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Are Insurance Policies the Same?
The impression you get from commercials is that the most important thing about insurance companies is that they can make an ad funny–and we do have one of those companies. Apart from that, you might think policies are blandly interchangeable and pretty much the same.
And that’s partially true. There is a large overlap between what the home and auto insurance policies from different companies cover. That’s why it’s possible to do relevant pricing comparisons to see if you can save some money and find better value. (And we do love providing relevant insurance comparisons for your home and auto here in Oregon!)
That said, insurers do offer policy options in significant variety. Some of those options provide value while others are as promising as wet socks on a cold day.
At this point in my career as an insurance agent, I’ve reviewed quite a few car and home insurance policies here in Oregon. That doesn’t mean I’m a legal expert or remember everything I see, but it does mean I notice significant benefit differences between optional endorsements, especially uniquer ones (okay, more unique!, or how about distinctive), options I would not appreciate as a casual consumer.
So our ears perk up when we hear about options that can offer distinctive value to our clients here in Oregon. (We say “here in Oregon” because policy features vary from state to state, and we mostly see Oregon policies.)
Along those lines, we’ve put together our thoughts about our companies below. The carriers we use are Safeco, Travelers, Progressive, and Geovera. (The options can and do change over time so be sure to double-check if some options are especially interesting to you.)
What we like about Safeco.
We do like Safeco and consider it overall our strongest and most well-rounded carrier. We say most well-rounded because they have just about every policy you might want bundled at a carrier. Beyond auto and home, they also can insure motorcycles, boats, antique cars, RVs, travel trailers, a rental, and an umbrella to go over the top of all of it.
Born in the Pacific Northwest in Seattle, it was acquired by Liberty Mutual in 2008. Even so, Safeco retains significant staffing in the Pacific Northwest, the polices retain their distinctiveness, and now it also has the financial backing of Liberty Mutual.
Safeco’s Car Insurance Here in Oregon
Competitive Rate
Particularly if you are willing to bundle, you always pay your bills on time, you have a good length of time with a previous carrier, and you like the idea of paying in full for an annual policy. (Yes, they have an annual car policies.)
Standout smartphone app!
Most auto insurance companies give some form of a discount –at least initially– for providing them with telematics data, information about how you tend to drive. Most companies now do this through a smartphone app and, in my view, Safeco’s RightTrack app is outstanding.
RightTrack is great because you don’t need to do it forever and it guarantees a good discount.
90 days and you’re done! Many companies will ask you to keep the app on permanently or ask you to put a separate device in your car and sync to your phone.
At Safeco, the app runs for a limited time. Moreover, whatever discount you earn stays on at your renewal, which leads to the next reason we like it.
Minimum discount of 5% with RightTrack. Many companies can use the results to discount or surcharge after the initial term or will give a minimal 1% discount, but, hey, if I’m going to be giving up my driving data, I want to know that I’m going to be saving something good. A solid place to start is at least 5%. Most average around 10%.
Different Benefit Levels
We like that there are different levels of coverage for those who might want a more basic coverage level to more robust policies. As you might expect, the middle and top levels are where the distinctive options reside.
Superior Level Benefits
If you’re the type of person who wants your insurance policy to reward you for good driving and time with company, Safeco’s Superior level is a great choice.
Superior–the one chosen most commonly by our clients– rewards clients who don’t have accidents in several ways.
Claim-Free Benefits: Staying claim free means
. . . Safeco gives you 5% cash back. It’s nice to get some premium back if we manage to stay claim-free.
. . . your collision deductible drops by $100 annually up to $500. That means if you start with a $1000 collision deductible, and you go five years without incident, your collision deductible would be only $500.
. . . and you also accrue accident forgiveness at the 3-year mark. This provides some protection from your rate going up if you have an accident.
New Vehicle Replacement for first year of ownership is also included with Superior. This means that if you total out a vehicle you bought new within the first year, Safeco will give you the option of getting a similar brand new vehicle. This is valuable because it helps with the challenge of depreciation that occurs almost immediately when vehicles are driven off the dealership lot.
Premier Benefits
If you’re the type of person who wants your insurance policy to reward you for good driving, if you tend to purchase your vehicles new, and if you want to ensure OEM coverage, you can’t do better than Premier.
Premier level adds the following benefits on top of Superior.
Accident Forgiveness is attached right away on the policy.
New Vehicle Replacement on a brand-new vehicle is for the first two years of ownership! In other words, if you total out a vehicle within two years of when you bought it new, Safeco will give you the option of getting a similar brand new vehicle.
An optional OEM endorsement for vehicles 10 years or newer. Standard auto policies in Oregon do not cover original equipment manufacturer parts and so that can leave you some additional expense if you want OEM parts after an accident.
So if you’ve got that BMW, Mercedes, or Audi you can account for OEM parts in the policy. And if, like many, OEM parts don’t matter to you, you can still have Premier and remove the OEM endorsement for some savings.
On the smaller-but-still-significant side, there is no daily limit on a replacement rental vehicle if your car is in the shop from a covered accident.
Premier also includes a more generous roadside assistance (100 miles) package for breakdowns.
