Farmers Car & Home Insurance Review: Good Support at a Cost

Is Farmers insurance a good choice?

Farmers auto insurance

Quotes comparison: How much is Farmers auto insurance?

Farmers is the seventh-largest auto insurance company in the country. Across most driver profiles, Farmers falls in the middle in terms of affordability. Auto insurance quotes from Farmers were generally cheaper than quotes from Nationwide, but more expensive than quotes from Geico and State Farm. If you’re choosing between these four insurers, it’s best to shop around for quotes to ensure you’re getting the best rate.

Farmer’s car insurance rates vs. competitors

If your top priority is to snag cheap rates, you’re better off with other insurers such as Geico or State Farm. These companies consistently had lower rates than Farmers. For example, State Farm quoted our sample 21-year-old woman driver rates that were 40% cheaper than average, while Geico quoted her rates that were 17% cheaper than average. Rates from Farmers, by contrast, were 20% more expensive than average.

Even if you’re looking to take advantage of Farmers’ unique discounts, such as Signal or the Business/Professional Group discount, you’re likely to get the best rates by comparing quotes before committing yourself to one auto insurer.

Farmers auto insurance coverage options and discounts

As one of the largest auto insurers in the United States, Farmers offers all of the traditional auto coverage options that other major national insurers do. It also offers notable optional coverages at an additional cost, such as the New Car Pledge, Towing & Roadside Assistance, Extended Customized Equipment Coverage and Farmers Rideshare.

New Car Pledge: Also known as new car replacement coverage, this optional add-on guarantees a brand-new replacement vehicle if your new car is totaled within two years of its model year or before hitting 24,000 miles, whichever limit is reached first.

For instance, if you purchased a 2021 Toyota Camry, it would be covered until 2023 or until the odometer reaches 24,000 miles. Furthermore, if your car can be repaired, Farmers will ensure that mechanics only use original manufacturer parts.

Accident forgiveness: Your insurance rate will normally increase after an accident, but if you purchase accident forgiveness from Farmers and avoid accidents completely for three years, one accident will be forgiven.

Loss of use coverage: Similar to rental car reimbursement, loss of use coverage means Farmers Insurance will help you pay for the cost of transportation while your own car receives covered repairs. Instead of paying for a rental car, however, Farmers will pay you a flat amount that you can then use for public transportation, cabs, ridesharing or rentals.

Towing & Roadside Assistance: If you want roadside assistance, be sure to add this optional coverage when you’re purchasing your policy. The coverage offers 24/7 roadside assistance that includes the following services:

Customized Equipment Coverage: If you’re someone who enjoys customizing your car with aftermarket parts, you should know that this optional coverage protects the custom parts of your vehicle if they’re ever stolen or damaged. This optional coverage is useful since vehicle upgrades, like infotainment systems and custom wheels, aren’t usually covered under a standard insurance policy. You’ll need to buy a full coverage auto insurance policy — which includes collision and comprehensive insurance — from Farmers to get this coverage.

Other helpful add-on coverages from Farmers include:

If you drive a specialty car, such as a classic or collectors automobile, Farmers is a good option for auto insurance. Several of these coverages — such as the guaranteed value and spare parts coverages — can help offset the cost of maintaining and repairing these unusual vehicles.

By contrast, Farmers may not be a great fit if you drive a financed car. Farmers does not offer gap insurance — the coverage that pays the difference on your auto loan if your car is totaled before you finish payments.

Standard auto insurance coverage available through Farmers

Highlight coverage feature: Farmers Rideshare

For drivers of Uber, Lyft or other apps, ridesharing insurance from Farmers extends your auto insurance coverage through the first phase of ride-hailing, which is when your app is on and you’re looking for, but haven’t found, a passenger.

If you don’t have ride-hail insurance, it’s likely that you’re not covered for the first phase of ride-hailing under your existing auto insurance policy. Once you have a passenger, the ride-hail company’s insurance will cover you until you’re back in the first phase of ride-hailing.

Farmers’ auto insurance discounts

Farmers offers all of the standard discounts you would find at other large auto insurance companies. What makes it stand out, however, are its Business/Professional Group Discount and the Signal program, which we discuss below.

Signal by Farmers: Farmers’ usage-based insurance program, Signal, gives you an automatic 5% discount when you sign up. The free mobile app uses your cellphone to track your driving behaviors.

When you renew your policy, Farmers adjusts your savings rate based on the data collected through the Signal app, up to 15%. The app gives you suggestions on how to improve your score, thereby improving your savings. Currently, the program is not available in California, Hawaii, New York or South Carolina.

