Pros
- Above-average customer service ratings
- Lots of supplemental coverage options
- Ridesharing coverage
Cons
- Limited availability
- No online claims process
- Not many discounts
Erie Insurance Review Summary
Erie Insurance is a pretty good insurance company, earning a rating of 3.4/5 from WalletHub and an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Erie offers auto insurance, property insurance, business insurance, umbrella policies, and more. However, the company only serves 12 states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) and Washington D.C.
In the sections below, learn more about Erie’s featured coverage options, discounts, and how the company compares against other major insurers.
Summary: Erie Scores by Review Category
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Erie Quotes / Pricing | 20/30 |
| Customer Service & Reviews | 20/30 |
| Erie Financial Stability | 6/6 |
| Erie Claims Process | 10/15 |
| Erie Types of Insurance and Additional Services Offered | 5/5 |
| Erie Discounts | 1/5 |
| Erie Transparency | 3/5 |
| OVERALL | 65/96 |
Now that you’re familiar with Erie’s scores in each of our review categories, let’s see how the company compares to top competitors in a handful of key areas. Hopefully, this will help you find the best insurance company for your needs.
Erie Car Insurance Pricing
Category Rating: 80% (20 out of 30)
Erie Car Insurance Pricing by Age
| Driver Profile | Average Quote |
|---|---|
| 18-Year-Old | $393 per month |
| 21-Year-Old | $220 per month |
| 45-Year-Old | $94 per month |
| 55-Year-Old | $89 per month |
| 65-Year-Old | $93 per month |
Erie Car Insurance by Driving Record
| Driving Record | Average Quote |
|---|---|
| Speeding Ticket | $108 per month |
| DUI | $151 per month |
| At-fault accident | $140 per month |
| Not at-fault accident | $108 per month |
| Red light infraction | $108 per month |
Erie Car Insurance by Other Factors
| Other Factors | Average Quote |
|---|---|
| Bad Credit | $258 per month |
| Homeowner | $94 per month |
| Married | $86 per month |
| Married with teenage driver | $411 per month |
Erie Insurance received a score of 20/30 in the cost portion of this review, as its premiums rank in the second quartile among cheapest major car insurance providers that WalletHub evaluated. Learn more about WalletHub’s Methodology.
Erie Customer Service & Reviews
Category Rating: 80% (20 out of 30)
- Reviews on WalletHub: 3.5/5
- J.D. Power: 4.4/5
- NAIC: 0.58
- BBB: A+
Erie’s NAIC score is 0.58, which means the company has received around the same number of complaints as the average insurance provider. Consumer complaints focus on its poor claims handling process, including delayed payments and customers being dissatisfied with their claims settlements. These complaints lost Erie a few points in this category.
Erie’s Financial Stability
Category Rating: 100% (6 out of 6)
- AM Best: A+
- Standard & Poor’s: A
Erie is on solid financial footing, earning a rating of A+ from AM Best, one of the nation’s leading credit rating agencies for the insurance industry.
Erie Claims
Category Rating: 60% (10 out of 15)
Erie does not let you file claims online. You have to call your local agent or the 24/7 claims support line 800-367-3743 to file a claim. As a result, Erie didn’t get the highest score possible in this category, per WalletHub’s grading criteria.
Learn more about Erie's claims process.
Erie’s Types of Insurance
Category Rating: 100% (5 out of 5)
- Auto Insurance
- Boat Insurance
- Business Auto Insurance
- Business Insurance
- Collector and Classic Car Insurance
- Condo Insurance
- Flood Insurance
- Homeowners Insurance
- Identity Theft Recovery Coverage
- Insurance for ATVs, Snowmobiles, Golf Carts and More
- Insurance for Recreational Vehicles
- Life Insurance
- Long-Term Care Rider Insurance
- Medicare Supplement
- Mobile Home Insurance
- Motorcycle Insurance
- Personal Umbrella Insurance
- Personal Valuables Insurance
- Renters Insurance
- Restaurant Insurance
- Retirement
- Risk Control Services
- Wholesaler-Distributors Insurance
- Workers' Compensation
Erie offers more than a dozen insurance options, as well as discounts for bundling multiple policies with the company.
Most notably, Erie offers all the major car insurance coverage options that are commonly required by states, including bodily injury liability, property damage liability, collision, and comprehensive. Erie also offers lots of supplemental coverage options.
Supplemental Erie Car Insurance Coverage Options:
- Emergency Road Service: Covers reasonable towing expenses and required labor costs at the site where your car breaks down.
