Secured with SHA-256 EncryptionFarmers Auto Insurance Review
Farmers Auto started in 1928 with two men and now includes 48,000 agents and 21,000 employees serving 10 million policyholders.
The Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is one of the country’s largest insurers, and the company received the “Carrier of the Year” award during the 2018 Insurance Nexus Innovation Awards Ceremony.
As you look through this Farmers Auto insurance review you’ll see the importance the company places on their policyholders. For example, when Hurricane Rita hit Beaumont, Texas, in 2002, Farmers sent 300 agents to assess damages while the policyholders evacuated the area.
Then, the company donated $100,000 for the city’s emergency operations and purchased two generators to help restore power in the town.
Farmers Auto offers free car insurance quotes online. To find out how much car insurance costs, take into account the different types of coverages you might include, such as the following offered by Farmers:
- Bodily Injury Liability: This pays for injuries and death that may occur because of an accident caused by you or another person driving your car.
- Property Damage Liability: It reimburses others for damage to another vehicle or property, such as a building or utility pole, in an accident caused by you or another driver using your car.
- Collision: This optional coverage pays for damage to your car because of a collision with another vehicle or other object in an accident you cause. Collision policies also protect you from damage due to road hazards.
- Comprehensive: This policy option takes care of theft and damage due to a non-collision event, including most natural hazards.
Farmers Auto Review: Claims Satisfaction
After creating a policy with a Farmers Auto representative, most drivers don’t interact with the company again for many months. Eventually, a life event may change their insurance needs (teen driver, new car, additional drivers) or they may need to ask an occasional billing question.
Otherwise, the only time most drivers speak with Farmers Auto is during the claims process following an accident.
For these reasons, Farmers Auto insurance reviews are weighted heavily toward how the insurer deals with customers making a claim. Farmers is an innovative company that makes it easy for policyholders to file a claim and check the status online.
Market research firms such as J.D. Power or Consumer Reports rank insurers based on a variety of criteria, including three key performance indicators: communication, ease of service interaction, and timeliness of responses.
The J.D. Powers 2017 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study includes a summation of Farmers Auto insurance ratings, ranking 18th out of 26 companies. Farmers was deemed “About Average” overall, scoring 3 out of 5 stars in Claims Processing, Rental Experience, and Claims Settlement, receiving 2 out of 5 stars for the Repairs Process. MetLife and Travelers rank just above Farmers, although all three companies show the exact same scores in each category.
Additionally, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has a complaint database in which various Farmers’ divisions are listed. Farmers Insurance Company, Inc. (NAIC #21628) shows a complaint ratio of 0.89, Farmers Insurance Company of Oregon (NAIC #21636) comes in at 0.04 and Farmers Insurance Company of Washington (NAIC #21644) is rated a 0.36. The national median for this study is 1.00 which reflects favorably on Farmers overall complaint status.
The California Complaint Ratio Study, which we include here because it’s the most populous state, has Farmers listed at number 8 out of 50 with a 2.4 justified complaint ratio and 1.3 million claims. This is a relatively high ranking, especially for the company’s size.
Several of the larger carriers, such as State Farm and Progressive, received a much lower score.
Farmers Insurance Overall Customer Satisfaction
When drivers compare auto insurance companies, they’ll usually look at how satisfied current customers are with their coverage. Every point of contact with insured drivers impacts this metric, including online, in person, and through direct mail.
How a company handles complaints says a lot about how the customer experience process goes in general. This also impacts future insurer recommendations to a friend or family member.
Using the J.D. Power shopping study, you can see that it ranks Farmers 14th out of 21 companies rated. The Farmers Auto insurance review shows the company scored About Average (3 out of 5) on all included categories such as Policy Offerings, Pricing, Local Agent, and Insurer Website.
Progressive and Esurance ranked about the same, with Progressive showing only 2 of 5 stars in Call Center Representative (not applicable to Farmers) and Esurance ranking 5 of 5 for Call Center Representative. Erie Insurance and USAA both scored a 5 of 5 and topped the list for Overall Customer Satisfaction.
The J.D. Power auto insurance study also looks at the performance by state. Farmers ranks close to the top (3 of 21) in Florida and in the bottom third in California, showing how rankings can vary by state. Meanwhile, Ameriprise and MetLife ranked first in California and Florida, respectively.
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Farmers Auto Pricing
All car insurance companies take the following factors into consideration when pricing your policy: age, gender, driving history, geographic location, and make and model of your car.
For comparison purposes, we used the following scenario to discuss Farmers Auto insurance pricing.
- Single Male (licensed 9 to 15 years): One car (Toyota Highlander), no violations, driving around 12,600 to15,000 a year, living in San Francisco County, California.
This scenario shows Farmers costing $3,786 (one of the highest in the range of companies). Metromile was the least expensive at $1,392 and Viking was the most at $7,698. (For more information, read our “Metromile Insurance Review“).
A female with a Toyota Camry seeking basic coverage under the otherwise same conditions would pay about $1,300 for Farmers, $567 for Lova (cheapest) and $2,154 for Viking (most expensive).
As you can see, coverage varies dramatically based on different circumstances so make sure you gather several quotes when looking for an insurance company.
Financial Strength Of Farmers Insurance
Many consumers don’t consider a company’s financial strength when they buy insurance. However, it provides insight into the stability of your insurer and gives you confidence that the company can afford to pay out existing and new claims. The Insurance Information Institute has a helpful article that can help you research Farmers Auto across five different independent rating agencies.
A.M. Best provided Farmers Auto insurance ratings for nine subsidiaries: eight scored an A (excellent) and one had a BBB+, for an overall stable outlook. Moody’s gives Farmers an A2 rating, indicating that the company can fully meet all its long-term financial obligations and is a low credit risk.
With the information we’ve discussed here, you should be closer to deciding whether Farmers Auto insurance should be your insurer of choice. Remember, you can apply these same tests to other companies you’re considering to help you make the best coverage choice for you and your family.