- They cover high-risk homes that are difficult to insure.
- They have earthquake insurance, which is rare.
- There is no online quote tool.
- Premiums may be higher.
- Customers are dissatisfied overall.
American Modern Insurance Group (AMIG) has been around since the late-’40s. With humble beginnings in Cincinnati, Ohio, AMIG (or Midland Insurance at the time) started as a mobile home financing company. AMIG would build manufactured homes and sell them with insurance on the side in the mid-’60s.
American Modern is flooded with commitments to serve its people. They’ve vowed to be more conscious and active in terms of community, environment, and diversity. They are avid sponsors of charity foundations and programs and have a solid stance in their community. Not to mention, in 2020, AMIG was voted as a top place to work in Cincinnati.
Today, AMIG offers an array of insurance products meant to protect homes, cars, boats, golf carts, and even pets. As for homeowners insurance, American Modern takes pride in its ability and desire to insure high-risk homes that have a hard time getting protection in the industry.
American Modern homeowners insurance coverages
Your home might face rejection or higher pricing from a traditional insurance provider for various reasons. These reasons may include its age, size, value, or past claims history. American Modern rarely faces issues under these conditions. They are proud of their stance on delivering quality insurance even to homes that are considered problematic in the industry.
They provide two options for full-time residences. Both alternatives include comprehensive coverage for the building as well as personal belongings and liability exposure. To be more specific, each home insurance product brought to you by American Modern will come with:
- Dwelling coverage: Compensates you for the restoration or reconstruction of your house’s framework in the event of a covered loss.
- Other structures coverage: This section covers the cost of repairing or reconstructing buildings on your premises that are not linked to your residence, such as detached garages, storage sheds, and fences.
- Personal property coverage: Your personal belongings, such as clothing, furniture, and technological gadgets, can be repaired or replaced after a covered loss.
- Loss of use coverage: In case of a covered loss, this coverage offers compensation for hotel accommodations, restaurant expenses, fees for pet boarding, and other expenses related to temporary living if you need to reside elsewhere while your home is under reconstruction.
- Personal liability coverage: Financial support that pays for legal and medical costs in the event of injury or property damage to a guest while they’re at your home, and you’re deemed legally accountable.
- Medical expenses coverage: Medical expenses may be covered by the medical payment clause regardless of whose fault it is if someone gets injured while in your home. This clause will assist in covering small-dollar medical expenses like x-rays or outpatient visits.
Homeowners FLEX®
The applicable insurance products available to you are determined by your state. Some states offer Homeowners FLEX®, which is similar to a standard HO-3 homeowners insurance policy. These insured homes come with the luxury of having:
- Open peril protection: Your losses are protected under open peril coverage, as long as there is no exclusion in the policy document.
- Replacement cost settlement: When determining the value of the loss, replacement cost settlement does not consider depreciation deductions.
Homeowners
There is another program available in different regions which goes by the name of “Homeowners.” This program is specifically designed to assist homeowners whose property’s age or location makes it hard to obtain insurance coverage. The policy that comes with:
- Named peril protection: Provides coverage for specific causes of loss that are explicitly mentioned in the policy.
- Actual cash value: The settlement amount of this policy is determined according to the actual cash value (ACV), which includes a deduction for depreciation.
Specialty home coverage options
American Modern provides various specialty home plans for properties that aren’t generally covered under traditional homeowners insurance because they may be susceptible to different risks from standard properties, e.g. a vacant home may sustain more damage due to being unoccupied.
- Vacation home – There are policies made available for high-value vacation properties that are often upwards of the same amounts as main homes because of their value, as well as for a cottage or cabin which may generally carry a lower coverage level.
- Manufactured/mobile home – American Modern offers plans for many different factory-built houses such as single/double/triple-wide mobile homes as well as one/two-floor manufactured houses. They could be owned, rented, seasonal, or vacant.
- Non-standard – These policies are for homes that are owned but generally aren’t qualified for a standard home insurance policy. This happens for a number of reasons including location, prior claims, or possible issues with the home.
- Landlord coverage – Provides coverage for landlords as well as extra coverage in the event of loss, including nonpayment of rent.
- Vacant property – American Modern’s vacant property protection covers a home owned which is unoccupied for a period of time for possible renovations, empty between rental tenants, or prior to selling.
Additional coverage from American Modern
Once you’ve chosen your home insurance policy, you can supplement your American Modern homeowners insurance policy with special coverages for an added layer of protection.
- Scheduled personal property coverage allows you to increase the coverage limit on valuable items that you list specifically, such as jewelry, fine art, or firearms.
- Water backup coverage pays for damage caused by water overflowing from your sump pump or drain. This coverage add-on can come in handy.
