Farmers on our 100 yr old house for several years. One night our house caught on fire from Christmas lights on the outside. It was the most terrifying experience but they were able to save the house. Somewhere in the confusion huddling at my neighbors while the fire fighters worked, someone said to call our insurance agent then. I called our agent and he said he would go to his office and see what coverage we had and be back in touch.

We went to my mother’s for the night and at 7:30 the next morning we received a call from Service Master that they had been hired from by the insurance company and they were on their way. Within the hour we got the first call from a claims adjuster. The people hired by the insurance company immediately moved on getting windows boarded up and heat in the lower part of the house turned on so we didn’t have frozen pipes causing more damage. The adjuster arrived and after evaluating the situation explained that because of the large amount of damage, their catastrophic adjuster would be there the next day and would take over. Oh, and by the way, here is $3000 to get what we need immediately and pay for a hotel.

Through the next 5 months, the insurance company paid for a rental house for us including renting furniture and utilities. They put together a comprehensive description of everything that needed to be done and the costs and allowed us to pick our own contractor. Our contractor felt the prices were right in line. As additional things were needed, the insurance company was cooperative.

Five months later our house was ready to move back into. Service Master brought back all of our belongings that were salvaged with everything clean and odor free. Farmers had paid all bills.

To say we were pleased would be an understatement. To come through a catastrophe like that and actually like your insurance company is amazing. They say in their ads that they will get you back on your feet fast and it is true. They did not just give lip service but they really did what they said they would. I would highly recommend them and several of our friends and neighbors have switched to them after seeing how well we were handled.

jwimberley’s Full Review of Farmers Home Insurance Group

We have been with Farmers now for about 12 years. We have had to use just about every aspect of our policy coverages and have had great service from both the agency force and the claims department.

Farmers is one of the few companies left in Texas that is still writing insurance for homeowners. They are limited in who they can write for right now but that is improving. As of today each agent can write up to five new home policies each month. Those clients must already have an auto policy with Farmers. If they do not have an auto policy with Farmers they are eligible to be written in Farmers sister company Foremost Insurance. In order to get a Farmers policy you must also be claims free for the last three years. There are some companies that will only take you as a new client if you have perfect credit, Farmers offers discounts (up to 40%) if you have an excellent insurance score (like a credit score but weighted differently) but they will not decline someone based on credit.

As for the coverages, there are several and I will try to explain how each one works.

DWELLING: This is your home. It does not include the land but it has nothing to do with market value. Don’t get stuck on the “I didn’t pay anywhere near that much” argument. The fact is that this is the money that will be used to rebuild your house. That includes demolition of the remaining structure, hauling off the debris, re-engineering the plans to fit on your existing slab and the cost of custom building your house. Remember, the first time your house was built there was probably a builder working on all of the homes in your neighborhood with multiple crews and buying supplies in bulk to keep costs down. That is not the case when an insurance company has to come in and rebuild your house.

OTHER STRUCTURES: This includes your fence, decks and any permanent structures like well houses or storage buildings that are not attached to the dwelling. It does not included temporary buildings like Morgan sheds.

LOSS OF USE: This coverage will take care of providing you with a place to stay while your house is being rebuilt. Remember, just because you had a fire doesn’t mean you get to stop making your mortgage payments. This coverage is used to rent you a place to stay until you can move back into your home.

PERSONAL PROPERTY: Just like it sounds. This is your television, computer, clothing, etc… There are limits to some items like Jewelry, fine art and important papers so if you have a lot of high dollar items be sure to talk to your agent about getting special increased limits to cover them.

PERSONAL PROPERTY OFF PREMISES: If you are on vacation and your bags are stolen, you have coverage under this part of your policy. Some people don’t realize that if their car is broken into and their CD’s are stolen the auto policy will not cover the CD’s. This part of your homeowners or renters policy will however.

PERSONAL LIABILITY: Maybe the most important part of your homeowners policy. This is what will protect you when someone sues you. Everyone always thinks that this will take care of you if someone is hurt on your property and sues you. That is true but it goes so much further. If you are playing softball and slide into third breaking the baseman’s ankle he might well sue you for his injury. Your personal liability protection will cover the cost of your defense and pay any damages up to the limit of the policy.

