Farmers car insurance continues to offer upgrades and innovations in coverage
In 1928, Jack Thompson and Tom Leavey, a couple of guys who had grown up with farming, were going farm-to-farm throughout Southern California, plying their wares in the budding insurance field. Actual farmers constantly asked them why farmers had to pay more to insure equipment and vehicles they used only seasonally. As all good salesmen will, these two found a solution to the problem. They formed Farmers Insurance, which is now the country’s sixth largest car insurance provider, responsible for close to $10 billion in direct premium each year. When you are shopping for auto insurance, Farmers car insurance offers you a number of policy options.
Options to choose from
Your Farmers car insurance may include any or all of the following types of personal protection:
Liability – covers other people and other people’s property damaged in a car accident you cause. It does so in two portions of liability, personal injury liability and property damage liability. It does not cover you or the vehicle you are driving and generally won’t cover to treat any injuries passengers in your car suffer in an accident. Each state sets a minimum amount of liability coverage that drivers must carry and these limits are set for a maximum amount of coverage for a single person’s personal injuries, a total overall amount to be paid to treat personal injuries you cause in an accident, and a total overall limit to repair or cover property damage you cause on am accident.
Collision – optional coverage you can add to your policy, this portion of the policy pays for damage that occurs to your own vehicle in the event you collide with another car, with “permanent” structures (like a building or even a neighbor’s fence), or any damage your insured vehicle sustains in a single-car or rollover accident.
Comprehensive – another optional form of coverage, this will protect your car in the event it is damaged or even lost as a result of a non-collision event such as a fire, a flood, vandalism, theft, damage cause by falling or flying objects or debris, damage cause by animals, and damage resulting from Acts of God like severe weather and rockslides.
(While generally not required by any states, you may be required to carry collision and/or comprehensive if you are leasing a vehicle or financing the purchase of a newer car with a car loan. These options require you to select a deductible for each one, separately.)
Medical payments – required in some states as a form of no fault coverage in addition to your liability coverage, this option ensures that you and your passengers are taken care of after a crash as Farmers pays for the medical bills to treat any injuries you, your passengers or an insured family members sustain in an accident. (This option can also cover funeral expenses in the event a fatality results from an accident.) These benefits are paid without the need to fulfill a deductible and are paid regardless of who is deemed at fault in an accident.
Uninsured/Underinsured motorists – also required by some states in addition to liability coverage, this protection pays for injuries or damages caused by a driver who does not have enough car insurance or any insurance at all. It can also pay to treat injuries or repair damage caused by a hit-and-run driver. In some states, these two are divided and offered as separate coverage options. Some states also set guidelines on these two options paralleling the liability level requirements of the state (in other words, if you put these options in place they must equal the levels of liability coverage you have in place.)
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – a more robust version of no fault coverage that often will supplant medical payments coverage, this pays for a broader range of medical and related costs than standard medical payments coverage. In addition to paying to treat injuries you, your passengers or your insured family members sustain in an accident, it can be used to covers lost wages if you are disabled by an accident. It can also be used to pay for the replacement of the services of someone injured in an automobile accident (such as day-care for stay-at-home parents or cooking and/or cleaning services.) It can also cover your insured family members if they are injured while riding in somebody else’s car or if they are hit by another car while riding a bike or even walking city streets as a pedestrian. Like medical payments, these benefits come without a deductible or the need to prove fault in an accident.
Farmers' extras
After you decide on the standard policy, you can customize your insurance even more to fit your needs. Some of the extras available on car insurance from Farmers include:
Accident forgiveness plan – allows Farmers to forgive one accident every three years. Generally, your rates do not increase when this coverage kicks in.
Farmers new car pledge – this gives you an entirely new vehicle if yours is totaled within the first two years or 24,000 miles. Most car insurance companies factor in depreciation, which means even a brand-new vehicle loses value as soon as you drive it off the lot.
Roadside assistance option – with this add-on you gain access to a host of emergency roadside assistance support services. With one toll-free phone call, you can get help with emergency jumpstarts for a dead battery, minor on-site repairs, emergency fluid delivery should you run out of gas or need some other important fluid for getting you to a shop, limited mile towing that gets you and your car safely off the road in the event of an emergency, even locksmith services should you lock your keys in your car or lose or break them. In most cases, Farmers will be billed directly and you won’t have to pay out-of-pocket to access these services.
