Erie Insurance: Experiences?

[taterules]

Does anyone have experiences good or bad with Erie Insurance? I'm thinking of switching for home and cars, but I don't know anyone who's ever used them.

 

[Skatermom23]

I've been with Erie for 5 years now. So far I haven't had any problems with them. I recently added DS to our policy and did shop around only to find that Erie beat all the other companies.

 

[Tuffcookie]

I have had them for about 9 years now. I like them. I left Nationwide because they wanted to use some aftermarket parts on my Camry that my bodyman said were inferior to the original parts. He said the other after-market parts the insurance approved for my car were okay but he had a real problem with the hood they were going to pay for. (He showed me articles that stated some aftermarket hoods would not stay latched and you could be driving down the highway and the hood would open! ) I ended up paying the difference to get the original hood. After all, safety rating was a big factor in buying the Camry.
I have never had a problem with Erie and I just filed a home owners claim for hail damage. They are very easy to work with!

TC

 

[Kies99]

My wife had it for years before we got married. I had State Farm. We've had Erie together for 10 years (State Farm STINKS!!!). Have life, cars and home on Erie and they've always been great. Very quick to settle claims.

Examples:

we had one car get a chip in the windshield. Called them, they gave us info and it was fixed next day.

Had back window in another car shot out with a BB gun. Had police out, called Erie same day and had it repaired the next.

Used to have a big tree in the front yard. One year a microburst came down the street and took the top third or so off the tree. Left it in our dining room window and on top of two cars. Erie came out same day and as soon as we had estimates on the things that were damaged, we had check within 48 hours.

We've been very impressed with them!

 

[Jeninindy]

We switched to Erie this past year after Allstate quadrupled my car insurance because I added my 18 year old son. Allstate wanted almost $3000/year to insure his car, with a good student discount and driver training discount.

Moved all of my policies to Erie - paying $1900/year for full coverage on 3 cars and my Homeowners policy dropped $500/year for the same coverage with Allstate.

They also have great rates on umbrella policies.

Customer service has been great for the basics, we haven't had to file a claim. Many of my neighbors have Erie and had no trouble in getting roofs replaced after a major hailstorm can through. People with State Farm and Allstate are still in arbitration......

 

[wdwmom2]

I've been with Erie for 5 years now. So far I haven't had any problems with them. I recently added DS to our policy and did shop around only to find that Erie beat all the other companies.

I had Erie for years, loved them!!! DH and I got married, he came on over to Erie. Great rates and service! Our local agent was outstanding.

Kids turned 16, the rates were HORRENDOUS!!!!! We switched to State Farm. Slightly higher for homeowners and car, but MUCH less expensive with children added on. We may switch back to Erie once the children are not in the household, not sure.

 

[DVC-Don]

Have not heard much about them, but some of the brokers in our area no longer sell Erie. Not sure why.

Just for kicks I just looked up the insurance company complaint ratio here in New York (2007). The higher the number, the more complaints they have:

State Farm: 0.04
Erie: 0.07

The worst is Long Island Ins. with 11.15.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We had Erie while living in Ohio. Great rates, great service. They do not underwrite in KY or we would have kept them here.

 

[EdiePA]

I don't have Erie Insurance, but I was in a crash with a woman who had Erie Insurance. As the victim of a rear-end crash, I was treated horribly by her insurance. (I was stopped at a red light and she hit me going at least 30 mph.) I had torn muscles in my neck and was struggling with the pain and dizziness. Her insurance called at least three times a day to see if I was going to sue, etc. I finally called her local agent and asked him to "call off the dogs." It was awful.

Just my experience. I'd never use their insurance.

Edie

 

[RUDisney]

I've been with Erie since I was put on my parents' policy when I was 16, so over 25 years. They have been quick to settle the homeowners claims we've had.

They were quick to send me a check for my totaled car once State Farm (insurance of the guy who hit me) deemed it totaled. State Farm took forever to send the adjuster to the junkyard. Finally, they sent me a letter stating that I had to remove the car from the junkyard so they wouldn't incur additional storage charges. My attorney told them they could move the car to where ever they wanted once they looked at it and declared it totaled. That's what finally moved them to look at it.

One thing I learned about Erie, that is true of all insurance companies. They are only as good as your agent. When I questioned the coverage I had on my house, my last agent told me I needed almost $700,000 worth of structural insurance. My house is worth $250,000, though to reconstruct it would be more, but not $700,000. The premium was outrageous.

I called my new agent and he set me up with $400,000 worth of reconstruction coverage that has a rider that will pay the difference in materials should they go up over time. So, if it costs $550,000 to rebuild, I'd be covered under this policy that cost less than the original agent wanted to sell me. I'm not sure if I'm stating this right, but I know what I mean... they will pay whatever it costs to rebuild my house if it should be destroyed.

I also boosted my first party health benefit on my car policy. The first agent recommended $10,000 per person, $30,000 max. After my car was totaled, I had over $12,000 in ER/trauma bills, so there went my $10,000 pp coverage. I got to pay all of my deductibles and copays out of my own pocket, thank you very much.

Oh, and my new agent recommended a $1 million umbrella that is only $9 per month.

 

[TaraPA]

I've been on the Erie Pioneer plan (meaning my parents had Erie, my grandparents had Erie, etc.) for home & car for over 20 years. No complaints at all. My agent is SUPER fast about sending claim checks. I sent in a towing bill once on a Monday & had the check in my mailbox on Thursday. I've had several claims through Erie & all were handled quickly & fairly.