Erie strives to present itself as a reputable and professional, no-nonsense company—whose exceptional customer service we see verified in so many Erie insurance reviews—primarily targets reliable and safe drivers.
Erie prefers to build its business through a network of independent agents rather than base its services online. Quotes are available online, but an agent will ultimately handle them.
The Erie Insurance Group was founded in 1925 in Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in the city of Erie, and it operates in 13 states in the northeastern part of the United States.
Erie Auto Insurance Review
Overall Product
Financial Strength
Services Offered
Customer Service
Insurance Rates
Carsurance Verdict:
Affordable, with excellent customer service, Erie is a terrific choice for many drivers. However, the company is available only in 13 states, and it does not offer a mobile app. Still, if available, it’s absolutely worth your attention.
4.4
Pros
- Personalized customer service and independent agents
- Low Prices
- Rate Lock feature
- Market-leading customer satisfaction ratings
Cons
- Available only in 13 states
- No mobile app at the moment
Erie Auto Insurance Reviews & Product Overview
Erie insurance can be bought in the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
It is also among the most competitive options for car insurance in terms of price, and it offers Rate Lock as a unique feature, which enables your rate to remain the same with each new period.
Most Erie insurance reviews will confirm the brand’s reliable operations, reasonable prices, and fantastic customer satisfaction, noting excellent customer service grades.
You can create your credentials or browse Erie’s coverage options on their simple, attractive website; however, their online tools are limited, and there is no mobile app.
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Financial Strength
Erie insurance has excellent financial strength. It is a Fortune 500 company, currently ranked in 382nd place. It also has one of the best possible ratings from A.M. Best, which is A+ or Superior.
These factors indicate that your Erie insurance claims will certainly be covered. If you are considering buying auto insurance from Erie, the company’s financial stability should not be a concern.
Types of Insurance Offered
Erie offers all of the coverage that is commonly found in auto insurance, such as collision, liability, medical payments, and uninsured or underinsured motorists.
Additionally, their many additional coverage options are unique or offer a unique twist on the standard, as confirmed in many Erie car insurance reviews.
These include the following:
Damaged Windshield Repair – In case a damaged windshield doesn’t need to be replaced but can be repaired instead, the deductible will be waived.
Lowering Deductible – Your deductible will be decreased by $100 after each year you don’t have a claim, up to $500, which is the maximal deductible reduction.
Gap Coverage – In case you suffer a total loss, Erie will cover the difference between the worth of your vehicle and the amount that is left on your car loan.
Injury to Pets – It is excellent news that Erie auto insurance includes pet coverage in the standard policy. In case your furry companion gets injured in a car accident, you can obtain up to $500 for veterinary expenses per single pet or up to $1,000 if multiple pets were injured.
Damage to the Property – Physical damage coverage includes any clothing, luggage, and personal belongings that were present inside an insured car. It covers damages up to $350.
Transportation Expenses Coverage – This feature is included only with comprehensive coverage. It covers the cost of transportation expenses, such as bus tickets or a rental car, while you’re waiting for your vehicle to be repaired.
Accident Forgiveness – This is another useful feature from the Erie car insurance company that’s included in their standard policy. If you were driving for three years without an accident, your rates won’t go up after your first at-fault accident.
Lockout Coverage – This option covers locksmith expenses in case you lock yourself out of a car, up to $75.
Standout Feature
The top special feature offered by Erie insurance is called “Rate Lock.” If you have a record of safe driving, you can purchase Rate Lock, and your rates won’t increase unless you make significant changes to the policy, like removing or adding a vehicle or a driver or changing the address of your primary residence. Otherwise, rates stay the same even in the case of a claim or an accident.
Erie Insurance Customer Service
Ratings show outstanding scores when it comes to customer satisfaction. This pertains to all parts of the insurance process, from buying auto insurance to reporting and handling a claim in case of an accident. Erie insurance holds the maximum 5/5 rating in J.D. Power’s study on national auto insurance in both shopping satisfaction and claims satisfaction categories.
Erie also gets an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, which analyzes how fairly disputes are handled and if the company behaves ethically, presenting all of its practices to the customer clearly.
The positive Erie insurance reviews and BBB rating speak well of the company, but there’s more: Erie placed 4th out of 23 insurance providers when ranked by the reputable insurance reviews website NerdWallet, receiving 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Statistics also favor Erie’s customer service. Its NAIC complaint ratio rating is 0.59, which indicates significantly fewer complaints than the standard for a company that big. Overall, the impression is that Erie provides top-notch customer service.
However, there were some strikingly negative Erie auto insurance reviews on websites like Yelp and consumeraffairs.com. Customers complained mostly about the claims handling process and towing process.
Additionally, many users complained that Erie canceled their policy without any valid reason. It is worth taking a quick look at those reviews since they are in significant contrast to the good ratings gathered from the Better Business Bureau and J.D. Power.
However, it should be noted that customers have a higher tendency to leave a review if the experience was overwhelmingly negative. The fact that those particular customers had an awful experience doesn’t mean that the majority of customers had an unpleasant one.
Erie Insurance Discounts
There are many discounts offered that are typical for the auto insurance industry. Those include:
Safe Driving Discount – This is available for those with a good driving record.
Low Usage Discount – This is for insured drivers who don’t use their car much or don’t drive it at all.
Safety Equipment Discount – The discount is available for vehicles equipped with safety features like airbags or theft prevention devices. This discount is not available in Kentucky.
Young Driver Discount – It’s provided for young drivers who live with parents, are unmarried, or have good grades.
