American Family Insurance Review: Auto, Homeowners, and Life Insurance – Business Insider
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Bottom Line: American Family insurance is a regional insurance provider in 19 states, and it’s been around since 1927. American Family offers auto, homeowners, and life insurance with a wide array of discounts.
American Family insurance pros and cons
American Family auto insurance review
American Family was first known as Farmers Mutual Insurance in 1927. At the time of opening, Farmers Mutual Insurance exclusively offered
auto insurance
, specifically for farmers. With one last name change, Farmers Mutual Insurance became known as American Family Insurance.
American Family currently operates in 19 states. It’s ranked #7 in J.D. Power’s auto claims satisfaction survey.
American Family offers multiple opportunities to save on your
car insurance
policy including good driver, good student, multi-vehicle, loyalty, and auto/full-pay discounts to name a few.
Like most insurance companies, American Family provides discounts for bundling your home and auto policy.
There are four types of insurance coverage: liability insurance (required by most states), comprehensive, collision, and full car coverage. If you lease or finance your car, your lender may require comprehensive and collision coverage.
The difference between the various coverage types is outlined in the table below:
American Family’s auto insurance features and discounts
Multi-vehicle discount — Receive a discount if you insure more than one of your cars. Loyalty discount — Qualify for a discount by being an American Family customer for a while. Early bird discount — If you have an active policy with another insurance carrier, you could receive a discount by getting a quote from American Family seven days before your policy starts. Multi-policy discount —Save up to 29% on auto coverage and 20% on home coverage by bundling them together. Steer into savings discount — Qualify for a discount by switching to American Family from a competing carrier. Auto safety equipment discount — Receive a discount for a vehicle with factory-installed air bags. Defensive driver discount — Qualify for a discount if you’re 55 years or older and have completed an approved defensive driving course. Good driving discount — Get a reduced rate premium by being a good driver without accidents, violations or claims. Low mileage discount — Receive a discount for driving less than 7,500 miles per year. Know your drive discount — Get up to 20% off by enrolling in the KnowYourDrive program. Good student discount — Qualify for reduced premiums by having good grades. TeenSafeDriver discount — Get a discount by enrolling your teen in the TeenSafeDriver program. Away at school discount — Receive additional savings for every child who is under 25, is a student more than 100 miles away from college, and has their car parked at home. Young volunteer discount — Get a discount if you are under 25 and complete 40 hours of volunteer work per year for a nonprofit. Generational discount — Receive a discount if you are between the ages of 18 to 30, and if your parents have an active auto policy with American Family. Auto pay discount — Get a discount by enrolling in automatic funds transfer or electronic recurring payments. Full pay billing discount — Receive a discount by paying your policy in full when you purchase your policy. Paperless discount — Get a discount by enrolling in e-billing and e-delivery of policy documents. Dreams Restored Program (DRP) — American Family’s DRP will help you find a trusted repair shop in your neighborhood. American Family will take care of all estimates and reviews, your vehicle will get priority status, and they’ll receive and pay the bill directly from the auto shop.
Visit American Family’s auto insurance website to learn more.
American Family homeowners insurance review
American Family ranked #6 in J.D. Power’s homeowners insurance customer satisfaction survey.
American Family offers home, renters, condo and manufactured/mobile home insurance. American Family also offers insurance for personal property like furniture, clothing, electronics and jewelry.
Homeowners insurance protects your dwelling, personal belongings, and offers personal liability coverage for injuries that happen on your property. Standard homeowners insurance looks like the table below, but coverage varies depending on your provider:
*Available as add-on coverage if not part of policy
**Flood insurance is available through the NFIP and approved insurers
***If you live in hurricane or tornado areas, additional windstorm rider may be required
American Family homeowners insurance discounts
Age of home discount — Get a discount if your home is under 15 years old.Generational discount — Receive a discount if you are between the ages of 18 to 30 and your parents have an active homeowners policy with American Family. Loyalty discount — Get a discount on home insurance premiums if you’ve been an American Family customer for a year or more. Multi-policy discount — Save up to 29% on auto coverage, and 20% on home coverage by bundling them together. Renovated home discount — Receive a discount if you’ve renovated your home in the last 15 years. New homeowners discount — Get a discount if you’ve purchased your home within the past three years. Smart home discount — Qualify for a lower rate if your home has one or more qualifying smart home devices. Auto pay discount — Get a discount by enrolling in automatic funds transfer or electronic recurring payments. Paperless discount — Get a discount by enrolling in e-billing and e-delivery of policy documents. Full pay billing discount — Receive a discount by paying your policy in full when you purchase your policy.
Visit American Family’s home insurance website to learn more.
American Family life insurance review
American Family didn’t make the list for J.D. Power’s life insurance customer satisfaction survey.
American Family offers term and permanent life insurance products. The term life products offered are level term and simplified issue, a no-medical exam policy. The permanent life insurance products include whole life, senior, and children’s whole life insurance.
The two types of life insurance are permanent life and term life. Term life insurance only cover a specific period of time. When your policy is up, you can reapply for coverage. However, the premiums will most likely increase as you age.
Permanent life insurance never expires, has a death benefit for your beneficiaries, and a cash value that you can use during your lifetime. Some financial advisors recommend a combination of term and permanent life insurance.
American Family life insurance features
Term life — American Family’s DreamSecure term life offers four insurance policies — 10, 15, 20, or 30 years of coverage. Simplified term — A no medical test policy that is available in 10, 15, 20, and 30 year terms ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 in coverage. Whole life — A permanent life policy with fixed premiums that offers cash values and death benefits.Senior whole life — A permanent life policy offered to people ages 50 to 80 years old. Children’s whole life — A permanent life policy that offers $25,000, $50,000, and $75,000 coverage with 10 and 20 year payment plans.
Visit American Family’s life insurance website to learn more.
American Family insurance vs. the competition
Is American Family trustworthy?
We checked the NAIC Complaint Index for complaints against American Family Insurance. American Family has slightly more complaints filed against it compared to other top insurers.
American Family’s financial stability is strong, with an A.M. Best’s rating of A (Excellent).