MEDICAL PAYMENTS TO OTHERS: This coverage is for injuries to people that don’t live at the house while they are visiting the house. For example if you are having a barbeque and someone grabs a hot skillet burning themselves you can call an ambulance, get them to the hospital and get them taken care of knowing that your homeowners insurance will be there for you when you need to be reimbursed.

Farmers also provides some great endorsements to their policy.

REPLACEMENT COST: This is an absolute must have on both the dwelling and the personal property. Without it you have an Actual Cash Value policy. With Replacement Cost the insurance company will pay whatever it cost to replace the item that was damaged or stolen. Under an ACV policy the company will take depreciation on the item based on its age or condition. For example if you have ACV on your dwelling and there is a hail storm that destroys your roof the adjuster will come out and tell you that your $3,000 roof is only worth $750 because it is 15 years old. With Replacement Cost your get the full $3,000 (less deductible) regardless of the age of the roof.

TX AMENDATORY ENDORSEMENT: In Texas there are precious few companies that will cover a house for water damage because of the way the courts have been deciding mold claims. Farmers still offers coverage for water damage in increments of $5,000 – $10,000 – or $25,000 depending on how much coverage you think you need.

IDENTITY THEFT: This is a very low-cost but important coverage in today’s high tech world. If your identity is stolen this coverage will pay your legal fees up to $15,000 to repair any damage done to your credit.

INCREASED JEWELRY / COMPUTER / MONEY & SECURITIES: Because there are limits to these items in the standard policy Farmers offers a way for people to increase the amount of coverage in these and a few more areas. All you have to do is ask.

RESIDENTIAL GLASS: This coverage will keep you from having to meet the full deductible on your homeowners just to replace a pane of glass. Whether it is your storm door or the bay window in the kitchen you can have it fixed under this portion of the policy without paying your deductible.

There are many other coverages and endorsements that will cover things like Rental Property, Boats, Home Businesses and company equipment kept at home. That is one of the great things about Farmers; they have a huge agency force that is willing to sit down with you and talk about the coverages in order to find the right package for you.

In our experience with the claims department they bent over backwards to make sure that we felt like we were being taken care of at all times. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like things are moving as quickly as you would like but I would rather wait an extra couple of days and know that the adjuster was doing everything he could to help us that to have someone cut us a check on the spot without really knowing what it was that we needed.

Georgianni’s Full Review of Farmers Home Insurance Group

We recently lost our home to a fire. The fire broke out at around 5:00 p.m. Since I was at home with the children and saw the smoke coming through the attic vents, I was able to get the kids and the pets out with a bit of help. When the fire department had the home under control, a very wonderful woman came to talk to me. She was there to make sure that our large family had a place to go as well as to offer advice on what we needed to do immediately. The top priority was to call our insurance company.
When we finally called Farmers, it was late at night. We had to get our kids and pets settled with family. However, despite the late hour, our claim was taken quickly and efficiently. We had an appointment with an adjuster the following day.
The only problem that we encountered was that my husband is heavy into carpentry. Not your average, modern carpentry, but antique tools. He had lots of them. This posed a problem because the local adjuster was not authorized to handle a claim the size of ours. He did however give us a check for $5,000.00 to cover our immediate expenses. He also gave us literature on how we needed to document our expenses until the regional inspector was able to get there. Despite the title, he was there in 3 days. He offered to help us set up a temporary home, rental furniture and anything else we needed until our home was rebuilt. Since we have 6 kids and 3 dogs, that was a challenge.
Our Farmers adjuster took care of us from start to finish. There was no fighting over what we had or didn’t have. We just had to turn in an inventory complete with pricing. That was a chore! An important lesson to be learned at this point..DO NOT HIRE A RESTORATION COMPANY! They charged us $47,000 to pack up what was left and do the inventory for us. We still had to price everything out on our own. I can sincerely say… I could have replaced EVERYTHING in my home for that amount. (Not including the tools.) This is another subject, so I will get back on target.
We have figured that we will pay Farmers our yearly insurance for the next 114 years before they will have earned back the money that they have put out for us. No problems, no questions, and once we were in their hands, no issues. Their rates may be higher that other companies, but the bottom line is you get what you pay for.

