See if a car insurance policy from Shelter Insurance can give you the best coverage.
Shopping for car insurance can be overwhelming. There are hundreds of car insurance companies in the market today, competing for your business with a dazzling array of coverage options, discounts, and benefits. How do you know if you are making the right decision?
We tried to make your job a little easier by researching over 30 of the best auto insurance companies and ranking them based on different factors such as financial strength, customer service, affordability, and coverage. Today, we will evaluate Shelter Mutual Insurance against these providers and help you decide if this company can give you the best car insurance coverage.
See if Shelter Insurance is available in your state and get a free quote:
In This Article:
Shelter Mutual Insurance At A Glance
Shelter Insurance has been in business for over 70 years and is headquartered in Columbia, Missouri. While the privately held company initially offered auto insurance only for residents of Missouri, it’s now a leading insurance provider for home, auto, life, farm, and business in 15 states, including Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. In 2018, Shelter Insurance wrote private passenger auto premiums worth more than $980,000.
Shelter Insurance Coverage Options
Shelter Insurance provides several coverage options for car insurance buyers. Your basic Shelter Insurance auto policy will include bodily injury liability, property damage liability, roadside assistance, and new car replacement coverage. You can also buy policy add-ons, such as collision coverage, comprehensive coverage, medical payments coverage, rental reimbursement, and accidental death.
Liability: Bodily Injury And Property Damage
Bodily injury liability and property damage liability coverage are the two main types of car insurance coverages and are mandatory in most states. If you have bodily injury coverage and cause an accident where someone gets hurt, it will help pay for the medical expenses of the other party. This coverage could also help with your legal expenses, such as bail bond or defense fees, if you are arrested.
While most states have a minimum amount of required bodily injury coverage, it is generally a good idea to pay a little more to get better coverage because medical expenses can jump sky high in serious accidents. If the bills exceed your policy limits, you could be on the hook to pay the difference.
If you caused an accident that damaged another person’s property, your property damage liability coverage will help pay for the cost of repairs or replacement. Similar to bodily injury liability, most states will require you to have a minimum amount of property damage liability coverage.
Roadside Assistance
All Shelter Insurance auto policies include 24/7 roadside assistance provided by Road America. This benefit pays up to $100 per accident for services such as battery jump start and towing.
New Car Replacement
If you total your new car in an accident, Shelter Insurance’s new car replacement coverage will help you replace it with a brand new car of the same make, model, and year, as long as the original purchase was within the last year and the car had less than 15,000 miles on it.
Shelter Insurance Optional Coverages
In our Shelter Insurance review, we found that in addition to the above coverages, which are included with every Shelter Insurance auto policy, the provider also offers other optional coverages, including the following:
Collision Coverage
Collision coverage will pay for repairs or replacements to your car if you were in an accident, regardless of who was at fault. There will be a deductible amount before you are able to claim the benefits. While collision coverage is optional in all states, if you are leasing your car or financing it, your lender may require you to have this coverage.
Comprehensive Coverage
While collision coverage will pay for your car’s repairs if you were in an accident, it will not cover your expenses if the damage was caused by an uncovered cause such as fire, weather, flood, or theft. In such cases, you will need comprehensive coverage.
As with collision coverage, comprehensive coverage will have a deductible amount. Since some causes of loss are excluded from the coverage, we always recommend that you discuss the terms and conditions with your provider up front. Also, while comprehensive coverage is optional in all states, your lender may require it if you are leasing or financing your car.
Medical Payments
Medical payments coverage will help for ambulance costs, hospital bills, and other medical expenses for you and your passengers in a covered accident. It also covers funeral expenses.
Personal Injury Protection
In the case of a covered accident, personal injury protection or no-fault coverage can help you cope with routine medical expenses, loss of income, and the cost of services like cooking or housekeeping that you would normally provide for your family and are unable to do because of your injuries. Personal injury protection is required for all vehicle owners in some states.
Uninsured Motorist (Bodily Injury And Property Damage)
This is insurance for if you are injured in an accident caused by someone else and that person is uninsured or doesn’t have enough insurance to cover the full damages amount. Your uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage may help pay for your medical expenses and car repairs.
Accidental Death Coverage
Accidental death coverage provides benefits if you or your spouse dies in an auto accident. You can purchase coverage for other members of your family, too.
Gap Coverage
If your car was totaled in an accident and your collision coverage will not cover the amount you still owe on your auto loan, the gap insurance coverage will help pay the difference.
Rental Reimbursement
If your car was stolen or needs repairs after an accident, rental reimbursement coverage will help pay for the cost of renting alternate transportation.
Disability Income Coverage
If you are unable to return to work for a long time because of your injuries from a car accident, disability income coverage will pay you a weekly stipend for up to one year. Please note that this coverage option may not be available in all states.
Loss of Use
Loss of use coverage will give you a one-time payment if your car is in the shop after an accident.
Does Shelter Insurance Offer Driver Discounts?
Like with most other auto insurance providers, Shelter Insurance offers multiple discounts for auto insurance such as:
You may also be able to save some money on your Shelter Insurance car policy if you have additional types of policies with the company, as well.
How Does Shelter’s Insurance Process Work?
You can get an online quote for a Shelter Insurance auto policy by visiting the company’s website and submitting the required information about yourself, your vehicle, and your driving habits.
Existing Shelter Insurance customers can use their Shelter Insurance accounts to access their policies and other information on the website. If you have a Shelter Insurance account, you can also pay your bills online using a credit card, debit card, or checking account.
Shelter Insurance also has a mobile app that allows you to pay bills, access your insurance ID card, file claims, view your policy details, or find an agent.
To file a claim with Shelter Insurance, go to the company website or call. If you want to cancel a Shelter Insurance policy, we recommend calling the company or talking to your agent.
Shelter Insurance Reviews
Shelter Insurance has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, though it’s not accredited with the organization. Companies are not obligated to get BBB accreditation, but it shows potential customers that the company is willing to make good faith efforts to resolve any concerns.
Our research revealed that 39 customer complaints were filed with the BBB against Shelter Insurance in the last three years over issues like billing or problems with service. The company has responded to each complaint and closed 20 of them in the last 12 months. In cases where the problem was caused by a company or agency error, the company has been willing to admit its mistake and take quick action to find a solution.
Our Verdict: Shelter Mutual Insurance
Overall, we think that Shelter Insurance is a good provider for an auto insurance policy if you live in central or southern U.S. In fact, it was ranked the best auto insurance provider in the central region in the J.D. Power 2019 Auto Insurance Study, which looked into many factors like customer interaction and billing process. However, since its areas of services are limited to midwestern and southern regions, you will have to look elsewhere if you live in a state not serviced by Shelter Insurance.
What Are My Other Options?
If you would like to look at other insurance providers before making your decision, you can choose from our list of 12 best auto insurance providers. To make sure you get the best value for your money, we recommend getting at least three quotes when shopping for something as important as a car insurance policy.
However, do not just go by the price. At the end of the day, a company’s track record, financial stability, and customer satisfaction ratings are as important as the quotes when it comes to choosing the right provider.
Companies like GEICO, USAA, and Progressive, which topped our rankings, are known for their extensive coverage options and customer service, and would be great starting points. GEICO has high ratings from Standard & Poor (S&P) and AM Best for financial strength, while USAA offers exceptional coverage for military members and their families.
See what’s available in your state, and get a quote today.
