Nationwide Auto Insurance Review

Read this Nationwide Auto Insurance Review and see if Nationwide is for you! Often, it seems that choosing an auto insurance company is similar to choosing a bank. Neither type of company is high on most people’s favorite type of business, and many individuals dread even having to deal with the company holding their accounts. Both are necessary, however. Auto insurance is required by auto insurance laws in most states, but each state also establishes its own laws and guidelines for auto insurance company operation. Compare auto insurance rates by state with our FREE ZIP code search!

Quick Facts for Nationwide Auto Insurance

Nationwide is an old company that operates in all states. Founded in 1926 in Columbus, Ohio, the company’s original name was the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. Today, Nationwide is but one of many names included in the Nationwide family, and the company comes in at number 127 on the Fortune 500 list. Nationwide offers an array of auto insurance coverages in a number of consumer areas, including all types of vehicles and homeowner’s insurance. This review addresses only auto insurance, however.

Company Inconsistencies

Because each state establishes its own rules for auto insurance, each company licensed to operate within any state must abide by that state’s rules. That may explain the mixed bag of reviews about this company. The company provides apparently unedited customer auto insurance reviews at its own site. Not only are there quite uncomplimentary reviews at Nationwide’s own website, but the reviews posted at an independent consumer affairs website appear to be more gracious and forgiving. Even so, there are reviews available that have been written by:

• Direct Customers
• Direct Customers with Claims
• Individuals Involved in Accidents with Nationwide Customers

Experience with Nationwide – Premium Rates

A few years ago, another auto insurance company was advertising – and bragging about – its 97 % customer satisfaction rating. A management guru observed that the company should consider its position before choosing to pay to advertise that fact. The likelihood is that the 97 % are nearly silent, while the dissatisfied individuals of the three percent probably are telling everyone they know.

This appears to hold true with many of the reviews referencing Nationwide. Direct customers with no claims complain that they have been insured with Nationwide for years, but that the company has not reduced their premium payments at all. Neither had they requested a premium rate review at the time of their online review, however.

In another case, a college student armed with a $169 quote from a competing company went to her Nationwide agent to see if he could reduce her then-$400 monthly premium rate. The agent was able to match the competitor’s quote, but only because she actively asked for the review. A consumer should ask for a review and then enter their ZIP code to compare companies and find cheap auto insurance!

Experience with Nationwide – Claims Processing

Direct customers with claims are not universally unhappy, and the problems they report are far from being monumental in size. Most complaints about claims processing distill down to lack of responsiveness to customers in terms of gaining any timely attention from an adjustor.

Several customers of Nationwide using the company for their auto insurance state complaints with the time that it takes an adjustor to look at a damaged car and authorize repair work. If you are facing this problem, it might be time to start comparing auto insurance quotes from other competitors. We can help you do that quickly and for FREE with our ZIP code finder!

Online reviewers complain that their insurance pays only for 30 days’ use of a rental car, but that adjustors often take up to three weeks to examine damage and authorize repairs. Even minor body work is difficult to complete in a single week’s time, of course. Because Nationwide pays for a rental car only for 30 days, the uninformed or unaware insured can be left with a large car rental bill that Nationwide will not pay.

Direct customers with adjustor issues often find that their personal Nationwide insurance agents can speed up the process for them. When comparing total cost, the individual should take this possibility into account. Consumers should not settle for mediocre auto insurance. By a simple ZIP code, one can compare and find the best auto insurance for their car!

Nearly universally, individuals who have collided with Nationwide customers complain that Nationwide is not at all responsive to them or to their needs. Though this is not surprising – no insurance company wants to pay for damage for which it has not already collected funds – neither is it good business practice. Not many individuals remain with an auto insurance company for decades. Most will at least investigate other companies, and being treated poorly as an opposing driver can outweigh any cost benefit that the individual finds when they compare auto insurance among auto insurance companies.

Helpful Tips

Nationwide is a huge company and has the ability to interact with customers nearly totally online. Though that approach can seem to save time and be more convenient for the customer, it appears that the key to true customer satisfaction with Nationwide lies with human contact. Individuals in call centers can provide only general information that does not change across state lines.

Human insurance agents, however, provide the human factor and also hold knowledge about the auto insurance requirements in the state where they operate. The college student who was able to save so much money every month secured her new rate through direct interaction with a local Nationwide agent. In the wake of a hailstorm that damaged thousands of cars in her city, an outsourced adjustor delayed his initial assessment until only a few days before the 30-day car rental period expired.

Her human Nationwide agent was able to work around that ineffective outsourced adjustor, saving Nationwide another scathingly negative online review. Dealing with real people seems to lead to solid customer satisfaction. A human agent also can assist with price comparisons in ways that automated systems cannot. See if Nationwide is for you by entering your ZIP code and taking a look at our Auto Insurance Guide for useful tips!