- Decent coverage options are available.
- Flood coverage is offered.
- Customers report affordable premiums.
- Less than favorable customer reviews.
- There is no online quote tool.
- Only available in select states.
Centauri was established in Florida only 17 years ago. The company faced regulatory and company tradition issues, which hindered its insurance sales in Florida. Rather, Centauri directed its attention toward providing hurricane insurance to vulnerable households in Hawaii.
Centauri’s hurricane insurance has seen tremendous growth since its inception. Despite being relatively new to the market, Centauri has already established itself as a provider of high-quality insurance in regions susceptible to hurricanes.
After successfully gaining customers and offering hurricane coverage options in Hawaii, Centauri decided to expand its services to the Gulf States, where hurricanes were frequent. Now, they also offer standard homeowners insurance. Centauri has expanded its insurance sales offerings to cover nine states:
The company still has a lot of room to grow and refine its policies and structure before it can claim to be a fully established player in the industry. Nevertheless, we’ll give you the run-down on Centauri home insurance. Keep reading to see our in-depth review of Centauri, including their customer reviews, financial ratings, and more!
Centauri homeowners insurance coverages
Centauri provides standard homeowners insurance policies that safeguard your home and yourself against potential dangers. Additional coverage enhancements are available to increase your protection at a higher cost.
Like many insurance providers, specialized policies are provided to cover different types of properties. Centauri also offers dwelling and landlord insurance for instances when a tenant rents the property. They also have condominium policies for condo owners and renters insurance for tenants.
Centauri provides custom-made hurricane insurance policies that include coverage for floods, winds, and earthquakes. The policies are designed to cater to the homes and states that come under Centauri’s operation but require an additional premium payment.
To get more specific, these are the coverages offered by Centauri:
- Dwelling and other structures coverages: provides coverage for any loss that may arise. In the event of a loss, your home, as well as other structures on your property such as a detached garage, shed, or fence, can be repaired, rebuilt, or replaced at current market prices.
- Personal property: provides protection for your possessions, whether they are at home or elsewhere, by utilizing a Home Inventory Checklist to make a detailed list of all your valuables, such as appliances, electronics, clothing, and dishes.
- Personal liability: safeguards you from liability claims if someone is injured on your premises or if you or your family members are blamed for injuring or causing damage to other individuals.
- Loss of use: your policy might provide coverage for certain short-term living expenses until your home is fixed. These costs could encompass housing, sustenance, and relocation expenses.
You can also add the following additional coverages:
- Special limits for personal property: get extra coverage when you possess extraordinary or precious items like exquisite artwork or elegant jewels.
- Equipment breakdown: covers mechanical or electrical damage to household appliances and other systems.
Thanks to a partnership with The National Flood Insurance Program, Centauri provides its clients with two fundamental policies for flood insurance coverage as well. The initial policy protects building property up to $100,000.
The second choice is the Excess Flood Coverage offered to homeowners who require coverage beyond the $250,000 provided by NFIP flood insurance. In addition, this policy can safeguard high-ticket items or home enhancements that are not included in standard flood insurance.
Centauri’s website lacks comprehensive information about its policy options, unfortunately. While flood insurance is a beneficial, and often necessary rider, we typically see many other endorsements.
Centauri homeowners insurance premiums
Centauri is a newer business that still relies on freelance agents. As a result, they don’t readily disclose their policy premiums. Each policy is unique, and many variables will impact costs. Customers should be aware that because these agents work on commission, policy rates may be more expensive.
All of the states where Centauri offers its policies are coastal states, so insurance can be more expensive there. Centauri’s insurance premiums might be higher due to its recent establishment and business expansion costs. However, it’s expected that this condition won’t be permanent. If the company expands and becomes more financially stable, it might reduce premiums or provide more discounts.