Safeco’s Home Insurance Here in Oregon
Competitive Rate:
If you are willing to bundle, you take care of your home, you always pay your bills on time, and you have a good length of time with a previous carrier, then Safeco is a great option for your home insurance as well.
Strong Benefits Beyond the Basics
Optimum Level Benefits
If you’re the type of person who tends to buy a quality home and fill it with quality stuff, Optimum may be for you.
Mid-level “Optimum” coverage includes robust internal personal property limits that exceed those of many other carriers. In other words, there’re higher internal limits for things like jewelry, firearms, coins or currency.
Great options often included at Optimum Level include:
Better extended replacement cost if you want it. Most companies default to 20% or 25%, but for a tad more premium you can bump this to 50% or even 100% at Safeco.
Water Seepage coverage of up to $50k. Most basic policies cover damage from sudden and accidental pipe bursts but not longer term leaks. This option provides significant help for damages from a longer term, hidden leak.
Water Backup limits up to $50k. Most basic policies exclude damages from water backing up through drains into the house. This option gives significant help from a water backup.
Matching Siding/Roofing/Windows option. This one can sound kind of silly at first but can be significant. How so?
Well, typical home policies in Oregon cover the repairs to damaged sections in the event of a loss, and this mostly makes sense. After all, why would you pay to replace perfectly good roofing, siding or windows? Contractors typically do a good job matching the repaired sections to your existing materials.
But! In some cases, a good match to the roofing or siding can be hard to find, and that’s where this option comes in. It can provide additional funds to replace undamaged sections for the purposes of getting a better match.
Safeco also has an even more robust level.
Premier Level Benefits
If you want to know you have the best home insurance policy possible, it’s hard to beat Premier. Here in Oregon, Premier Level is available for homes insured for at least $700k and it is outstanding. How so?
Better internal personal property limits. Much larger than typical theft limits on things like jewelry, cash, or coin collections.
Extended Dwelling coverage of 100%. Most policies offer an additional 20% or 25% as a buffer in case the cost to repair your home ends up costing more than it’s insured for. Having this coverage at 100% gives you a much better buffer in the event of a major loss. This can be invaluable in the event of a rapidly changing economy or in the event of a significant regional loss like a wildfire where building costs skyrocket.
Water Backup limits at 100% of the dwelling coverage. Most basic policies exclude damages from water backing up through drains into the house or include $10k or $20k. This option gives significant help for recovering from a water backup.
Includes Matching Siding/Roofing/Windows option (see above).
Building Ordinance at 100% of the dwelling coverage. Most basic policies include 10%, but this coverage can be critical, especially for older homes. Why? Because renovations from a loss can trigger additional required–and expensive–repairs to keep a home up to current building standards.
Total Replacement Cost Settlement: Under most policies, you receive replacement cost when you repair or replace the damaged structure. But, if your house is a total loss, this option allows you to take a full cash payout at replacement cost for your dwelling whether or not you decide to repair, replace, or rebuild your home or other structure. In other words, this gives you more financial flexibility if you don’t want to replace your lost structure.
Solid mix for adding on motorcycles, rentals, boats, RVs, and antique classics.
What we like about Travelers.
We consider Travelers a great carrier for home and auto insurance here in Oregon. As its name implies, Travelers initially grew around providing accident insurance for people who were traveling especially by rail. But Travelers soon spread its efforts into other industries apparently even writing the first automobile policy in 1897.
Here in Oregon they are excellent for bundling auto and home insurance with an umbrella. Their rates are good too.
Travelers’ Car Insurance Here in Oregon.
Competitive Rate:
Particularly if you are willing to bundle, you pay your bills on time, you have a good length of time with a previous carrier, and you like the idea of paying in full for an annual policy. (Yes, they have annual car policies.)
A solid smartphone app!
Travelers’ Intelli-Drive, which gives you a discount based on how you drive, is one of the best because you don’t need to do it forever and it gives a great initial discount for using it.
90 days and you’re done! Many companies will ask you to keep the app on permanently or ask you to put a separate device in your car and sync to your phone.
At Travelers, the app runs for 90 days. We really like that it combines with the digital discount for a more than 10% discount here in Oregon. And we recommend going for an annual policy if you can because that discount is applied across the entire policy term!
We don’t like it quite as much as Safeco’s because, unlike Safeco’s minimum discount (above), savings are not guaranteed at the renewal terms. Don’t get us wrong, most people do save within the range of 5% to 12% at the renewal, but a significant number, say 25-35%, will see no savings at renewal or even a charge. (We give a ballpark range because they don’t provide us the numbers by state.) However, if you do poorly, you can request a mulligan for the following term. And either way, you do save on that first full year.
Premier Responsible Driver Benefits
We like that Travelers’ auto insurance in Oregon has a level-up coverage option if you want a more robust policy. Travelers also offers a “Responsible Drivers” plan just below Premier but the cost difference is marginal, while the Premier Benefits are better if you want them.
Premier provides four benefits:
Accident forgiveness. It’s a bit rich in our view to call it “forgiveness” since your pricing may still change some from an accident, but the benefit will shield you from some of the rate increase.