Source: http://www.epinions.com

Website - https://www.Amica.com
Located – Lincoln, RI
Phone – 1-800-242-6422
Employees – 3,200
Revenue (mil.) – $1,485
Description – Amica will amicably serve your insurance needs. The company provides a variety of personal insurance products, including auto, home, and life policies. Amica sells its policies directly to customers through some 40 offices throughout the US. The oldest mutual automobile insurance company in the US, it traces its roots back to 1907 (when fire coverage was a car owner’s most important need due to the danger of exploding gas tanks). Amica, the company’s current incarnation, was formed in 1973 when Automobile Mutual Insurance Company of America combined with Factory Mutual Liability Insurance Company of America.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

thom413′s Full Review of Amica Mutual Home Insurance Company

My parents had Amica Insurance for many years as a result of their top rating in Consumer Reports. During that time, we had one or two minor claims – a car accident destroyed a hedge on our property, and Dad skidded into the garage door one icy evening. Both of those claims were paid promptly, with no fuss. Also, the company pays a dividend at the end of the policy year which can reduce your premium, and offers discounts for alarms and other protective devices. The service was always professional and good.

The ultimate test of an insurance company’s integrity and customer service is a total loss, and that’s just what we experienced. I’m happy to report that they met or exceeded all our expectations, with a few minor bumps along the way. In February 1996, I awoke to discover that our den was in flames. Our house was a split level, and the den was directly beneath the bedrooms where we were sleeping. I woke everyone up and we escaped uninjured, but the house was destroyed. Like most house fires, the structural damage was confined to one room, but the smoke and water damage affected every room, and the house had to be gutted and rebuilt. Here’s how the claim went:

1) A courteous, wonderful adjuster was dispatched to the scene the next day, with a check for about $5000.00 to cover any immediate expenses. He outlined the separate areas of coverage – additional living expenses “ALE”, which covers your rental home costs, structure expense, and contents expense. We had (thank God)chosen replacement cost coverage for both of these, which costs a bit more, but allows you to replace things without having to factor in depreciation.

2) We moved from my sister’s home to a hotel, then on on to a rental house. Administrative glitches meant that we sometimes had to advance the rent from our own funds, but for the most part, this aspect went ok.

3) The adjuster assigned to the contents portion of the claim was rude, nasty and unprofessional. He implied several times that we viewed this a money making opportunity. Also, he attempted several times to avoid using brand names in his reports, which would have reduced the payout if we allowed it to stand. His actions delayed settlement significantly, keeping us out of our home for a long time.

4) We ended up retaining a public adjuster to settle the claim. A public adjuster takes a percentage of the total payout and negotiates on your behalf with the insurance company. We also sent a letter to the CEO in Rhode Island detailing our concerns. These two actions moved things along right away, and once the construction began and our furniture was restored, we moved back in rather quickly.

I don’t wish a house fire on anyone. But if you are going to have one, make sure you have a company that will pay your valid claim. Expect resistance from even the most reputable company, but in the face of valid claims under the contract, Amica did what was right.

darwink’s Full Review of Amica Mutual Home Insurance Company

We’ve had several home insurers in the past 20 years, due to moving, broker changes, and even one alleged-decent insurer going bust (!).
We found Amica by accident a few years back, since it doesn’t do heavy advertising. Many consumer-type sites gave it top ratings for auto and home coverage, and it got a string of JD Power awards. So we figured “what the heck,” went to its site, and got some quotes.
The quotes were _far_ lower, for better coverage, than those of other (and better-known, but far lower-rated) insurers. Amica’s reps were super-pleasant and savvy, and they weren’t just sales-robots — they _clearly_ knew the business. The policy info was understandable, coverage was easily tailored, and reps have been customer-friendly and responsive. We’ve been beyond pleased (and Amica still gets top auto-home ratings on those consumer sites).
As for some complaints here re: qualifying for coverage:
- Amica’s a sound company, or we wouldn’t have signed on … esp after one of our previous insurers went “pffft” on short notice.
- Most insurers _do_ exclude specific dog breeds from coverage. However unfair it seems, it’s based on risk stats: All dogs can bite, but some breeds are more likely to do very serious damage via that bite. (In fact, some _countries_ ban or seriously restrict these breeds.)
I love dogs, but insurers can’t (a) cut slack for breeds based on a particular dog’s track record or age, or (b) just charge higher premiums (as for drivers or businesses in high-risk groups). Even a first-ever bite from a geriatric high-risk dog can do serious damage; and we can’t control our dogs’ every move 24/7. And dogs don’t weigh consequences — it’s not like “If I bite the mailman, I’ll lose my driver’s license and my job, and-or my premiums will go sky-high.”

