Farmers Insurance Review: Auto, Home & Life

Farmers Insurance was based on a unique idea: The notion that rural drivers, such as farmers for example, are generally at less risk as compared to urban drivers. This insurance program was originally designed to apply to farmers and other rural drivers, though over time it has been allowed to expand, and now you can find Farmers Insurance throughout most of the United States. It is important to note, however, that Farmers Insurance has not reached all of the eastern coast of the United States yet, so there are some coverage gaps to consider.

Farmers Insurance has been in business since 1928, and the company has always strived as a whole to provide its members with affordable, quality insurance. The original Farmers Insurance was known as Farmers Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange, and it was founded in Los Angeles. Now Farmers Insurance Group is the third largest insurance company in the country, offering a wide array of different insurance products including automotive insurance, homeowners insurance and a number of other types of insurance and financial products as well.

Farmers Insurance Review

Is Farmers ‘Smarter About Insurance’? 

Consensus: Farmers Insurance is a great all-around option if you have many insurance needs. For example, several auto policies, home insurance, and others.

Farmers Insurance BBB Reviews

Farmers Insurance Group is an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). On a scale from A+ to F, the BBB rates Farmers Insurance Group as an A+. This rating is determined by a number of factors, including the company’s making a good faith effort to resolve any complaints made by consumers. Farmers Insurance has remarkably been a BBB accredited business since June of 1951.

This does not mean that the BBB has individually evaluated or endorsed the products and services that are offered by Farmers Insurance. What it does mean is that the company has made good faith efforts to resolve any complaints that have been lodged against it. In the past 3 years, there have been 353 complaints made against the company on the BBB website, primarily for product or service complaints, billing or collection issues, or advertising and sales issues. Of these, all 353 have been satisfactorily closed, 177 of which were in the past twelve months.

Source: Better Business Bureau

Farmers Insurance Complaints

An excellent source to read about complaints lodged against Farmers Insurance is through the Better Business Bureau website. 353 complaints have been made against Farmers Insurance in 2012, 2013 and 2014. All of these complaints have been closed, meaning that the company has made an effort to resolve each of these complaints after it was made. The most common issues that were brought to the attention of the BBB regarding complaints about Farmers Insurance include:

• Billing after the account was supposed to be cancelled,
• Difficulties canceling the policy,
• Changes in policy pricing from month to month,
• Changes in homeowners insurance policy pricing after closing on a new home,
• Difficulties reaching out to specific agents,
• Long hold times.

These types of complaints generally boil down to an issue with a single agent, rather than with the company as a whole. The company’s willingness to resolve the issues through the BBB system indicates that many of these issues were easily solved.

There are also review websites online that offer information on the pros and cons of Farmers Insurance as a whole, as well as individual brokerages. US Insurance Agents, for example, rates Farmers Insurance as a 3.54 stars out of 5 stars, based on 242 reviews. For Satisfaction, customers give the company 3.5 stars. For Claims, Farmers also receives 3.5 stars. For cost, customers rate Farmers Insurance 3 stars. For both Billing and Service, customers rate Farmers Insurance 3.5 stars out of 5 on US Insurance Agents.

Through US Insurance Agents, you will find both positive and negative reviews. Although there are cons and negative marks listed for Farmers Insurance, there are also many very satisfied customers. It is important to read both the positive and negative reviews when appraising the value of a company. You will have difficulty finding an insurance company that has all good reviews and no bad reviews.

Some of the most common pros and cons mentioned about Farmers Insurance include:

• Pro: Fast claims service.
• Pro: Deductibles are generally affordable.
• Pro: Excellent customer service at many of their branches.
• Con: Not always the cheapest option available.
• Con: Prices seem to increase over time.
• Con: Promised discounts don’t always kick in.
• Con: The company does not always communicate upcoming rate changes, so they can come as a surprise to customers.
• Con: Tends to be a better insurance company if you do not file claims often, as filing claims appears to cause significant rate changes over time.
• Con: Canceling a policy can be difficult and may take multiple attempts.

Farmers Financial Health

According to US Insurance Agents, Farmers Insurance has a strong financial health picture. Their A.M. Best rating is A, which is an excellent rating. Their Standard & Poor rating is an AA-, which is a very strong rating. Their Fitch rating is an A+. Their Moody’s Investor Service rating is an A2, which is a good rating. Farmers Insurance has 50,000 agents and around 22,000 employees.

Review of Farmers’ Insurance Product Line

Farmers Insurance began only offering auto insurance to people in rural areas. Today their lineup of products is much more extensive, including all of the following products:

Auto Insurance: Farmers Insurance offers a number of different coverage options for auto insurance, including liability coverage, collision coverage and comprehensive coverage. Each is designed to offer a different set of layers of protection depending on how much coverage you need. Comprehensive coverage, for example, is designed to protect against more than just collisions. If your car is vandalized or damaged due to fire or floods, theft or animal collisions, this is the type of coverage that will benefit you. Collision coverage only focuses on collision related damage, and liability insurance is the bare minimum to protect anyone else that you may hurt or cause vehicle damage to.

