Auto-Owners Insurance Homeowner’s Policy Review

Auto-Owners Insurance is among the leading property and casualty insurance companies in the United States. It was founded in 1916 by Vern V. Moulton. The company is headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, and offers coverage in 26 states through 48,000 licensed, independent agents.

Mr. Moulton started his insurance company in one room of a bank building. In the early days, the company wrote only automobile insurance. In the 1940s Auto-Owners Insurance entered the casualty insurance marketplace and began offering personal property and commercial casualty coverage, including homeowner’s insurance, life insurance, car insurance, and business insurance.

The company operations are comprised of one life/health/annuity insurer and five property and casualty companies. Auto-Owners Insurance has annual revenues of over $8.2 billion and is on the Fortune 500 list. The company operates in more than 65 locations throughout the United States.

Financial Strength and Customer Satisfaction

A company's debt-to-asset ratio is a decent indicator of its financial strength when used with other measurements and factors. A debt-to-asset ratio of less than one signifies how a company's assets are financed. Since Auto-owners is a mutually owned company, it has no shareholders to pay dividends to—the company either retains earnings or pays policyholder dividends.

The company has also weathered multiple economic fluctuations over its lifetime—wars, depression, recessions, and natural disasters—demonstrating its ability to stay in operation throughout many circumstances. Auto-owners is also a Fortune 500 company and has been certified as a Great Place to Work.

These factors lead insurance rating organizations, such as A.M. Best, to give the company a financial strength rating of A++ (Superior). This combined rating tallies scores for claims and customer service, percent of customers who plan to renew, the price and policy value, and the percentage of customers who would recommend the company to others.

Better Business Bureau Rating

Auto-Owners Insurance became a Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited business in 2016 and has an “A+” rating. The company has a 1.44 out of a five-star BBB composite score based on 39 customer reviews and 84 total customer complaints. The complaints were in the following categories:

• Problem with a Product/Service: 67
  
• Billing/Collection Issues: 9
• Delivery Issues: 4
• Guarantee/Warranty Issues: 3
• Advertising/Sales Issues: 1

Homeowner's Policy

Auto-Owners Insurance offers a homeowner’s policy to customers through its network of independent agents. There are over 35,000 independent agents who service 26 states. The company has a customer center where you can enroll in billing services and make payments online, as well as view your policy and billing information.

For customers who choose to save paper and utilize the company’s online services, you can receive a “green insurance discount.” You can purchase several types of optional coverage to supplement your homeowner’s policy, which can cover:

• Boats
• Earthquakes
• Back-up of sewers or sump pumps
• Food spoilage after power outages
• Snowmobiles
• Personal computers
• Golf or other sports equipment
• Jewelry
• Personal umbrella liability
• Identity theft

Homeowner’s Discounts

As a customer of Auto-Owners Insurance, you are entitled to several discounts when purchasing a homeowner's policy:

• Seasonal dwellings discounts
• 100% replacement cost
• Multiple policy discounts
• Under construction discounts
• Renovated or new home discounts
• Mature homeowners and renters
• Premium paid in full discount
• Installing protection devices such as smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, and deadbolt locks

From the company website, policyholders can make payments, find policy documents, report a claim or find contact information for their local agent.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Affordable insurance premiums
• Excellent financial stability
• Variety of homeowner’s insurance discounts
• Award-winning claims services

Cons

• Policy change requests are not processed online, but through contacting a local agent.
• No BBB Accreditation
• You cannot purchase a policy online

States Auto-Owners Insurance Provide Coverage

The states which Auto-owners provides coverage for are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Company Contact Information

For more information about Auto-Owners Insurance’s homeowner’s policy, you can visit the Auto-Owners Insurance website, or call (517) 323-1200. You can also use the agent locator to find an independent insurance agent in one of the many offices located in 26 states.