dabergheim’s Full Review of Amica Mutual Home Insurance Company

Our San Diego home (Rancho Bernardo) burned down in the Witch Creek fire, and Amica was there for us. We were lucky in that we were renters, not homeowners, and so we are not having to go through the nightmare of having to rebuild, but still, Amica has done right by us on our renters policy and we will be customers for life. Here’s why…

We first confirmed that our house burned down at 8:00 a.m. the morning after the fires struck. Our first call was to Amica, and without any independent verification that the house had burned down – just our word – they got us a debit card with $5,000 on it to help us with immediate expenses (the card was in our hands within three hours). The next day they called us and told us that they had put another $10,000 on the card to help us out until the claim could be settled.

Amica assigned an independent adjuster to work with us on our claim. In our first conversation, the adjuster told us “you don’t know how lucky you are to have Amica.” He said that he works with 30 insurance companies, and that there are only two — Amica and Chubb — that treat their customers right in situations like ours. Amica was in frequent touch with the adjuster throughout the process, and the adjuster said they were encouraging him to move quickly so that they could get us our money and settle the claim.

As I write this, five weeks after the fire, I can report that Amica settled our claim for the full amount of our coverage, and we received the final check in the mail the day after the called to notify us that everything was complete.

I have had coverage with Amica (home and auto) for more than 20 years. In that time I have had two burglaries, a dented car door (someone backed into the car and then drove away), some cracked windshields, and now this whopper of a claim. Each time, Amica’s claims service surpassed my expectations. My extended family also has Amica (I learned about them from my father, who has been a policy holder for 50 years), and everyone has similar stories to tell of outstanding claims service.

I am a customer for life.

Source: http://www.epinions.com

Website – https://www.nationwide.com
Located – Columbus, OH
Phone – 1-800-882-2822
Employees – 36,000
Revenue (bil.) – $21.832
Description – Call it truth in advertising — Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company has offices throughout the US. The company is a leading US property/casualty insurer that also provides life insurance through its Nationwide Financial Services subsidiary. In addition to personal and commercial property/casualty coverage, life insurance, and financial services, Nationwide also offers such specialty lines as professional liability, workers’ compensation, agricultural insurance and loss-control, pet insurance, and other coverage. The company sells its products through such subsidiaries as ALLIED Group, Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance, GatesMcDonald, and Scottsdale Insurance.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

mrmazda’s Full Review of Nationwide Mutual Home Insurance Company

Nationwide is da’bomb!!! I have used them for my auto insurance for over 7 years and I have also used them for my house insurance and they continue to impress me with their low rates.

For my home insurance policy, I have total coverage on my house, full replacement regardless of cost and $100,000 contents replacement and it costs me $244.00 a year. That is over $100.00 cheaper than I could find it anywhere else.

Nationwide also provides something that I don’t find often with chain businesses and that is a high level of customer service. Not just being nice to you when you walk in the door but remembering who you are, even if you only make it in the actual office once a year or something. Anytime I go in or call, they always know who I am and ask me questions about my life or what’s going on from previous conversations we have had. That is invaluable to me as a customer because it makes me feel special and important….not just a number.

Overall, Nationwide is the best in my book. If nothing else, give them a call just to get an estimate on your insurance costs. It could save you money.