Discount for Bundling Multiple Cars – When there are multiple vehicles on the same policy, Erie car insurance will offer a discount. This is a common practice among auto insurance companies.
Discount for Bundling Multiple Policies – This is also offered by most auto insurance providers. If the customer has a homeowners or life insurance policy with Erie, a bundle discount is available. This discount is not available in Kentucky.
Discount for Paying Upfront – If a customer wants to pay the policy in full at the start of the term, a discount is available.
Discount for Loyal Customers – It’s available for customers who have had an auto policy with Erie for 15 years without an accident. Erie will not increase rates if this discount is applied, though it’s only available in specific states.
About Erie Insurance Rates
While the company is listed among the more expensive options, it is found Erie to be among the cheaper auto insurance providers in the US.
Valuepenguin.com found that Erie quotes were 24%–42% less expensive than the competition, which includes State Farm, Allstate, and Geico. Geico was the second cheapest option, offering $24 more expensive coverage than Erie’s car insurance for a 20-year-old male or female driver.
However, according to our research and numerous Erie car insurance reviews, if these customers are drivers who are categorized as safer, for example married couples in their 20s or 60s, and they insure multiple cars, the difference is more striking.
The difference between Geico and Erie is $98 for a couple in their 20s, and $94 for a couple in their 60s. In truth, these are not insignificant differences.
Comparison shows that the company offers prices that are among the best. In general, Erie shows a tendency to insure safe, reliable drivers who are likely to get the most competitive quote offer on the market.
Erie Insurance Payment Plans Compared to its Competitors
Erie Insurance vs Allstate
Car insurance reviews confirm that Erie is significantly cheaper than Allstate, both in auto insurance and in homeowners insurance, for those interested in bundling. They both have an outstanding A+ financial rating.
On the other hand, Allstate has an average customer service rating, while Erie excels in this field. Allstate is available in more states than Erie, which is an advantage.
However, if you are located in a state where Erie operates and if you aren’t looking for custom coverage only through Allstate, Erie is likely a better option.
Erie Insurance vs State Farm
State Farm is also a more expensive option than Erie when it comes to auto and homeowners insurance. State Farm has the best possible financial rating as well, meaning that there should be no worries that you will be covered in case of a claim.
The company is the champion of customer service satisfaction, whereas State Farm has average scores, according to many different Erie insurance reviews.
Being the largest auto insurance provider, State Farm offers more extensive coverage options; it’s more internet friendly and is present in more states.
However, for those located in the states where Erie’s available, it may be that they offer cheaper and more reliable coverage.
Erie Insurance vs Travelers Insurance
Travelers has an average or slightly above-average customer service rating, which is better than the rest of the competition but still less impressive than most Erie insurance ratings. They both share “Superior” financial ratings, and Travelers offers some interesting coverage options like Ridesharing for Uber and Lyft drivers, while Erie does not.
Travelers covers almost all of the states, while Erie is limited to the Northeast. Nonetheless, everything said in the State Farm and Allstate comparison applies here: if you live in a state where Erie offers insurance, and if you are not interested in any options exclusive to Travelers, Erie is likely a better choice.
Erie Insurance Review – Best Alternatives
Overall, Erie seems like an excellent option, unfortunately, it has limited availability. Geico and State Farm are a solid alternative and are available in every US state, which is not the fact with Erie.
Other options that are rated highly are Amica Mutual, Auto-Owners, and Travellers. In addition, Progressive insurance is a good alternative for high-risk drivers.
Erie Insurance Company Rating & Expert Thoughts
The company is rated rather highly. It is the winner in both categories in the customer satisfaction survey conducted by J. D. Power, and it is placed as the fourth-best auto insurance company in the US according to NerdWallet, with the rating of 4.5 stars out of 5.
So for those looking to select Erie as their next auto insurer, rest assured, you’d not be making a mistake.
People Also Ask
Yes, Erie is a good insurance company. It has excellent financial strength – A.M. Best gave it an A+ Superior rating. It’s also featured in the Fortune 500 list.
When it comes to customer purchase experience, Erie ranks the highest among car insurers in the latest J.D.Power study and has been doing it for the last seven years.
The company has a score of 917/100. The industry average is 852. Erie is well known for combining excellent service with low prices.
Yes, Erie is one of the cheapest insurers on the market. Of course, your quote will depend on the number of specific factors, and it’s hard to say how cheap it will be.
But, in general, we can say that Erie is 32% to 38% cheaper than the average. It also offers the cheapest full coverage insurance and is a complete winner in the teen category, with an annual premium three times lower than Allstate.
Geico is cheaper for drivers with very poor credit scores (under 579). And that’s the only category that Geico is cheaper in.
Erie has lower premiums in every other category (age, driving tickets, and offenses, etc.), and they are sometimes even two times lower.
On the other hand, Geico has a slightly wider array of discounts, and they can lower the price considerably.
Yes, Erie offers accident forgiveness. This means that your premium will not go up after your first at-fault accident. To qualify, you have to be an Erie customer for three or more years. This option will not cost you extra.
Accident forgiveness is an important feature. Without it, the average driver who causes an accident may see an average premium rise of about one-third for the next several years.
Erie has somewhat inconsistent ratings. Erie has an A+ Superior A.M. Best rating, and it’s the second-highest rating possible.
When it comes to its BBB rating, Erie isn’t the best on the list, with a poor customer rating. J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction studies, however, rate Erie as better than average. This discrepancy may be explained by the fact that many of these negative Erie insurance reviews were created by non-clients.