Nevertheless, Centauri’s happier customers claim to be very satisfied with their rates. One customer is just happy with the fact that their premium only went up by $200 due to inflation. This is unlike some other unfortunate homeowners, who claim to have had their rates nearly double. Overall, the majority of reviews from customers regarding their prices are positive. Customers explain how Centauri had the most reasonable rates while shopping around.
Centauri homeowners insurance discounts
Unfortunately, we don’t think that affordable rates reported by their customers has much to do with any discounts they provide. We could only find two discounts advertised. There may be others available according to your area and the expertise of your agent, but these were the savings options we could find:
- Flood Zone Designation: Flood risk is assessed by FEMA by creating flood zone maps that identify areas susceptible to flooding.
- Freeboard (Property Elevation Above BFE): When homeowners elevate their properties above the base flood elevations (BFEs), insurance premiums are reduced. This means adding 2 feet to a home’s elevation could lead to over $1,000 less in flood insurance payments per year.
Centauri homeowners insurance claims process
Centauri only accepts claim submissions through their official website, with no provision for email or mail-in options. This is not unusual for a company of Centauri’s scale.
If you wish to file a claim, you must visit their website and engage with your agent to begin the process. Centauri functions similarly to larger insurance companies in handling claims once you have submitted one.
According to online reviews, many of Centauri’s customers aren’t satisfied with their claims experiences. Many customers recall waiting several weeks to hear from their adjusters. One customer had their claim denied after Hurricane Sally, citing that their $35,000 worth of dwelling protection meant nothing. At the same time, we found a few reviews reporting positive claims experience with no problems getting their payout.
Centauri’s customer reviews
Centauri has devastating customer reviews across the internet. As of April 2023, their average star rating on Google is 2.1 stars from 77 customers in the last 6 years. Most of these cite terrible customer service or suddenly having their policies dropped.
The NAIC’s information backs up the theory that Centauri provides a lackluster service. In 2022, they registered a 4.43 on the National Complaint Index. This is 3.43 points above the average number of industry complaints, which means that Centauri gets 4.5 times more complaints per customer than the national average.
These were mostly due to state-specific claims issues, like hurricanes, conveniently enough. Other complaints were due to delays.
While it may be unsurprising for a company of Centauri’s magnitude, they still have dissatisfied customers who are unhappy with the quality of their work. Centauri has a “B” rating from the BBB. This usually dictates that there are still several unresolved issues. This may explain why they’re not BBB-accredited.
It may be possible that the only positive reviews we see are those expressing satisfaction with their rates.
Rest assured that it’s perfectly normal for a company of this magnitude and history to experience some issues, and customer complaints are to be anticipated as a result.
The problem, however, lies with insufficient efforts made to address these grievances, which could indicate shortcomings in their online reputation. Centauri must strive to provide satisfactory customer service despite being a younger company.
Centauri’s financial ratings
Despite not being BBB-accredited or rated by AM Best, their financial outlook seems poor-fair.
Centauri has managed to maintain its “A – Exceptional” rating from Demotech. Weiss Ratings tells a slightly different story, providing them with a “C” for insurance safety. This means Centauri offers fair financial security and is currently stable. However, during economic or financial pressures, it may encounter difficulties maintaining its financial stability.
Final verdict
Centauri is another junior in the insurance industry that has seen its fair share of trauma. Through it all, they’ve been able to stand firm and continue to provide decent home insurance policies to their customers.
With an annual premium to brag about, Centauri provides fair rates for its homeowners insurance and hurricane coverages. The downside is – everything else.
Their customer service is sub-par, leaving many upset with the lack of quality service and responsiveness. Their claims process leaves many customers without homes or reimbursement for weeks, sometimes months. To top it all off, their financial security ratings are either fair or non-existent.
You may be ready to switch to a cheaper insurer due to today’s incredible rate hikes. When looking into Centauri, ensure you are met with a knowledgeable, helpful, and respectful agent. Otherwise, you may end up like many of their unhappy and unhoused insureds.