Skayfox’s Full Review of Nationwide Mutual Home Insurance Company

I have had a Nationwide Homeowner policy for approximately 11 years. During most of that time it has been a tenant policy. However, I am not treated any differently than a home owner. When I call my agent, I feel like I am talking to a friend. He always seems to show a personal interest in my account. When I call with a question, problem, or change, he acts like I am his only customer. No question, problem, or change is ever too large or too small.The few times I have spoken with representatives from the Nationwide Corporate office, I have been treated with respect. I think they try to make every customer feel important.Thankfully I have not had any claims on my homeowner policy. However, the one claim I had with my auto policy was handle quickly and without hassle.I feel the price of my homeowner policy is very reasonable for the coverage and service I receiveNationwide also offers several discounts including home and car and long-term customer. The company knows how to make its customers feel appreciated.The handbook I receive explaining what is covered under my policy is comprehensive and easy to understand. It has saved me several phone calls to my agent.

KLP’s Full Review of Nationwide Mutual Home Insurance Company

As a homeowner, with an expensive antique furniture collection, I have spent some time researching insurance companies. I have met with quite a few insurance reps and have considered many companies. The reason I decided on Nationwide was simple. Their track record.

I did a lot of asking around and it seemed that people who have Nationwide Insurance for home or auto have nothing but positive things to say about the company.

I called to make an appointment with a Nationwide agent and was delighted when she offered to come to my home for the appointment. We met at a time that was convenient for me, after work in the evening, and we set the appointment for two days after my original call.

When I met with my Nationwide agent we went over what was my current policy. She pointed out some areas that involved unnecessary expense and in the end provided my home and belongings with better coverage for significantly less money. She showed me away to have my collection fully covered against theft and damage for only a few extra dollars a year.

Unfortunately I have needed to use my policy for storm damage to my home. The claims department was helpful and processed my claim quite quickly. In no time at all, about 10 days after my initial call, I had the check and the repairs were made.

I have found Nationwide to be a great company to work with. Ask around, I’m sure you know someone who has coverage through them and odds are that they are satisfied.

Source: http://www.epinions.com

Website – https://www.erieinsurance.com
Located – Erie, PA
Phone – 1-800-458-0811
Employees – 4,250
Revenue – $1,132,291,000
Description – Formed in 1925 as a Pennsylvania auto insurer, Erie Insurance Group has rolled down lots of other roads since then, offering personal auto, property, and life insurance through its subsidiaries Erie Family Life Insurance and publicly-traded Erie Indemnity. The group also offers commercial coverage (including auto, liability, and workers’ compensation) for smaller businesses. Doing business in a dozen eastern states, Erie Insurance Group sells its products through more than 2,000 independent agencies. The company has slowly but steadily expanded its territory, choosing to concentrate on growth in areas it already serves.

Source: http://www.hoovers.com

Reviews & Ratings

prh2s’s Full Review of Erie Home Insurance Group

I’m putting this review in the homeowner’s category, although really it’s an assessment of the complete property/casualty package available from Erie: auto, homeowner’s, and personal umbrella liability (PUL) (if you don’t know what a PUL policy is, visit the FAQ at www.insweb.com/learningcenter/qa/umbrella-a.htm). Those who are interested only in homeowner’s insurance can skip to the second and fourth sections of the review.

Personal Umbrella Liability: Excellent

When I was shopping for property/casualty insurance last year, I started by looking at the strength of companies’ PUL policies. Erie’s was as comprehensive as any I found, and more comprehensive than those offered by GEICO and Amica (two popular favorites). Rather than bore you with the details of the policy contracts, suffice to say that Erie was the only one of the three to respond affirmatively to each of the following test questions:

* A mother watches as my car accidentally strikes and kills her young child. The mother suffers no bodily injury, but sustains severe psychic trauma. Will your policy pay for the mother’s injuries?

* I rent a cottage in Scotland for a weekend. I build a fire in the fireplace, and sparks from the fire burn the cottage to the ground. Will your policy cover the damage, and will you have a representative in the UK to defend me?

* I host a large party, with a caterer providing refreshments. I sign a contract with the caterer assuming full liability for any negligence on the part of the caterer. The caterer serves tainted food, and several of my guests become ill. Will your policy cover the liability I assumed in the contract?

