For each house owner, insuring their Most worthy asset is the largest precedence. As a number one home insurance provider, Erie Insurance coverage insurance policies are designed to cowl every kind of damages which may befall a property. Established in 1925 by H.O. Hirt and O.G. Crawford, the Pennsylvania-based firm was initially an automotive insurer that later branched out to life, dwelling and enterprise insurance coverage in addition to retirement, medicare and id theft protection. Versus most main insurance coverage corporations, Erie chooses to offer the attention-seeking commercials a miss and stays understated with a market share of 1.7 p.c and excellent service to clients.
For this Erie dwelling insurance coverage evaluation, we in contrast the corporate’s protection, reductions, assist, accessibility, buyer satisfaction and assist utilizing the SimpleScore methodology to seek out out if it presents aggressive and complete insurance policies for householders throughout twelve states and Washington, D.C.
Greatest for affordability — Erie
With distinctive customer support and best-in-market costs, Erie really stays ‘above all in service’.
- Excessive customer support rankings
- Versatile protection choices
- Strong web site
- No nationwide availability
- Restricted on-line instruments
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What we like about Erie
As one of many prime ten insurance coverage corporations within the U.S., Erie has a lot to love about its insurance policies.
Excessive customer support rankings
For the final a number of years, Erie has retained its place because the insurance coverage firm with probably the most wonderful customer support. Policyholders have broadly counseled the convenience of doing enterprise with the corporate, proper from requesting quotes to submitting claims.
Versatile protection choices
Erie presents all commonplace protection choices to householders with the selection of getting extras added to your bundle. It additionally has packages that may be personalized in response to particular person necessities.
Strong web site
The corporate web site offers customers with info on dwelling security, home searching, catastrophe preparedness and insurance coverage procuring. It is usually straightforward to seek out out from the web site how Erie dwelling insurance coverage insurance policies examine to the competitors.
Who ought to get this coverage
Erie dwelling insurance coverage is nice for everybody, however these on a good funds will profit probably the most from the prime quality of service at an reasonably priced price.
[Read: Best Flood Insurance Companies for 2021]
Issues to contemplate
As with each insurance coverage firm, there could also be sure explanation why it may not be best for you.
No nationwide availability
Erie Insurance coverage solely operates in 13 states across the U.S., together with:
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Washington, D.C.
Folks outdoors of those territories will be unable to get pleasure from Erie’s pocket-friendly charges and numerous protection choices, and it’s one of many firm’s largest downsides.
Restricted on-line instruments
Requesting quotes and submitting claims can’t be achieved on-line. For each of those processes, you need to get in contact with a neighborhood agent or contact Erie’s 24/7 helpline.
Who shouldn’t get this coverage
Erie insurance coverage is out of attain for many who don’t reside in its areas of operation. It may also be barely inconvenient for many who depend upon on-line instruments for fast and straightforward providers.
What we analyzed
To measure how Erie stacks up in opposition to its largest contenders, our crew analyzed the reductions, protection, buyer satisfaction, assist and accessibility provided by this insurer.
Reductions
Erie dwelling insurance coverage has restricted reductions on insurance policies, however they could nonetheless save on premiums. The house insurance coverage reductions provided by Erie are:
- Multi-policy low cost: For individuals who buy life, auto and residential insurance coverage insurance policies by way of the corporate
- Security options low cost: For properties geared up with fireplace and burglar alarms and sprinkler techniques
- Advance quote low cost: For individuals who get a quote between every week and two months of their coverage renewal date.
Protection
In addition to the usual construction, legal responsibility and private property coverages, Erie dwelling insurance coverage insurance policies even have the choice to incorporate add-ons for an additional price. The extra coverages are a part of ErieSecure packages and the extra you pay, the better the alternatives.
- Assured alternative price: Pays for the price of rebuilding if your house is broken
- Identification restoration and fraud reimbursement: Recovers bills related to a case of id theft
- Protection for Valuables: Covers in opposition to theft or harm of valuables reminiscent of money, jewellery, artwork and silverware
- Protection for Onerous-to-Exchange Gadgets: Protects essential paperwork reminiscent of payments, deeds, passports and the like
- Animal protection: Insures pets reminiscent of fish and birds
- Flood and earthquake insurance coverage: Protection in opposition to flood harm is offered in partnership with American Bankers and the Nationwide Flood Insurance coverage Program. Additionally obtainable is protection in opposition to property harm in an earthquake.
[Read: Actual Cash Value vs. Replacement Cost: What’s the Difference?]
Buyer Satisfaction
Erie insurance coverage has by no means faltered in buyer satisfaction rankings over the many years. In J.D. Energy’s 2019 U.S. home insurance customer satisfaction survey, Erie will get second place with a rating of 838 out of 1000 factors. This equates to a five-star score. The Better Business Bureau offers Erie insurance coverage an A+, whereas the corporate’s criticism index is beneath common at 0.26, in response to the NAIC (# 26271).
The corporate can also be in superior monetary well being, based mostly on the score of A+ by AM Best, the biggest unbiased monetary company. Because of this the insurer is able to assembly the wants of policyholders.
Assist
Prospects can count on to succeed in one among Erie’s 13,000 brokers at any given time over the telephone. You could find the closest brokers through the use of the locator software on the web site. The corporate doesn’t provide on-line buyer assist however has a 24/7 helpline.
Accessibility
All the pieces from getting a quote to making use of for a coverage to submitting a declare is completed over the telephone by working with a neighborhood agent. The one obtainable on-line service is invoice cost. There is no such thing as a cellular app for dwelling insurance coverage or on-line instruments that eradicate the necessity to communicate to a human.