- With home equipment breakdown protection, you can have peace of mind knowing that any mechanical or electrical breakdown of appliances such as your refrigerator, washing machine, and water heater will be covered for repairs.
- Additionally, if you rent out your home through home-sharing sites like Airbnb or Vrbo, home-sharing protection ensures your property is safeguarded from any potential damage.
- A legal statute coverage is available to cover the additional expenses incurred in bringing your home up to standards post a covered loss. This is called an ordinance or law endorsement.
- Service line failure protection shields you from expenses related to excavating and repairing damage to the electrical or plumbing lines beneath your property.
- You can have the expenses for the restoration of your identity paid for with the identity recovery endorsement. This add-on covers the costs associated with reclaiming your identity, along with the provision of credit monitoring services following the incident.
- There’s even an endorsement that will pay for damage incurred on a farm you use as a hobby.
- Last but certainly not least, AMIG has a bonafide Earthquake insurance endorsement. This offers compensation for destruction caused to your residence by an earthquake, which is almost never included in a typical home insurance plan.
American Modern home insurance premiums & discounts
Without an online quote tool for self-service pricing, customers are left to find an insurance agent based on their location. By enlisting independent agents, AMIG leaves the insurance expertise to the professionals.
American Modern has insurance products for homes located in all states, plus D.C. That said, you can realistically expect to pay between $360 and $3,650 for $350,000 worth of dwelling coverage.
The price of your annual premium will depend mostly on the location and condition of your home. Plus, it counts to remember that AMIG is concentrated on “uninsurable” homes. This may make your rates higher than average.
Checking customer reviews online, it is hard to get a clear view if American Modern home insurance premiums are expensive or not. Some policyholders claim that their rates are affordable and fair, while others complain about how expensive their policies are.
Discounts
Luckily, there are some areas for savings with American Modern. This insurer offers a few discounts to help you save a little cash.
- By combining your home insurance policy with another insurance policy from American Modern, you can save up to 5%. If you have not filed any claims within the past three years, you may be eligible for a discount as well.
- Opting for paperless billing and receiving documents electronically can also result in savings. Another option is to pay your premiums for the year in one lump sum rather than monthly.
- By incorporating safety measures such as installing fire and burglar alarms and fixing sturdy deadbolts to your doors, you can ensure greater security in your home. This is used as an incentive to save money on your premiums.
How customers feel about American Modern
Even though the NAIC only registered AMIG at 0.71 on the National Complaint Index, the fact remains that home insurance was the biggest gripe among customers in 2022. This below-average rating is likely because AMIG still received a less-than-average number of complaints for an insurer of its size.
AMIG seems to have a bad reputation for being dishonest. One customer recalls having their home burglarized, only to have AMIG find every excuse not to pay a cent of the $100,000 worth of coverage they paid for. Several other testimonies are found with this same trend, where they lack integrity and leave a very sour taste in the mouths of their customers.
AMIG customers are likely only using the company to receive service after being dropped or denied elsewhere. As a result, many customers feel taken advantage of when they notice their rates are doubled only to receive horrible customer service and an inadequate claims process.
Claims process
If you experience a loss with American Modern and need to file a claim, all you need to do is go to their site. From there, you can choose to submit a homeowners claim with or without logging into your customer account.
According to the NAIC, claims denials, delays, and unsatisfactory settlements were the biggest issues with AMIG’s home insurance.
Customers easily back this up online. Anywhere you find customer reviews, you will see that the majority are frustrated with claims being denied and underserved. One customer cites waiting months for a simple claim to be paid out by “rude, dishonest, and unprofessional” adjusters.
Financial stability ratings
American Modern Home Insurance has a Superior A+ financial stability rating with a stable outlook from AM Best. AM Best also provided AMIG with an “aa” rating in long-term issuer credit. These ratings have been in place for several consecutive years.
Weiss Ratings has a slightly less favorable idea of AMIG’s financial security. According to them, American Modern is a part of the lower 3rd percentile of currently stable companies that offer fair financial security. However, they believe they may experience complications maintaining their stability amid financial disparities.
Final verdict
If you’re having a hard time finding insurance due to your claims record or the location, size, or structure of your home, AMIG might be perfect for you. American Modern specializes in insuring the uninsurable homes of the greater part of America, which may provide a breath of fresh air for those desperate for insurance.
The issue with AMIG’s service doesn’t lie with their coverages or discounts. They’ve got decent coverage options and plenty of ways to save on a premium that may be higher than average. The problem might be getting American Modern to come through with their promises.
That said, if you value high-quality customer service and a claims process with integrity, you might want to try to keep looking for coverage.