Of course no policy offers complete coverage in every possible situation (which is why it’s wise to make sure that your PUL covers the risks that you most need/want covered), but Erie was willing to touch things that many other insurers wouldn’t: psychic injury, damage to rental property outside the US, and contractually assumed liability. Incidentally, psychic injuries like the one hypothesized above are not uncommon, and coverage for such injuries has been the subject of a lot of litigation. Most insurance companies whose policies cover only “bodily injury” refuse to pay for psychic damages that are not accompanied by physical suffering. It’s reassuring to have a policy that covers all kinds of injuries.

(This year’s PUL policy renewal included an amendment stipulating that Erie would no longer cover personal injuries brought about by mold and fungi. I gather that this has become a standard exclusion, given all the hysteria over household mold. Still, any exclusion is hard for the policyholder to swallow–especially in a PUL policy, where comprehensiveness is most desired.)

Homeowner’s: Excellent

Our homeowner’s policy is Erie’s “Ultracover,” an HO-3 “special form,” “all perils” affair. It is exceptionally good: it covers full replacement cost of the dwelling, “ordinance or law” expenses (when repairs cost more than simple replacement, due to changes in local building codes), and damage to other people’s personal property held in the homeowner’s custody. There are many other nice extras, too, which Erie brings to the policyholder’s attention by placing an “X” in the margins of the contract next to “coverage not found in most homeowners’ policies.” This makes it a little easier to comparison shop among policies.

One quirk of our homeowner’s policy is its coverage for loss of use (i.e., payment for alternate lodging while repairs are done on the home). Most policies provide a fixed amount of coverage–usually up to 20% of the value of the insured property–but Erie’s promise is more nebuolous: “we will pay all reasonable additional living expenses while you and members of your household reside elsewhere.” This raised a red flag, but my agent quickly allayed my fears by providing examples of additional living expenses Erie had approved for other clients. All were very comfortable arrangements.

Auto Liability: Good

There are already plenty of Epinions praising Erie’s auto insurance. This isn’t the place to add another one. I will note, however, that those who expect to do more than occasional driving outside the US and Canada may want to look at a PUL, since Erie’s auto policy is geographically restricted.

General Matters

Finally, here are some of the other things about Erie that merit consideration:

* Excellent financial strength ratings from everyone–except Weiss (www.weissratings.com), which gives Erie a “C” because of weak profitability. I find this puzzling, since Erie has long been among the most profitable property/casualty insurers.

* Low premiums. Very low premiums. My auto policy, for instance, costs nearly 20% less than a comparable policy with GEICO–and almost 50% less than a policy with State Farm. The homeowner’s policy was about 20% less than it would have been with Amica or Travelers (my former insurer). There’s no mystery as to why the premiums are so low: Erie’s underwriting is as stringent as any in the business.

* Good customer interface. It’s nice to have an agent rather than a phone rep. I also enjoy the quarterly magazine Erie sends to policyholders, which is full of smart safety tips.

khahn86351′s Full Review of Erie Home Insurance Group

I have been an ERIE Insurance customer for almost 3 years now. My husband had his auto insurance policy through ERIE many years ago and seemed pleased, so when we purchased our home, we called ERIE for a quote. I don’t seem to remember whom we compared them with (approximately 3 other companies) but ERIE offered the best coverage at the lowest price.

Since ERIE’s homeowner’s insurance products are available only through local independent agents representing ERIE, we got in touch with a local agent and received our quote immediately over the phone. Our agent, Ron Nanosky, came out to our home to get our policy in order. Not only was I impressed with the professionalism, but the convenience as well.

A little about ERIE . . .

Erie offers Personal Auto Insurance, Personal Property Insurance, Commercial Insurance, Reinsurance and Life Insurance. They have also been a top-rated company for 75 years, consistently earning an A (Superior) rating from the A.M. Best Company.

Currently, ERIE Insurance Group’s service territory includes: Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin & District of Columbia.

ERIE Insurance claims policyholders will be contacted PERSONALLY within 24 hours of any claims report, available 24 hours/day, 365 days/year. They also will provide CASH in an emergency loss situation.

Depending on how you set up your mortgage, you can have your homeowners insurance put into your mortgage. My husband and I pay our homeowner’s policy separate, and ERIE offers payment plans for people like us. We currently pay the policy in full each year, but there are options to pay monthly if policyholders need a smaller payment.