Erie vs. the competitors
The house insurance coverage market is crowded. Though Erie outshines most different corporations when it comes to buyer satisfaction, it has stiff competitors in different areas. The next are three main insurers evaluated for reductions, protection choices, accessibility, buyer satisfaction and assist and in comparison with Erie Insurance coverage.
Amica Mutual
This lesser-known firm has been defending properties for over a century with hard-to-beat perks.
If there’s an insurer that surpasses Erie in each means, it’s Amica Mutual. Barring Alaska, Florida and Hawaii, it covers each different area within the US and has been voted finest dwelling insurance coverage firm by J.D. Energy for 18 years in a row. In addition to dwelling insurance coverage, Amica Mutual additionally presents auto, life and enterprise insurance coverage, has a streamlined web site and cellular app, a number of on-line instruments, and a mess of protection choices and reductions.
Learn our full Amica Mutual review.
USAA
Protecting army households since 1923 with the most affordable charges and complete insurance policies.
The third-largest firm for dwelling and auto insurance coverage, USAA ranks excessive in J.D. Energy surveys for distinctive buyer satisfaction, a number of the most cost-effective premiums and most in depth protection choices. Insurance policies can be found throughout all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and the cellular app permits you to pay payments and look at your paperwork. The one draw back for this stellar insurance coverage supplier? You have to be a member of the army – or have somebody within the rapid household who’s – to have the ability to qualify.
Learn our full USAA review.
State Farm
Love the catchy State Farm commercials? You’ll love the protection choices extra.
With an AM Best rating of A++, the biggest insurance coverage firm within the US outranks all of the others when it comes to monetary well being. State Farm’s costs are greater than Erie’s and it additionally presents restricted reductions on householders insurance coverage, however the big selection of protection choices and the convenience of digital instruments make the client expertise candy.
Learn our full State Farm review
Erie’s charges
The average cost of homeowners insurance is $1,211 however the fee varies considerably based mostly on location, dimension and age of property, sort of protection and vulnerability to pure disasters. Newly constructed homes usually have decrease premiums in comparison with previous properties, and having a number of security options put in additionally results in a value lower typically. The easiest way to find out the premium you might need to pay is by getting quotes from insurers and evaluating them based mostly on protection.
Erie insurance coverage doesn’t have a web-based quotes software. Potential clients want to decide on their protection choices from the corporate web site after which focus on the remaining over the telephone with an agent. Nonetheless, in most surveys, Erie was discovered to have probably the most reasonably priced charges for complete dwelling insurance coverage insurance policies.
[Read: How to Find Cheap Homeowners Insurance in 2021]
Erie on-line and cellular app
To report claims and get a value estimate, clients want to talk to a neighborhood Erie agent or name the 24/7 helpline quantity. Its web site is laden with details about the providers provided and the way Erie is totally different in comparison with related insurance coverage corporations. Though the corporate does have a cellular app, it’s solely for auto insurance coverage.
Erie renters, auto and life insurance coverage
Erie Insurance coverage Firm covers all features of life with their numerous vary of insurance policies. A few of its hottest insurances are:
Renters insurance coverage
Ranked the second-cheapest firm for renters insurance coverage, Erie’s coverage presents the usual protection choices reminiscent of legal responsibility and lack of use safety. As well as, your insured belongings are coated in opposition to loss, theft and harm once you’re away from dwelling.
Life insurance coverage
Erie has time period life insurance coverage for five, 10, 15, 20 and 30 years, in addition to entire and common insurance policies. Making use of for a coverage is fast and straightforward and you may get $90,000 price of protection with no medical examination.
Auto insurance coverage
Though Erie auto insurance coverage coverage is pretty commonplace, it has some distinctive options not at all times obtainable from different insurers. The Price Lock program is one such choice provided by the corporate, which permits clients to lock the worth of premiums and protection choices till a brand new automotive is added or faraway from the coverage or the place of residence modified.
Bundling choices
Bundling a number of strains of insurance coverage from the identical firm often leads to a value lower. By buying your house and auto insurance coverage insurance policies by way of Erie, it can save you wherever between 16 and 25 percent, relying in your location.
[Read: Commercial Home Insurance, Explained]
Erie within the information
- In October 2020, Newsweek named Erie one of the best in customer support within the dwelling insurance coverage class. The outcomes had been based mostly on an unbiased survey of over 25,000 clients who used these providers or gathered details about them within the final three years.
- In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Erie Insurance coverage pledged to offer $200 million in dividends to its auto insurance coverage clients, which represents about 5 p.c of their annual premium. “We’re lucky to have constructed up the monetary energy now we have over our 95 years that enables us to additional assist our clients throughout this difficult time,” mentioned Tim NeCastro, president and CEO of Erie Insurance coverage.
- In April 2020, Erie Insurance coverage was named one among America’s best employers for 2019. “ERIE is an employer of selection and we take nice pleasure in our staff who proceed to ship on our promise to be Above All in Service for brokers and clients,” mentioned Dionne Wallace Oakley, government vice chairman for Human Sources and Technique.
Too lengthy, didn’t learn?
For those who reside inside its service areas, Erie is the industry-best dwelling insurance coverage firm you possibly can do enterprise with. Constant excellence, affordability and dedication to clients will probably preserve Erie Insurance coverage on the prime of the charts for years to return.
We welcome your suggestions on this text and would love to listen to about your expertise with the insurers we advocate. Contact us at inquiries@thesimpledollar.com with feedback or questions.