Farmers Insurance

Nearing 90 years of continual operation, Farmers Insurance began with the idea that some drivers (farmers and ranchers living in rural areas) deserved lower insurance premiums than their riskier counterparts (urban drivers). Though it initially only serviced the needs of the former group, it has expanded to include drivers of all backgrounds and geographic locations across the US, and has managed to expand its policy offerings to include home, life, fire and others. Though this auto insurance company has changed hands and ownership several times in its history, Farmers still remains true to its initial concept, making sure that good policyholders were pooling their risk with other good policyholders.

Standout Features

• Good Driver discounts and rewards
• Customized policies

Response & Repair: 8.3/10

Farmers is no Progressive when it comes to response time and claims processing. But then again, no one is, with the exception of Progressive. Farmers does, however, do a fairly decent job of going from A to B, getting claimants and policyholders off the road and into the proper repair facilities as quickly as possible. Getting from B to Z, on the other hand, can often take much longer, depending on whether or not other parties were involved.
Farmers Insurance is still agent-based in structure. This can be a blessing and a curse since traditional insurance agents often are a large factor in the policyholder's experience. Farmers policyholders with good agents are likely to see claims adjustments, repairs and other insurance odds and ends go through more smoothly and quickly than those with bad agents.

Policy Flexibility: 8.3/10 

One of the advantages of having area agents is the ability to meet face to face and provide a personalized, customized policy that actually meets the insurance protection needs without exceeding the budget. Farmers auto insurance policyholders have access to their agents to ask questions, file claims, receive estimates and learn more about their insurance products. With so many insurance companies closing up offices and concentrating their insurance agents online and over the phone, this seems to be an added advantage.

Benefits & Discounts: 8.8/10

Farmers is quite generous with its discounts offerings for auto insurance policies. It offers discounts for customers that take out additional policies on other insurance products like home and life. It discounts good drivers and good students. It discounts drivers with low-mileage. It even offers discounts for premium contracts paid in full, as well as discounts for payments paid automatically.

Customer Service & Claims Timeliness: 8.8/1

As mentioned earlier, much of the customer service experience and claims timeliness will depend upon the policyholders' agent. Claims processes involving arbitration and mediation between multiple car insurance agencies will be out of their hands, but claims not involving other parties typically won't. If you have a good agent, you will likely be met with favorable results. If not, you run the risk of ending up another disgruntled customer.

Claims can be filed and tracked by phone and online. Having a local agent means that policyholders have a point of contact to accelerate the process, or at least receive information about the status of the claim.

Summary: 

Farmers Insurance began as an auto insurance agency for smart, safe drivers. Today, much of that remains true. It may have expanded to include home, life, theft, fire and every other possible insurance protection product imaginable in the last century, but it still provides a fairly comprehensive, effective service for its policyholders and claimants. It might lack the streamlined efficiency of Progressive and the ease of use and savings of GEICO, but it makes a strong argument for itself with its tried-and-true customer service approach and commitment to retaining its policyholders.