Business/Professional Group Discount: If you’re a member of an eligible occupation or business group, you might be eligible to receive a discount on your auto insurance. It’s best to contact your agent to see if you qualify for this discount since eligibility varies by state. Below, we list common eligible occupations.

Other discounts available from Farmers include:

Farmers home insurance

Quote comparison: How much is Farmers home insurance?

Farmers offers higher-than-average home insurance rates across several home insurance policy limits. For a home insurance policy with a $250,000 limit, Farmers offered an annual rate that was higher than the average of the insurers in this study by $107.

The other insurers in our study — Allstate, State Farm and Travelers — all offered lower rates than Farmers. The insurer with the lowest rates was Allstate.

Farmer’s homeowners insurance rates vs. competitors

Farmers home insurance coverage options and discounts

Farmers offers its signature Smart Plan homeowners insurance policies at three different tiers: Standard, Enhanced and Premier. Each tier comes with certain coverages and limits that policyholders can customize to meet their unique needs.

Farmers also offers a few unique endorsements, such as Identity Shield, Eco-Rebuild, contents replacement cost and trees and shrubs coverage.

Identity Shield: This endorsement provides coverage for $28,500 in expenses, such as legal fees, and $1,500 in indemnity should you become a victim of identity theft. Although other insurance companies offer identity theft endorsements, Farmers’ coverage includes credit monitoring for two people, annual identity reports and advisory services if you become a victim of identity theft.

Eco-Rebuild: This endorsement provides you with up to $25,000 to rebuild, repair or replace with green materials in the event that you experience a covered loss. We consider this a great endorsement since it helps policyholders qualify for discounts, such as the home safety discount, which can potentially offset the cost of the endorsement in the long run.

Contents replacement cost: The contents replacement cost endorsement covers the full replacement cost of your items in the event of a covered loss. The replacement cost is based on the cost of a new item with comparable features. Standard home insurance policies typically provide reimbursement for an item’s depreciated value, meaning that you receive less compensation from your insurance company than what you paid for your items.

Another benefit of Farmers home insurance is its Guaranteed Repair Program. Policyholders who select one of the contractors in Farmers’ Guaranteed Repair Program network for their covered home repairs will receive a five-year warranty on the work.

Home insurance discounts offered by Farmers

Farmers offers several homeowners insurance discounts, but availability will depend on your policy and your state of residence, among other factors. While none of the discounts below are particularly unique, their low barriers to qualification make them appealing. For instance, the new home discount offers a lenient 14-year period for policyholders to be eligible.

Additionally, Farmers also offers a handful of discounts available only to residents of specific states, including:

Contact Farmers Insurance: Claims and customer service

Farmers policyholders may reach out to the company for a variety of reasons. Below, we outline how to contact the company for coverage and customer service.

Farmers Insurance claims

As with most insurers, your claim experience with Farmers will depend on where you live. Farmers is available in every state; however, it operates through subsidiaries, such as 21st Century and Bristol West Insurance Group, in a few states. If you need to file an insurance claim with Farmers, you can do so by calling 800-435-7764. Alternatively, you can file a claim through Farmers’ online portal.

To file a claim with Farmers, customers have several options:

Farmers Insurance customer service

If you’re part of the Farmers insurance customer community and have a customer service question, you can contact the care center at 1-888-327-6335. The office is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. CST during the week and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the weekend.

Alternatively, auto, home and umbrella customers can log in to their Farmers account to send a message to the company.

About Farmers Insurance Company

Farmers Insurance has been in business for 93 years. The history of Farmers Insurance began in 1928, when the company was founded by John C. Tyler and Thomas E. Leavey. Farmers operates out of several subsidiaries across the country, with the topmost property and casualty entity being Farmers Insurance Group of Companies.

In addition to homeowners and auto insurance, Farmers sells a variety of other types of insurance, including:

Frequently Asked Questions

Methodology

For car insurance costs, we compared quotes for Farmers vs top competing car insurance companies for a 21-year-old woman, 35-year old man and a 55-year-old woman with clean driving records, as well as a 35-year-old man with an at-fault accident.

For home insurance quotes, we collected rates with Farmers and similar home insurance competitors for a policy with dwelling coverage limits of $150,000, $250,000 and $350,000.

ValuePenguin’s analysis used insurance quote data from Quadrant Information Services. These quotes were publicly sourced from insurance ompany filings and should be used for comparative purposes only. Your own quotes may be different.