In 1928 Farmers was founded by John C. Tyler and Thomas E. Leavey. Farmers insurance prides itself on its claim forgiveness policy, which prevents rates from going up after you make your first claim with them. You will have had to have a policy with them for six years before this goes into effect however. With this Famers home insurance review, we will get into the most important factors that will help you make the best choice.
Farmers covers pretty much any sort of dwelling nationwide, and offers discounts for having both home and car insurance through them. Farmer’s plans are more flexible and customizable than what other companies offer, but their customer service is not reputed to be as good as other major insurance companies. They are reported to fail to pay legitimate claims and to drop customers who file multiple claims. That said, they are still rated pretty well and may be attractive to you for some of their special features.
Best suited for
If Farmer’s claim forgiveness policy is attractive to you and you don’t mind waiting six years for it to kick in, Farmers may be a competitive choice for you, since this is rare in the industry. Farmers offers something else unusual in their contents replacement policy. This policy, which comes at extra cost, will pay out the full replacement cost for stolen or damaged property, rather than just reimbursing the depreciated value like most companies do. This allows you to actually replace goods.
Farmers isn’t big on discounts. If you want to get both auto and home insurance from them and have been updating your house and it is equipped with smoke alarms, the Farmer’s discounts may be sufficient for you. One discount that may be important to you if you are green minded is the eco-rebuild option. For an extra fee, you will be provided with $25,000 to rebuild your home after a disaster using green materials. This is an unusual option and Farmers is one of the few to offer it. If you value the trees and shrubs on your property highly, it may be worth it to you to get Farmers, as they reimburse per tree or shrub to have them restored.
Home Insurance Rates
There are over 10 things that will affect your personal home insurance rates. Things that will affect your home insurance rates include your marital status, location of your home, crime rate of your city, your credit history, if you have a home-based business or not, if your home has a swimming pool or not, remodeling, age of home, age of roof, and more. You must compare quotes to get the right price.
Locations served
Farmers serves customers nationwide, and underwrites their own coverage, unlike some other nationwide insurance companies. J.D. Best points out that companies who do not underwrite their own coverage have more trouble producing quick payouts in the case of disaster.
Financial strength
A company’s financial strength determines its longevity and ability to make financial expenditures. Since an insurance company must be trusted to pay out directly to customers, it is essential that they have a high financial strength rating. Farmers received an “A” rating from A.M. Best, which isn’t as high as it could be but is good enough to let customers know that they can trust that Farmers will be there and will be able to pay out when needed.
Customer complaint rating using Better Business Bureau
Farmers received an A+ and 3.88 score from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB considers the type of business and how long it has operated, then they look at the total volume of complaints against the business and how many of them were answered, resolved, serious, delayed, etc. They also look for advertising issues, government actions against the business, and whether or not the business has attained BBB Accredited Business status. An A+ indicates that the BBB has a strong degree of confidence that Farmers is trustworthy and will try to resolve customer concerns in good faith.
J.D Power Home Insurance Study
In the J.D Power Home Insurance Study Farmers received three stars across the board. This means they were about average, compared to other insurance companies in customer satisfaction. Satisfaction is determined by how customers rate the variety of policy offerings and the price of the policy given the coverage. Customer satisfaction also takes into account billing statement clarity and accuracy, interactions between customers and agents in regards to in-person interactions with agents, call-center experiences, website ease of use, and claims experiences.
Property Claims Study using J.D. Power
Property claims have really been put to the test in recent years, as catastrophic losses have swept across America coast to coast. In general, it seems that at least some insurers have stood up to the test. Customers were most satisfied with insurers who managed expectations realistically regarding the time it would take to settle claims. Customers seem willing to wait for payout, so long as they are communicated with well and feel confident that payout will come. Even those customers who had to wait longest for settlement still rated their experience above average if they were communicated with about the reality of when payout would occur. That said, areas with the most destruction did have overall reductions in customer satisfaction due to the long wait times for payouts. How did Farmers compare to other companies in the J.D. Power Property Claims Study? While they didn’t achieve the top ratings of Amica Mutual or USAA, they did beat out Amica in repair process with three stars over Amica’s two, and they received four stars in both Claims and Settlement ratings. Three stars in the estimation process and the first notice of loss leave Farmer’s overall customers satisfaction at three stars.
Farmers Home Insurance Discounts And Coverages
Farmers offers discounts for having both home and auto insurance through them, and offer specialized discounts as well. You can get a discounted rate through Farmers for having fire alarms, being a nonsmoker, having security and updated home systems, and even for having a new roof. Having recently renovated your home can result in discounts, and additional discounts may be available depending on where you live. You can also increase the deductible if you feel confident that you can pay the higher out of pocket cost in case of a disaster.
Support/website ease of use
Farmers’ website allows you to get a quote, speak with an agent, report claims and check on their status, as well as resources to help you file a claim and to respond to being in an accident.
Mobile app
Farmers offers a mobile app to allow you to connect with local agents, view your documents, pay your bill, and see your ID cards.
Comparison to the top companies
While Farmers is special for their claim forgiveness policy, they are not unique. Allstate also offers claim forgiveness and has more discounts. It charges higher base rates to make up for these discounts, however, so unless you are confident that you will qualify for them it may not be worth it. If customer service matters to you and Farmers blasé customer service rating concerns you, State Farm offers better customer service and similarly affordable rates. Some competing companies, like Progressive and GEICO, don’t underwrite their own policies so carefully research the company that will actually be underwriting your policy before choosing one of these huge companies. Farmers is about average in ratings from the J.D Power Home Insurance Study, which doesn’t look great compared to Amica Mutual or USAA.
Bottom line
Farmers may be a good match for you if some of their special features like claim forgiveness and discounts for bundling auto and home, eco-rebuild, full replacement value of insured items, and insurance on trees and shrubs are important to you. If you value customer service very highly, Farmers may not be best for you, but if you are willing to wait, they will eventually meet your needs and provide convenient website and mobile features to help. Getting quotes is essential and will help you to get the best price on insurance. Compare quotes today!