Wednesday, January 15th
2025 Home Insurance Company Reviews
Erie
- Work with a local agent
- 24/7 support
- Multi-policy discounts
- Overall positive customer feedback
- "A+” Better Business Bureau rating
Erie's history dates back to 1925. It was started with a vision by founders Henry Hirt and Oliver Crawford, to create an insurance company that placed customer service above all else. Erie is now a Fortune 500 company with over 6,500 employees and almost 7 million policies in force. A tagline Erie uses is "The proof is in the policy” and a notable company quote about the company's purpose from Hirt says, "To provide our policyholders with as near perfect protection, as near perfect service, as is humanly possible, and to do so at the lowest possible cost.” Sounds pretty good to us! But are they living up to it?
Limited service area
Erie boasts that they have over 14,000 agents dedicated to helping customers find coverage. These agents hopefully live close to your local neighborhood and are part of the community. They are there to help you make good decisions about which policy to choose and guide you through the claims process as well. Unfortunately, when we went to get a quote and put in our address to be connected to an agent, we received an error message saying that there were no agencies representing Erie in our local area. Just for fun, we tried other areas to see if we'd run into the same problem. We checked for an agent near San Jose, Houston, and Orlando. Finally we tried Nashville and Brooklyn and had some hits. It seems this company primarily operates in the East, so you are likely out of luck if you live outside of this area. It's definitely not as widespread of a company as many of their competitors.
No online quotes
Since Erie connects you with an agent to get a quote, this means you can't get any sort of estimated costs from their website. This is a sales tactic to try and reel you in rather than letting you easily compare quotes among other companies. As a consumer, it's kind of a pain. On their website, Erie does list a few ways you can save money and has a side-by-side comparison to show you why their policies are better than everyone else's. It's not quantitative, but it shows where they try to place their priorities.
Discount potential
The company has three "featured ways to save” on their site. The first is if you install smoke alarms, a burglary alarm system, and an automatic sprinkler system in your home, you'll get a discount on your policy. The next is an advanced quote discount. This states that if you get a quote from them between 7 and 60 days from when your policy would renew, you could end up with savings (although the details and math on this aren't entirely clear). Lastly, if you sign up for multiple policies through Erie, specifically life insurance, you could save on your home and auto insurance. Bundle and save!
Efforts to be superior
Some ways Erie claims that their base policies are superior to others include the following:
- 100% guaranteed replacement costs
- Extensive coverage, few exclusions
- Better theft coverage for lost or misplaced items
- Ample limits for jewelry, watches, stones, and firearms
- Reimbursements for gift cards purchased at local businesses that have closed
- Animals, fish, and birds covered to $500
- Cash and precious metals covered to $500
- Coverage for hard-to-replace items like passports, bills, deeds, and accounts
Although this list does not prove that Erie is better than another company and most of this isn't any sort of quantitative data showing that you'll save money or get better coverage, Erie does aim to beat out their competitors in these areas.
Recognized for customer service
J.D. Power ranked Erie Insurance as #1 in customer satisfaction among homeowner and rental insurance providers recently. Erie boasts that their customer service team is available 24/7 to assist their policyholders whenever they need it. They have a phone number listed on their website you can use to get a hold of them. Aside from this, your login to Erie's online portal will grant you access to view, send, and share all your policy information, make online payments and view billing activity, view your claim status, and go paperless with billing.
Well-regarded company
The Better Business Bureau gives Erie an "A+” rating and there are quite a few stories from customers who have had a great experience with the company, which is reassuring. The most positive thing we've found is that people agree Erie is actually significantly cheaper than some bigger-named insurance companies. They're generally well-regarded in the industry and seem to quickly follow through on claims and take care of issues without any problems. We've read about people who have been in car accidents, needed total roof replacements, and had other major homeowner claims and said they were really pleased with the coverage from Erie and how quickly their problems were resolved.
Reach out if you can
Erie also has their fair share of negative customer reviews, as do all insurance companies. However, overall we like what this company stands for and that they aim to put the customer first. Since they don't seem to be in very many areas, this is the reason they haven't earned a higher rating from us. However, give Erie a try and if they have coverage for you, we recommend reaching out to an agent for a quote.
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Where is the Best Place to Purchase Homeowners Insurance?
No one wants to imagine their home getting overrun with water damage, enduring a natural disaster, having a fire destroy their property, or having to deal with theft, but it happens. Everyone should have homeowner's insurance for peace of mind and to be taken care of in case of an emergency or unfortunate occurrence. In fact, it's so important that you can't take out a mortgage anymore unless you can prove you have homeowner's insurance in place.
It makes sense that banks don't want to hand over a loan with the risk that something will happen to the property and render the owner unable to continue paying their mortgage. Since your home is such an important asset, you don't want to risk being responsible for thousands of dollars in costs if unexpected damage or destruction were to occur. Being uninsured in a time of crisis could result in total financial ruin.
Home Insurance Company FAQ
Continued from above...
Most people don't have enough cash in the bank to cover a major portion of or even the entire cost of their home. It's probably the last thing you want to spend your money on when you're already paying a monthly mortgage. Having good home insurance is the best way to stay financially protected and ensure that you always have what it takes to repair and maintain your house if something goes wrong.
If you're a new homeowner, it may seem a little overwhelming to find an insurance policy. Luckily there are lots of companies available these days for you to choose from. Companies have gotten better at using layman's terms and really spelling out all their policies for you, so that you know what you'll be paying monthly, what the policy covers, and how to make a claim if you need to. Usually a company will offer a few different price ranges you can choose from, depending on how much coverage you think you need, and you can easily compare them to decide what works best with your budget and covers the risks that most threaten your property and surrounding area.
We've done some of the heavy lifting for you here by going over the process different companies require for you to get quotes and reviewing what people have to say about their customer service and follow-through with claims. When it comes to a situation regarding insurance, you don't want to mess around. We can't overstate the importance of being able to rely on a company that's affordable and will hold your hand while you navigate stressful situations.
Since there are quite a few insurance companies to choose from that have different types of policies, keep the following things in mind when choosing who to go with:
- Standard coverage. What are the basic things included with standard coverage through the insurance company?
- Optional add-ons. Every home, neighborhood, city, and state is different. That means that while one homeowner may need earthquake insurance, another may need flood insurance. Does the company have options to cover the specific risks in your area? Some also have add-ons for personal belongings like jewelry, so if this is something you might need, pay attention to what's available.
- Coverage limits. In any given situation, what is the maximum amount the company would pay out? Do you feel confident that it's enough to cover all the costs you may be facing?
- Deductible. Even though you pay a monthly fee to have home insurance, you'll still be responsible for an upfront portion of the cost of any damage you're dealing with. If you want a lower deductible, you may decide to choose a plan with a higher yearly premium instead.
- Customer satisfaction. When you find yourself in a crisis, you want to make sure you are working with a company that will help you every step of the way. Pay attention to what other customers say about their experience with the insurance company. Do they follow through with claims quickly and efficiently? Are their employees patient, kind, and easy to work with? What rating does the Better Business Bureau give the company?
Top Consumer Reviews has researched the most important things you'd need to know about choosing a home insurance plan. We hope this information helps you find peace of mind knowing that one of your most valuable assets is protected. We've tried to make things as easy as possible for you to feel confident in your decision about which home insurance company to go with.
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