Collectible Auto Insurance: Collectible vehicles, the type you keep on display but don’t necessarily drive, are going to need unique insurance coverage to protect them in ways that standard policies generally cannot. Collectible auto insurance focuses on things like putting your car on display in car shows, taking your car overseas, replacing rare parts or unique parts or even incurring a total loss on your vehicle. These are considerations you typically do not need to make.

Motorcycle Insurance: Motorcycle insurance products offered by Farmers Insurance are designed to suit your driving habits, including liability coverage, collision coverage and other-than-collision coverage. The other-than-collision coverage is designed to provide coverage for any damage that does not result from a collision, and it can offer between $3,500 and $15,000 additional equipment coverage for any equipment lost leading to the claim.

Boat Insurance: Farmers is known for providing several different boat insurance packages which are leading in the industry in terms of price and service. The marine choice saver package, marine choice plus package and marine choice elite package are all options worth considering. Another option is the pontoon package, which is a lower priced option for people that own pontoons and want to settle based on actual cash value basis, which is the value of the pontoon minus the depreciation over time. There is also a pontoon elite package which offers the best pontoon coverage from Farmers, offering similar coverage to the marine choice elite package but for pontoons instead of other boats.

Travel Trailer Insurance: Traditional insurance policies are not designed to help when travel trailers break down, which is what this insurance coverage is for. Farmers Insurance offers comprehensive coverage for all your personal belongings, including travel trainers. TraveLine towing and roadside assistance is also available, so if your travel trailer becomes disabled you can get the help that you need.

Motor Home Insurance: Auto policies do not typically cover motor homes, and so having the right insurance is essential. Farmers Insurance offers motor home insurance that offers the comprehensive coverage that you need for your motor home and all of the personal belongings contained within. It essentially combines an auto policy with a homeowners policy to make sure that you are covered from all angles. Comprehensive motor home insurance covers things like total loss replacement, emergency expenses, campsite and vacation liability coverage, vandalism, windstorm and flooding coverage and more. Your RV needs to be treated like more than just an automobile, and this is where Farmers insurance comes into the picture.

Homeowner Insurance: Whether you want to protect the value of your home, or your home and the items within it, Farmers has the insurance coverage that you are looking for. You need to consider what it would cost to rebuild your home as well as refurnish it if you lose everything. If you have specific things in your home that are expensive or hard to replace, then make sure you have a homeowners insurance policy that is going to cover that loss. It is important to make sure that your homeowners insurance policy covers everything that matters to your most.

Renters Insurance: Farmers Insurance claims to be one of the best choices for renters insurance, because Farmers provides you with affordable coverage that you can definitely customize in many different ways to suit your needs. Many people do not recognize the importance of renters insurance, but if you have possessions that would be costly to replace, renters insurance is imperative even though you don’t own the property. Typically a homeowners insurance policy on the building will not protect you as the renter, so act intelligently and get the insurance coverage you need.

Specialty Home Insurance: Whether your home is a condo, a mobile home or a vacation property, a rental property or a vacant home, there are special situations where traditional homeowners insurance simply isn’t going to do the job. This is where Farmers Insurance comes in, offering unique specialty home insurance choices to suit your individual needs. Many insurance companies do not provide completely customized solutions to home owners insurance, but Farmers strives to provide the perfect insurance products to meet your distinct needs.

Life Insurance: Farmers Insurance provides both term life insurance and whole life insurance, depending on your needs. These are very different insurance products, so make sure you’re choosing the one that best suits your financial needs and capabilities. Term life insurance is meant to provide protection for a pre-determined amount of time, whereas whole life insurance protects you for the entire duration of your life. Term life insurance is a cheaper prospect since it only protects for a set term. Make sure you choose the right type of insurance to suit your needs and the needs of your beneficiaries, present and future.

Farmers Insurance Rates

The best way to determine what your insurance rates are going to be is to contact Farmers Insurance directly. Farmers Insurance agents can sit down with you directly and help to match your individual needs with products and solutions that best give peace of mind and protection. The prices you are quoted will be as unique as you are, and so the only way to get accurate information is to work directly with Farmers. There are many things that go into pricing your insurance rates, including but not limited to the following:

• Your age,
• Your driving record, (auto insurance)
• The age, location and state of your home, (homeowners, renters insurance)
• The types of items you are insuring,
• The level of coverage you want to receive,
• Your health (life insurance)
• Any risk involved in insuring you (points on your driver’s record, past claims)

Work with a Farmers Insurance agent directly to find out what insurance products will best meet your needs. You will be quoted a price based on your coverage needs, and this will help you determine if Farmers Insurance is the right insurance provider for you. Farmers will offer you bundle discounts when you buy more than one type of insurance from them, so it is a good idea to consider securing auto, home and life insurance from the same company.