Safeco Homeowners Insurance Review

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The Details

The Good

Robust coverage options. Safeco excels when it comes to offering a wide range of coverage endorsements and coverage enhancements. Their equipment breakdown coverage, which you can add as an endorsement to your policy for just $2 a month, will replace broken appliances and equipment with one that's Energy Star grade or similar type and quality.

Straightforward claims process. Safeco makes it possible to file your claims online or over the phone, offers a 24/7 claims assistance hotline, and allows homeowners to get property damage estimates via video chat through its RealTime Review system.

Variety of other insurance products. Like many major insurers, you can save if you combine your Safeco homeowners policy with Safeco auto insurance, landlord insurance, or umbrella insurance.

The Bad

Below average customer service ratings. Safeco earned a 1.53 score from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, putting it below average for the industry. It scored low marks for the price of policies compared to the level of coverage offered, and for the clarity and accuracy of the billing process and policy information available.

Fewer ways to save than competitors. Safeco offers fewer opportunities for saving than some other major insurance companies. It doesn't offer any unique discounts, like discounts for making your home more green, which you can find with some other providers.

Website looks like a phishing scam. When we went to test the quote tool, the pop-up seemed so fake that we weren’t sure if we should go through with it or not. We bit the bullet and hit submit (don’t tell our tech team!), and thankfully we were directed to fill out our information for the quote. We were this close to missing out on this tool based on its design, though.

Safeco has an above average cost according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The average annual Safeco premium for homes $1,683, compared to an overall average premium price of $1,249.

Discounts

One way to ensure you're getting the best rates on homeowners insurance is to take advantage of any discounts your insurer offers.

Common discounts include bundling discounts for combining policies and discounts for owning a newer home or paying your premiums in full. Safeco offers the standard discounts you'll find from many of its competitors, but no unique discounts that you may find with other carriers.

• Multi-policy discount - Save up to 15% by bundling home with auto insurance, and save even further by adding insurance for your boat, motorcycle or RV.

• New home discount - If your home was built within the last 10 years you'll qualify for savings.

• Home protection. If you have an alarm system, a sprinkler system, or other devices that would keep your home monitored and safe, you could get a discount on your premium.

Because you rely on homeowner's insurance to protect your most valuable assets, it's important that the company is fiscally stable and will be able to pay out your claim if necessary. Safeco has the backing of parent company Liberty Mutual and strong financial ratings to ensure your home is safely insured.

• A.M. Best rating: A+

• Moody's rating: A2

• Standard & Poor's rating: A-

A.M. Best is the most reliable credit-rating tool insureds can use to gauge the financial health of an insurance company. A good score with A.M. Best means a company is more likely to fulfill their financial obligation to you when it comes time to file a claim. With a score of A+, Safeco has the second-highest rating an insurance company can receive with A.M. Best.

Moody's is very similar to Standard & Poors, except rather than measuring a company's ability to remain financially stable and creditworthy, Moody's measures what the expected losses would be if a company were to go into default. An AAA rating is the highest possible score you can receive from Moody's, and Safeco scored an A2 rating—still in a high tier of financial stability.

Standard & Poor's is also valuable in measuring the long-term financial stability and creditworthiness of insurance companies. An AAA rating is the highest issuer credit rating assigned by S&P. Safeco's rating of A- still puts it in a relatively strong financial position.

Safeco is slightly below average when it comes to some customer satisfaction ratings, like NAIC complaint index. But other evaluations of the company’s offerings , like those from Consumer’s Advocate, aren’t so bad.

• Consumer Affairs: 3.7 / 5

• Trustpilot: 2.6 / 5

• Consumers Advocate: 4.2 / 5

• NAIC complaint index: 1.53

Consumer Affairs is a platform that lets consumers directly rate customers. Safeco received a score of 3.8 out of 5.

Consumers Advocate rates companies based on stability, reputation, and policy coverage. They gave Safeco a score of 4.2 out of 5.

Trustpilot is a consumer review website that allows users to award businesses a score out of 5 along with a written review. Companies are then awarded an aggregate score out of 5 based on collected reviews. Safeco received a low score of 2.4.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners tracks the number of complaints submitted to state insurance departments with their national complain index. A score of 1 is the baseline average, and a score of 0 means there weren't enough complaints to count. Safeco's score of 1.53 means it received an above average number of complaints.  This has increased from its score of .91, so we’ll want to keep an eye on this potential trend.

Based on their website, Safeco offers four standard coverage options and five optional add-ons to your policy. However, Safeco also notes that the company offers “unique coverage options” that can be discussed with an agent. So it seems if there’s something missing from their typical offerings, you may be able to add on other options you may need.

That being said, they note their standard coverage includes:

• Dwelling. This protects your home in the case of a covered incident, ensuring your property is repaired or replaced.

• Personal property. If your belongings are damaged or stolen, you can also have them replaced or repaired in a covered loss.

• Personal liability. This protects you in the event that a guest or their belongings are harmed on your property.

• Personal property replacement coverage. Not only would your belongings be covered in certain incidents, but Safeco would pay the cash value of the item at the time of loss and add on its current market value, too.

Safeco’s optional coverages include:

• Valuable articles. If you have certain high-value items like jewelry or art, you can add this coverage to protect them against a loss.

• Equipment breakdown. If your household appliances are damaged in a covered incident (like a fire), you can have them repaired or replaced.

• Service line. This protects you in the event that the utility and power lines under and around your property breakdown.

• Extended dwelling. This increases the coverage on your home in the event of unexpected increases in costs.

• Identity recovery. If you’ve suffered from identity theft, this coverage would cover the cost to restore anything impacted by this theft.

Note: The information above represents potential policy options and may not be available for every applicant. Speak to a licensed expert for a personalized look at your coverage options.

Safeco is available in most states. The application process is slightly clunkier than with some of its competitors, but the claims process is rated fairly well.

State availability

Safeco homeowners insurance is available in every state except Alaska, Arkansas, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Maine and the District of Columbia.

Digital tools

Safeco's digital tools include online bill-paying, a Safeco app for smartphones and its RealTime Review for estimating claims damage via video chat. Safeco also offers blog and FAQ resources to better understand their company and coverage.

They do have an online quote tool, but in our experience it reminded us of a potential phishing scam. With a couple of design tweaks, Safeco could ensure their potential customers don’t miss out on getting a quote through them.

The application

Safeco's online application leaves a little to be desired. The quote function takes users through the process, entering personal information about themselves and their home, but stops short of offering a quote. Unlike many of its competitors, homeowners cannot complete their Safeco application entirely online and must speak with an agent.

Ease of claims

Safeco customers can file claims over the phone or online, and then complete a damage assessment in person or through video chat, a timesaver for busy homeowners. You can also file a claim through the Safeco mobile app, and submit photos through that channel as well.

Additional claims service

Safeco maintains a 24/7 claim assistance hotline if you need to speak with someone about a claim. Claims tracking is also available through the mobile app. Safeco also has a free contractor referral service available to most customers. And, in the event of a natural disaster, Safeco deploys a national catastrophe team to the area to handle claims.

Payment options

You can pay your bill over the phone, online, through the smartphone app, or through the mail.

Policygenius offers insurance policies from many of the nation's top insurers, who pay us a commission for our services. However, all editorial choices are made independently.