Farmers insurance group is an American insurer group of automobiles, home, and small businesses. They also provide other insurance and financial services products. They operate in the 50 states and are no. 6 in size for private passenger auto insurance.
It is a subsidiary of Zurich insurance and has been in existence since the 1920s. With over 21,000 employees, Farmers insurance has won the test of time and what I am going to show you is if you can still trust them and how they work. What was good then may not be good now as it all depends on management.
Let go a little bit into what they do. Let go.
Overview
Farmers Insurance has many options that you can subscribe to which include auto insurance, home insurance, life insurance among others.
They are widely known in the United States as they are present in the 50 states.
They have excellent customer services and fast claims processing, ( the second-best in the US), however, these come at a cost. No complaint has been made against them in a long time except for the price of their premiums.
I will show you why their prices are higher than most of the other insurance companies in the US.
Pros and Cons
S/N | Pros | Cons |
1. | Excellent customers services | Expensive premiums |
2. | Fast claim processing | A low number of discounts |
3. | Users are willing to renew the plans | Customers are not satisfied with the company’s good driver tracking programs. |
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Farmers Auto insurance coverage options and discounts
The company offers all options available at the other insurance company nationwide while it also provides additional services at a cost.
The new service it offers includes: new car pledge, towing and roadside assistance extended customized equipment coverage, and farmers Rideshare.
Let discuss the coverage options:
- Accident forgiveness: normally, your insurance rate will increase after an accident, however, if you purchase accident forgiveness and you avoid an accident for 3 years, you will be forgiven for one accident.
- Loss of use coverage: Farmers’ insurance will pay you for the cost accrued on account of transportation while your car is in repair. A flat rate for public transport, rentals or cabs will be reimbursed to you.
- New car pledge: your car shall be newly replaced if it is totaled either within two years of its model year or before it reaches 24,000 miles. This means if your car is a 2020 model, you are covered for a new car if it is totaled before 2023.
- Towing and roadside assistance: If you are always on the road and your car has shown the tendency to breakdown, kindly purchase this option so that you can get access to the following on the road:
- Towing up to $150
- Locksmith
- Battery jump start
- Flat tire change
- Customized Equipment Coverage: if you are the type that has other equipment/accessories attached to your vehicle, It is advisable to have them insured against damage or theft; to get access to this, you must have purchased the full coverage options from Farmers insurance.
Other standard coverage includes:
- Comprehensive coverage
- Medical coverage: for you and those injured in the accident you caused
- Personal injury protection
- Collision coverage: includes damages to your vehicle from sources other than accidents, for example, natural disasters.
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage
- Liability coverage: damages caused to others and properties in the course of the accident you caused.
Auto insurance discounts
Farmers offer all other standard discounts offered by other insurance companies, they offer some other special ones;
- Signal by Farmers: it is a user-based insurance program that offers a 5% discount when you sign up with it. It is an application that uses your phone to track your driving behavior. Your data are being recorded and when you want to renew, it will be looked into and you can get up to a 15% discount on your former plans if your data shows good driving behaviors.
- Business and professional group discount: if you belong to a registered occupation or business group, you might be eligible to receive a discount. Eligible occupations include:
- Dentists, educators, engineers, accountants
- Firefighters, architects, judges/lawyers, librarians
- Military personnel, physicians, police, pilots, scientists.
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Other available discounts include:
- Bundle discounts: if you have more than one policy purchased from the company, for instance, home and auto insurance.
- Multicar discount: have more than one car insured
- Good payer discount: avoid late fees in the last 12 months
- Safe driver discount: a driver who has no BI points.