Policyholders also receive a complimentary issue of “IN SYNC” three times a year. I personally wish they would send issues monthly since it is filled with consumer & safety tips for families. I read it front to back whenever it arrives in our mailbox.

ERIE’s HomeProtector Programs

ERIE currently offers 5 types of HomeProtector policies. The first I will discuss is called the Ultracover Policy. This policy covers your home and any attached structures, with a guaranteed replacement cost settlement. It also covers other structures on your property that are separate from your home. Personal property coverage is also included, and loss of use, which covers the additional expenses you may incur due to temporary relocation. This policy also covers personal liability for bodily injury, property damage or personal injury claims, and medical payments to anyone injured in an accident on your property.

Some of the optional coverage’s available include sewer or drain back-up, incidental business occupancy, earthquake coverage, scheduled personal property, enhancement endorsement, expanded endorsement, personal computer coverage endorsement and dwelling and other structures such as siding and/or roofing restoration coverage.

The Extracover Policy and the Broadcover Policy seem to offer the same coverage as the Ultracover Policy, just at a lower amount of insurance. This basically means value of your home and personal property depends on which policy will be right for you.

Renters also should carry insurance, so ERIE offers the Tenantcover Policy. This policy covers personal property, loss of use, which covers the additional expenses you may incur due to temporary relocation, personal liability for bodily injury, property damage or personal injury claims, and medical payments to others as described above.

And for the Condo owners, there is the Condocover Policy providing coverage for personal property, additions or alterations to the condo, loss of use, loss assessments up to $5,000 if the condo association’s coverage is inadequate, personal liability for bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury claims, and medical payments for accidents on the property.

http://www.erie-insurance.com/default_ie.asp

In all honesty, I had never visited ERIE’s Website until I decided to write this review. I found a lot of helpful information that I was unaware of previous to my visit.

The Website provides ERIE Insurance Group’s background information, allows anyone to locate a local agent, describes their policies and coverage’s, and even offers advice and tips for safety.

One of the options I found interesting was Access Erie. Access Erie allows policyholders to submit a claim online instead of via phone. But for those without Internet access, you still have the option to call 1-800-FOR-ERIE to submit claims.

Overall, the Website was simple and easy to navigate, with the pages load fairly quickly on my Pentium 4, 1.8GHs computer.

A little about my policy

I am not an insurance agent, but I do know what I need covered in my home because of past experiences. We carry additional coverage on our computer, jewelry and collectibles. We also chose the sewer/drain back-up coverage because of our neighborhood sewage lines history. ERIE also provides a discount since we have an alarm system on our home.

Since we pay our policy yearly, we receive a declarations summary of our policy. This provides our agent’s contact information, our coverage’s and protections, as well as our deductible amounts we chose. When our policy is up for renewal, ERIE automatically send a renewal declaration summary with your bill. If we want to add or remove any options, we are able to do so with a simple phone call to our agent. ERIE then sends out an amended copy with the corrections.

I have called my agent on several occasions to make changes to our policy. We have never had a problem and the changes were made faster than we expected. Thankfully, I have never had to file any claims with ERIE, but I am confident that if I did, I would be completely satisfied with their response.

Ready to switch to ERIE?

Erie Insurance Group Home Office
100 Erie Insurance Place
Erie, PA 16530
Phone: 1-800-458-0811

Or if you live around Northeast Ohio, give my agent a call:
Ron Nanosky @ America’s Insurance Agency – 330-757-9045

© khahn86351 2002

Bryan_Carey’s Full Review of Erie Home Insurance Group

Headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania, Erie Insurance Group is a full- service insurance company wide a wide range of services to protect individuals and businesses from catastrophic losses. This company was founded in 1925 as an auto insurance provider. Today, it has expanded its product line to include a broader range of financial services. And one of these is Erie Homeowner’s insurance, designed to give property owner’s peace of mind.

Types of Policies:

Erie’s Homeowner’s policies are broken into four areas:

HomeProtector- The most popular product sold, this protects personal property and belongings. The four options offered here are: Broadcover (covers building and identified perils), Extracover (covers, building, identified perils, and all building risks), and Ultracover (covers all risks on both personal property and building).