Minor violation forgiveness. As above, this does shield you from some of the potential rate increase from getting a minor violation.
Decreasing deductible. If you don’t have any accident or major violations during your term, your deductible drops by $100 per year. And, unlike Safeco, it applies to both collision and comprehensive coverage.
Total Loss Deductible Waiver. If your car is a total loss in an accident Travelers will waive the deductible.
Finally, we also like that these are optional. In other words, if those benefits don’t appeal to you, you don’t have to take them, and you’ll save some money to boot.
Travelers Home Insurance Here in Oregon
Competitive Rate:
If you are willing to bundle, you take care of your home, pay your bills on time, and you have a good length of time with a previous carrier, and have a newer roof, then Travelers may be just right for you.
Good Options beyond the basics
Protect Plus & Protect Premier Benefits
These offer better internal limits of coverage on items like jewelry, silverware or firearms. It’s nice to have the option to move these limits up in a fairly simple way, and the cost difference isn’t crazy.
Better extended replacement cost if you want it. Most companies default to 20% or 25%, but for a tad more premium you can bump this to 50% at Travelers.
Hidden Water Damage coverage of up to $20k. Most basic policies cover damage from sudden and accidental pipe bursts but not longer term leaks. This option can provide significant help for damages from a longer term, hidden leak.
Water Backup limits pretty much as high as you’d like. Most basic policies exclude damages from water backing up through drains into the house. This option gives significant help for recovering from a water backup loss.
Decreasing Deductible gives a $100 deductible credit for each year you have the policy up to 5 years.
Loss Forgiveness shields your renewal from the premium impact of a loss (one in five years).
Again, as above, the term “Forgiveness” can be misleading in our view because if you have a second home claim in that period Travelers will probably non-renew your policy (as most regular home insurers would). Nevertheless, there is definitely some pricing protection.
Matching Siding/Roofing option. This one sounds kind of silly at first but can be significant. Most policies cover the repairs to damaged siding or roofing in the event of a loss, which mostly makes sense.
After all, why would you replace perfectly good roofing or siding? And contractors typically do the best they can to match your existing materials.
But! In some cases, a good match to the roofing or siding can be hard to find, and that’s where this option shines. It provides additional funds to replace undamaged siding or roofing for the purposes of getting a better match.
Umbrella
Travelers’ umbrella is one of the less expensive ones on the market.
What we like about Progressive.
We felt we needed to offer at least one carrier with funny commercials, and Progressive has them.
In all seriousness, Progressive provides a solid range of options if you’re looking to bundle your cars with recreational vehicles, which Oregonians have plenty of: your motorcycle, your travel-trailer, your RV, or your boat.
They generally do a good job keeping their pricing competitive for a wider range of situations than many other companies.
They do have a home product, but it is relatively new to the Oregon market, and it remains to be seen how it develops over time.
What we like about Geovera.
A good financial rating is important for any insurance carrier, and especially one that chooses to focus on catastrophic type losses like earthquakes. Geovera has an A+ rating.
Without digging too far into the nitty gritty of earthquake risk here in Oregon, we’ll say that we really like Geovera’s earthquake offerings. Geovera has two great options: a split limit policy or a single-limit policy.
Their Split-Limit Policy is Super Customizable. People have very different approaches in selecting earthquake coverage and earthquake policies can differ quite a bit from regular home insurance policies.
What we love about Geovera’s Split-Limit Policy is that, beyond a minimum amount of coverage on the home dwelling, you can modify almost all the other coverage levels to get a policy closer to what you want. They even have deductibles as low as 2.5% here in Oregon. (By comparison, most carriers who offer earthquake coverage on the home bottom out at 15%.)
Or, you probably can’t do better than Geovera’s Single-Limit Policy if you want to know you have broad coverage in place from a major loss. It has one big deductible but then all categories draw from the combined single, higher limit.
In other words, once the deductible is met, the policy begins to pay out for whatever category is needed, whether house damage, other structures damage, personal property damage, or loss of use (that is, the cost of living elsewhere if you home is unlivable).
Geovera also has a significant internal claims staff that is practiced in handling catastrophic claims.
What we like about Pacific Life.
Our agency primarily uses Pacific Life for their term life insurance. There are a few things we looked for in deciding on a company.
First off, let’s get the obvious out there. We live within a couple hours of the beautiful Pacific coast of Oregon. Moreover, it’s hard not to smile thinking of a whale splashing on its back, a move enormous, graceful, and somehow still playful.
More consequential, Pacific Life maintains Excellent Financial Ratings. There are a lot of big life insurance companies out there. But they don’t all have the same financial stability and, as a result, some have become history.
Pacific Life has both a long history and excellent financial ratings. This gives us confidence that Pacific Life will be there to pay its claims.
I don’t want to die, but if I do, I’m confident Pacific Life will be able to write a big check to my family.
Pacific Life also does a good job with their internal process of working through life insurance applications. Although they sometimes can be a tad slower than some of their competitors, in the long run, their thoroughness is part of what allows them to do two difficult things at once: maintain excellent financial ratings and offer rates that are consistently among the most competitive in the country.
Their pricing is excellent.
Learn more About Us (actual people!) or our Sensible Approach.