- Rental Reimbursement: Covers the cost of your rental car. Six options of rental car coverage are available to customers with comprehensive coverage.
- New Car Protection: Covers your new vehicle (up to 24 months old) if it’s a total loss after an accident. Erie will replace it with a new vehicle of the latest model year.
- Better Car Protection: Covers your car if it’s totaled. It can replace an older car with a vehicle two years newer.
- Lease Loan Protection: Covers the balance of your financed or leased vehicle (not older than 24 months) if it’s totaled. Does not include carry-over balances from loans/leases on previous vehicles.
- Rideshare Driver Coverage: Covers you when you use your private vehicle to work for a transportation network company.
- Personal Item Coverage: Covers physical damage to your belongings, including clothing and luggage (up to $350), that are inside a car insured by Erie.
- Auto Glass Repairs: Waives the deductible for repairing/replacing a windshield.
- Locksmith Coverage: Covers the locksmith cost (up to $75) for when you accidentally lock your keys in your car.
- Pet Coverage: Covers vet treatment costs (up to $500 per pet, $1,000 total) in case your pet gets hurt in an accident while riding in your car.
Specialty Erie Car Insurance Policy:
- Business Auto Insurance for both owned and leased cars and trucks you use for business purposes.
- Recreational Vehicle Insurance for motorcycles, snowmobiles, RVs, and ATVs.
Keep in mind that the availability and details of these insurance options vary by state.
Erie Discounts
Category Rating: 20% (1 out of 5)
- Multi-policy discount
- Vehicle storage discount
- Safety savings
- Youthful driver discount
- Youthful longevity discount
- College credit discount
- Driving training discount
- Payment perks discount
- Erie YourTurn
Erie offers several discount options, though not as many as some of its top competitors, so the company received a low score in this category. The availability and details of Erie Insurance discounts vary by state.
Erie Transparency
Category Rating: 45% (3 out of 5)
It is fairly difficult to find key information on the Kemper website, so the company didn’t do very well in the transparency department.
Bottom Line
Erie is a pretty good insurance company, especially for customers who would rather manage their policy and claims through a live agent rather than through a website or mobile app. Erie scores well in terms of customer service and its wide variety of coverage options, but the company could make improvements in how many discounts it offers, increasing its transparency, and setting up an online claims filing process.
Erie Car Insurance vs. Competitors
| Insurer | Erie | Progressive | USAA | State Farm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Premium* | $2,485 per year | $1,806 per year | $2,082 per year | $2,844 per year |
| Number of Car Insurance Discounts | 9 | 13 | 15 | 16 |
| Offers Home Insurance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Complaints Score (lower is best) | 0.58 | 1.45 | 2.27 | 1.18 |
| Editor’s Rating | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 4.1 |
*Complaints Score represents the company's overall NAIC rating. Car insurance-specific rating may differ.
*Average annual premiums are based on a variety of driver profiles. Individuals premiums may differ, but these rates illustrate how costs from these insurers typically compare. Learn more about how these rates were calculated in the methodology section below.
For more car insurance research, check out WalletHub’s Cheap Car Insurance Study. And if you have experience with Erie that you think might help other consumers, you can also write an Erie Insurance review.
Video: Erie Insurance Review
Methodology
In order to provide fair, helpful reviews of insurance companies such as Erie that can lead consumers to the best insurance coverage for their needs, WalletHub rates each insurance company in seven major categories: Cost, Insurance Types, Customer Service & Reviews, Discounts, Claims, Financial Stability and Transparency. Below, you can find an overview of what each section in our scoring rubric entails.
- The “Cost” section includes information about how expensive the insurance policies are. Erie’s average premiums and quartile rankings are based on data from New York one of the largest states Erie operates in. Rate information is provided by Quadrant Information Services. Individual rates will be different.
- The “Insurance Types” section examines what types of insurance policies the company offers.
- The “Customer Service & Reviews” section measures the insurance company’s reputation as well user reviews and information from watchdog organizations.
- The “Discounts” section examines how many and what types of discounts the company offers. It also takes into consideration whether or not there are discounts for bundling policies.
- The “Claims” section examines the ways in which customers can make claims with the policy. It considers whether or not customers can make claims by phone or online, as well as whether or not the company has a 24/7 support line.
- The “Financial Stability” section considers the company’s status with credit rating agencies A.M. Best, S&P and Moody’s.
- The “Transparency” section measures how clearly the insurer discloses key information on its website.
The final score takes these seven categories into account and reflects how close an insurance company is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star insurer. For more information, please read WalletHub’s full insurance company methodology.