- Youthful driver discount
- Good student discount: a 3.0 or higher CGPA or be in the top 20% of your class
- Mature driver: certified above 55years old drivers are qualified
- Homeowner
Car insurance Rates
In this Farmers Insurance Review, I am also going to be showing you how much it cost to get a policy from Farmers insurance alongside its price competitors on several categories:
The general cost of insurance
Farmers is one of the most expensive car insurance companies in the US. The average rate is $1,635. Price comparison with other shows it is second to just one company in terms of average price (high price). Find out below:
S/N | Car insurance companies | Annual average rates |
1 | USA | $875 |
2 | Geico | $1,100 |
3 | State Farm | $1,169 |
4 | Travelers | $1,251 |
5 | Nationwide | $1,284 |
6 | Progressive | $1,334 |
7 | American Family | $1,451 |
8 | Farmers | $1,635 |
9 | Allstate | $1,788 |
Car Insurance rates by age:
The car insurance rate for young drivers is generally higher than that of mature drivers and it is not an exception in Farmers Insurance. A 25year old pays about 29 – 30 % higher than 60 years old. See below:
S/N | AGE GROUP | FARMERS RATE | NATIONAL AVERAGE RATE |
1 | 25 YRS OLD MALE | $1,927 | $1,554 |
2 | 25 YRS OLD FEMALE | $1,834 | $1,487 |
3 | 35 YRS OLD MALE | $1,563 | $1,278 |
4 | 35 YRS OLD FEMALE | $1,576 | $1,274 |
5 | 60 YRS OLD MALE | $1,495 | $1,183 |
6 | 60 YRS OLD FEMALE | $1,415 | $1,149 |
Mileage
Mileage is not one of the yardsticks for rate determination in Farmers insurance as there is only about a 0.7% increase in rate when the mileage is doubled from 6000 to 12,000 while the national average increases significantly from $1,278 to $1,321.
Credit history
People with good credit generally have access to low rates in the US than other people and it is not different in insurance too. I am beginning to suspect that people with a good credit history will make heaven before those with bad credit history.
Take a look at the wide gap!
Credit score | Farmers average rate | National average rate |
Good | $1,632 | $1,311 |
Fair | $1,877 | $1,569 |
Poor | $2,522 | $2,227 |
Driving history
Your driving history greatly impacts the rate you will pay if you are getting farmers’ insurance. Traffic offenders, driving under influence, speed violators amongst others affect your rate.
Let’s observe them below:
Driving record | Farmers average rate | National average rate |
Clean record | $1,634 | $1,320 |
1-speed violation | $2,046 | $1,604 |
1 accident | $2,410 | $1,871 |
1 DUI | $2,284 | $2,111 |
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Farmers home insurance
Farmers’ insurance also offers coverage for your homes. They have 3 plans to subscribe to when thinking about home insurance:
Package | Standard | Enhanced | Premier |
Details | Basic coverage, dwellings, home contents, loss of use, and liability coverage | Increases the policy limit, pays for replacing your roof and content of the house | Highest possible limit, the total cost of rebuilding. |
Farmers home insurance cover plan
This contains the list of things that are covered if you buy a home policy from Farmers home insurance;
What is covered | Details |
Your possessions | Damage, destruction, and theft of possessions are covered |
Liabilities | If you are legally liable for another person’s injury or house damage, the insurance will cover it. |
Medical payments | Injuries on the premises of your residence are covered |
Additional living expenses | The insurance pays when your home is under repair and you have to pay for rent (loss of use) |
Property | Covers the damage to your house if the damage is caused by a covered accident as stated in the plan. |
Frequently asked questions about Farmers Insurance
Farmers are so expensive because of agent commissions and rising costs overall for insurance companies. At $1,073 per year, the average Farmers car insurance policy is a lot more expensive than the national average of $720 for a policy with minimum coverage
After agreeing on a settlement, the amount of time it takes Farmers to send a check could be anywhere between two to six weeks. In total, you should be prepared for the process of reaching a settlement to take up to two years
Avoid using phrases like “it was my fault,” “I’m sorry,” or “I apologize.” Don’t apologize to your insurer, the other driver, or law enforcement. Even if you are simply being polite and not intentionally admitting fault, these types of words and phrases will be used against you
Generally, a no-fault accident won’t cause your car insurance rates to rise. This is because the at-fault party’s insurance provider will be responsible for your medical expenses and vehicle repairs. If your insurer doesn’t need to fork out money, your premiums won’t go up
Farmers’ accident forgiveness prevents a single at-fault accident per policy from increasing premiums once every three years. Accident forgiveness is automatically applied to eligible car insurance policies from Farmers. Drivers may not have any signs of a poor driving record from the past few years, either.
Farmers and State Farm are both huge names in the auto insurance industry with incredibly powerful advertising and marketing strategies. Both companies offer a wide range of auto discounts and offer excellent roadside services. State Farm, however, ranks higher for financial strength and J.D. Power ratings.
Conclusion
Farmers Insurance has the serving the US populace for decades now, it is quite expensive but is worth every penny. We are always told to be safe for the rainy days; the truth is we don’t know how heavy the rain will be.
Rather than saving for that, why not get a policy that can cover all rains, thunderstorms, earthquakes, and the likes (not those, but you understand what I am trying to say right?)
References
- NERD WALLET: Farmers Insurance Review
- VALUE PENGUIN: Farmers Insurance Review
- US NEWS: Farmers car insurance review