Glass services coverage – with Farmers, you can get quickly connected with a reputable vehicle glass company in your area to repair or replace windshields and side windows with an option for convenient mobile response (at your home, school or even where you work), quality service and materials from a trusted source pre-screened by Farmers, 24/7 scheduling to meet your busy schedule, and a national lifetime warranty good for as long as you own or lease the vehicle
Rental car reimbursement program – can quickly provide a rental vehicle for your use after an accident. Farmers' network of pre-screened, nationally-known rental car companies offer free pickup and delivery, direct billing to Farmers and an automatic deposit waiver (deposit waiver is not available in all states).
Extended customized equipment coverage – if you have an expensive stereo system, you may benefit from this coverage. You gain financial protection if your non-factory-installed sound system, iPod®, CDs or tapes are damaged or stolen.
Personal umbrella policy – protects your assets when your liability exceeds the coverage limits in your auto and homeowner policies.
Take advantage of generous discounts
You can reduce your insurance premiums by up to 25 percent through one of these other Farmers discount programs:
- Multiple policies – along with your auto insurance, purchase a home, renters, life or motorcycle policy from Farmers
- Safe driver – if you have not had any accidents or moving violations within a certain period of time (can vary by state)
- Good student – if you or your child are enrolled in college or high school, under age 25 and get good grades
- Multiple cars – if you insure more than one vehicle with Farmers
- Hybrid vehicles – if you insure a hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicle
- Professional associations – you may also save money if you are a qualified member of certain groups (i.e. police officers, firefighters, teachers, doctors. Nurses, etc.)
(See more information about Farmers car insurance premium discounts here)
Rates and ratings
Farmers car insurance is ranked as the sixth largest provider of auto insurance in the United States, routinely garnering about 6 percent of the nation's car insurance market share. Size isn't always the best measure for rating a company, however.
A.M. Best ranks the company as strong when it comes to financial stability and its network of agents across the country. J.D. Power & Associates scores Farmers 84 on its 100-point scale for car insurance companies in the U.S., rating it just over 3 stars on its 5-star scale for overall consumer experience and value rating.
A survey of commissioners and state insurance divisions rates Famers quite well when it comes to consumer satisfaction (at least measured by the number of consumer complaints.) On a scale where 5 is excellent for a low number of complaints issued about a company, Farmers has a consumer complaint ratio of 4.9 (almost perfect!) suggesting that customers from state to state have very little to complain about when it comes to their Famers auto insurance coverage.
Find free car insurance quotes right here
When it comes to cost, there are so many factors to consider from state to state and from policy to policy, that it's hard to generalize about what you will pay for car insurance with Farmers. There are, however, a few tools you can use to give you some idea.
Using a select cross-section of online quoting services, coverage evaluation tools and even some information from Farmers, here is one summary comparison of what you may see by way of costs:
Arizona vs. California -- building hypothetical coverage plans that meet state requirements and adding coverage levels for a comfortable level of car insurance coverage for a Young Male (under 30) a Young Female (under 30) and a Married Couple and averaging the annual premium between these three groups, you can expect to pay an average annual premium for your Farmers auto insurance of:
- Arizona - $1,782
- California - $1,901
To give you a little more perspective on these comparisons, Arizona is one of the least expensive states for car insurance (consistently ranking in the low high 30s to low 40s overall for the 50 states plus the District of Columbia) while California ranks as about the eighth most expensive states in the country for car insurance costs.
New York vs. Texas -- using the same model as above, although this time averaging the cost of coverage for a Young Male (under 30), an Older Male (over 40), a Young Female (under 30) and an Older Female (over 40) and averaging the coverage packages for these two states, the annual premium averages for Farmers auto insurance total:
- New York - $ 3,556
- Texas - $1,862
For some perspective, New York actually ranks at about 42nd in the nation for car insurance costs (leavened, as it were, against that state's car insurance requirements) while the state of Texas is about the 14th most expensive state in the country for car insurance costs.
Of course, to clearly see what you will pay for any car insurance plan you are considering, you can obtain more information by contacting a local car insurance agent. If you don't have one or are looking to do some comparisons, Reply! can help by connecting you to local insurance professionals eager to help you choose the right insurance option for you.