TenantCover- This is Erie’s renters insurance plan and it covers loss of personal property, personal liability, medical coverage to anyone who is damaged while at your residence, and living expense reimbursement if relocation becomes necessary.

CondoCover- This product is intended for condo owners and it protects the structure, personal liability, medical coverage, etc.

Mobile HomeProtector- This is similar to the other products except it is intended for those who own mobile homes. It also protects against personal liability, structural damage, medical coverage, etc.

Pricing:

Erie’s Insurance coverage policies vary in price based on the level of coverage selected. If you want to minimize your costs as a homeowner, the least expensive option is the Broadcover homeowner’s policy. Depending on what you do with your property, this level of coverage will probably be adequate. And the price of this product is low. In fact, the prices of most all Erie products are lower than the industry average, making this company one of the better choices for homeowner’s insurance.

Customer Service:

If you have questions about your homeowner’s policy, you should always try to contact your local agent first but if this is not possible or if you have forgotten the number or if you need to talk to someone after regular business hours, Erie’s general customer service is available to assist you at 800-458-0811. If you need to file a claim and cannot reach your local agent, you can call the claims hotline, 800-367-3743.

Final Thoughts:

Erie Homeowner’s insurance provides a cost effective way to protect your personal residence and other property from damage. I have used Erie Homeowner’s insurance for a couple of years now and while I have not had to file a claim (knock on wood), I have still interacted with Erie on other levels and my experiences have been mostly positive.

First, let’s talk about pricing because among the many factors involved in selecting homeowner’s insurance, cost ranks pretty high on most people’s lists. And this is one area where Erie scores high marks. The insurance the company offers to protect your home from the elements is priced competitively and this is one of the main reasons why I selected Erie and dumped my former insurance provider, Nationwide. I didn’t have any bad things to say about Nationwide, but it couldn’t match the prices offered at Erie. For almost exactly the same protection, my premiums per month were about fifteen percent lower using Erie.

Another thing offered by Erie (and many other companies) is a discount if you have more than one policy. This can help save consumers even more money and it provides incentive to switch your other insurance coverage over to Erie. This is exactly what I did with my auto insurance coverage. Again, I had been using Nationwide for many years and I didn’t really have any problem with them. But again, they were unable to match the prices for the same coverage. So, once again, I switched to Erie and my homeowner’s premiums were reduced a little more as a result.

Besides pricing, other important factors to consumers include the claims filing process and customer service. Like most people, I have never filed a claim on my homeowner’s insurance so I cannot comment on the Erie’s effectiveness in this area. But I can comment on the customer service and so far, it has been good- not incredible or fantastic, but good. I haven’t had any problems getting my mortgage holder to transfer the money (I send in one large payment that combines my mortgage payment, property tax, and insurance to my mortgage company) each month to Erie, and Erie has never had any problems collecting the money and applying the premiums. My personal dealings with Erie have also been courteous and professional.

I can only think of one small complaint I have had with Erie. One day, they contacted me and advised me they would discontinue my policy if I didn’t upgrade my electrical service. According to one of the tenets of my policy, I was forced to upgrade my level of amp service to my house to continue coverage. Erie told me they would cancel my policy if I didn’t comply. Even though I was a little peeved at the inconvenience, I gave in and made the necessary changes. Given Erie’s lower rates and my level of satisfaction, I decided this was a good idea and I upgraded my electrical service. It didn’t cost that much and it was worth it to keep the low premiums that Erie offers. Besides, the added amps made my property more valuable.

Overall, my experience with Erie has been positive and I can’t see changing to another carrier unless I can find another company that will offer the same coverage for an even lower price. Considering what I have and what I pay for it, I cannot imagine another company with the ability to offer a better deal. I could lower my coverage and save some money, but I would rather have the peace of mind. Even though the odds of having to file a homeowner’s claim are low, saving a few more dollars by switching to a lower- coverage option wouldn’t be worth the worry.

For now, I will stick with my homeowner’s coverage with Erie Insurance. My ExtraCover policy is inexpensive for what I get, and it’s doubtful any other company will be able to match the low premiums charged by this insurance provider.

Source: http://www.epinions.com