Esurance Auto Insurance Review

Company Background Information

Esurance was founded as a direct to consumer auto insurance company in 1998 by five entrepreneurs and received venture funding in 1999. The company is currently headquartered in San Francisco, CA. The company website was launched in December of 1999 and was one of the first companies to sell auto insurance online. It was also one of the first companies to offer comparison shopping with other auto insurers.

More recently Esurance has offered sponsorships of teams and various sporting events such as Pac-12 teams. In 2011 Esurance was purchased by All State for almost $1 billion along with Answer Financial. The company was known for its commercials featuring the cartoon character Erin Esurance which was discontinued in 2010 and most recently began working on an advertising campaign with Leo Burnett Worldwide. Esurance was most recently rated A+ by A.M. Best for their financial stability and was given 2 out of 5 power circles in the most recent J.D. Power auto claims satisfaction study.

Pros of Esurance Auto Insurance

Esurance has many advantages over competing websites including the following:

• A modern website that offers immediate quotes and comparison shopping
• Owned by a financially stable top 3 auto insurance company
• Many unique discounts offered

Cons of Esurance Auto Insurance

• Claims of rate increases after low initial quotes
• Some customer complaints about various claims related issues

Discounts

Esurance offers several different discounts as well as unique discounts including the following:

• Fast 5 discount –5 percent off for the first term in select states
• Multiple policy discount – for purchasing multiple policies in four states
• Paid in full discount – offered in most states
• Switch and save discount for switching from any other company
• Claim free discount for drivers who have gone 5 years without an at-fault accident or a DUI
• Homeowners discount for those who own a house or condo
• Renters Plus discount for adding rental insurance
• Pac-12 discount for alumni of one of the Pac-12 schools
• Defensive driving discount for older drivers
• Good driver discount for drivers with one or no points on their record
• Good student discount for full time students under the age of 25
• Multiple car discount for insuring more than one car
• Anti-theft discount for cars or trucks equipped with an anti-theft device
• Safety device discount for cars equipped with safety features
• And many others

Types of Insurance Offered

Esurance offers many different types of insurance through their own company and through their strategic partners. Vehicle insurance products offered include car, motorcycle, ATV, snowmobile, RV, commercial auto and classic vehicle insurance. Property insurance offered includes homeowners, renters, condo, umbrella and flood. Other insurance products offered include health, life cell phone, pet business, and international insurance.

Website

The website is well designed and has most of the same features that other insurance websites offer including the ability to get a quote from the site, submit a claim from the site, find a repair shop, and more. Esurance provides detailed information about its products on its website along with background information and news.

Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are mixed with some customers mentioning problems with claims processing, difficulties reaching customer support, and various other issues.

Recommendations

Esurance is a good option for those who are looking to save on auto insurance and compare insurance from multiple providers. It is backed by a financially sound auto insurance company and has many available discounts which allow for interested customers to save. For quotes from Esurance and other auto insurance providers now, you can enter your zip code on this page.

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