Central Insurance Homeowners Review (2023)

3.8
★ HOIC RATING

Premiums 5

Claims 3

Customer Satisfaction 3

Financial Standing 4

PROS

• Plenty of home insurance products and endorsements to choose from.
• Several discounts can be applied to your annual premium.
• Their site is full of information. 
• Policyholders report affordable home insurance rates.

CONS

• Some customers are left unhappy with their claims process.
• There’s no online quote tool to easily find the price you need. 

Van West, OH was the original location of a pioneer insurance company established in 1876. Conveniently enough, this insurance company was named Van West Country Mutual Fire Insurance Company.

In the 19th century, Central started by providing farmers with fire insurance. As the company grew, its name changed a few times before settling on ‘Central Insurance’. Its first expansion was in Massachusetts in the form of its regional headquarters in Boston.

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From there, this insurance senior only flourished further. In the 1950s, Central Insurance grew substantially by establishing its maiden regional branches in Texas and Georgia. Even to date, the company retains regional hubs in Atlanta and Dallas.

Today, Central Insurance operates in nearly half the states across the country, including:

Considering the ground Central has decided to cover, we wanted to check in with their coverages and premiums. In this review, we pick Central Mutual apart and see just how much this insurer is worth doing business with. Stay tuned as we decipher customer complaints and check out Central Mutual’s stance on financial stability.

Central homeowners insurance coverages available

Without a quote tool to tell us for sure, we’re happy to know that Central’s website consists of tons of information about their insurance products. With this, we could find out what their typical home insurance policies would look like.

With Central’s standard homeowners policy, you can safeguard your home, personal belongings, and detached structures. Additionally, you will receive personal liability coverage and medical payments to others coverage to ensure maximum protection.

There are three tiers of insurance provided by Central. With these, you can make the perfect selection that comprehensively meets your needs. 

Central Signature homeowners policy

This is the finest homeowners policy which comes with multiple coverage upgrades to grant you complete protection of your home. There are several exclusive advantages you can obtain from this policy, such as:

• Full replacement cost coverage: this ensures that your home will be rebuilt at the same location in the event of a covered loss, even if the cost of reconstruction exceeds the policy’s limit.
• Replacement cost coverage for your personal belongings: guarantees that your personal property will be repaired or replaced according to its replacement cost, as opposed to its actual cash value, which accounts for depreciation.
• Cash out settlement: In the event of a covered total loss, you have the option to receive your settlement in cash instead of repairing, or replacing your home.
• First claim forgiveness: this ensures that your rate won’t go up after filing your first claim. Unfortunately, this isn’t available to homeowners in New York.
• Deductible waiver: If there is a loss that exceeds $50,000 worth of reparable damage, your deductible will be waived.
• Loss of use: If your home is damaged due to a covered loss and undergoing repairs, an additional living expense will cover the additional expenses you incur to maintain your normal lifestyle.
• Equipment breakdown: The breakdown of mechanical or electrical systems and equipment in your home can be considered for repair or replacement.
• Tree removal: If you experience damage to trees on your property because of a covered loss, this extra coverage will take care of the cleanup.
• Utility line: The maintenance of underground utility lines including water and sewer, electric power lines, and natural gas lines is covered by this protection. It also replaces or mends damaged parts.
• Water backup: Protection against water damage resulting from sewer or drain back-ups or sump pump overflow is provided by this coverage.
• Identity fraud protection: Proactive care for identity management, assistance in solving identity theft issues, and compensation for identity theft expenses are what are provided by this coverage.
• Loss prevention device: This coverage pays for the expenses and set up of household equipment that safeguards potential losses from occurring.

Central Mutual Summit homeowners policy

With this policy, you can receive fewer comprehensive coverages for less money. With this tier of coverage, you will benefit from:

• Up to $10,000 worth of coverage for unscheduled high-priced personal items. 
• Full replacement cost coverage.
• Water backup coverage.
• Expanded coverage for potential damages.
• Expanded coverage for tree and debris removal services.
• The maximum liability for credit card fraud is set at $5,000.
• Up to $1,000 in refrigerated contents coverage. 
• Expanded coverage for trailers, commercial assets, firearms, silverware, and other valuable items. 
• Furs and watches that are lost, stolen, or misplaced can receive coverage up to $10,000.
• Protection against lost or stolen keys.
• Data recovery protection.

It’s worth noting that this particular product is not accessible to those living in North Carolina. To obtain comprehensive information on this policy, you may need to reach out to your agent.

Plus Ten endorsement

Central’s Plus Ten endorsement offers an affordable way to enhance your homeowners insurance coverage. With just one fee per policy, you’ll receive multiple valuable protections. Consider the following examples:

• $750 in refrigerated items coverage.
• Compensation up to $1,500 for legal action in the event of a lost or stolen credit or debit card.
• $1,000 more coverage for tree removal.
• Additional coverage limits for:
  • Alternative constructions.
  • Liability for personal injury.
  • Infliction of harm on possessions belonging to others.
  • Loss of use of your home can lead to extra living expenses.
  • Stolen keys.
  • Computers.
  • Jewelry, watches, and furs.

Central Insurance homeowners premiums

Central doesn’t have an online quote tool where we can visualize and customize our coverage to see what it would cost us. Instead, this insurer operates exclusively through independent insurance agents to provide quality coverage. An agent will use their knowledge and expertise to provide a custom quote for specific insurance coverage that caters to our needs. 

If you want an idea of how much your home insurance with Central will cost, consider your location. There are plenty of environmental and regional factors that are to blame for some rising costs in certain areas of the US. For example, the cheapest insurance rates you’ll find will be in states like Nevada and New Hampshire, where natural disasters are at a minimum. 

If you live in a state in the tornado valley, like Oklahoma, expect to pay more for your coverage. This is especially true if you don’t have safety features installed in your home.

Reading through online reviews left by Central’s policyholders, we found that many homeowners are happy with the rates they are paying with Central. Some have stated that they were able to get the cheapest premium by going with Central Insurance. Based on these reviews, their quotes should be affordable and competitive compared to other insurers.

Central’s home insurance discounts

Luckily, Central has some discounts that can help homeowners with more expensive premiums. These include:

• Ebilling: Sign up for E-billing and E-policy choices together and gain a yearly credit of $5 per policy with our E-credit offer.
• Customer loyalty: Gain a special credit for being a loyal customer by staying insured with Central consecutively for two years or more. The credit will gradually increase every year and will reach its peak after a decade.
• Pay timeliness: Your policy renewal can earn you a credit if you have maintained a timely payment record.
• Insurance score credit: Receive discounts for having a satisfactory insurance score.
• Gated community: A discount will be granted if your house is situated in a community with restricted access.
• Paid in full: If you pay your yearly policy premium upfront, you can save with the Paid in full discount. This offer does not apply to policies billed through a mortgagee, except for those issued in New York.
• Safety features: Safety measures can qualify for discounts if they are installed and maintained according to the approved standards.
• Boat or scheduled personal property: This discount is available to those who include boat or schedule property on their home insurance policy
• Water backup: this discount is available for those who have included water backup in their coverage

Homeowners Insurance Cost Calculator

Central Mutual’s claims process

To file a claim with Central Mutual, you can log into their website or an app on your phone. You could also call 888.263.2924 or email them at lossnotices@central-insurance.com

Customers have left mixed reviews about filing claims with Central. There are quite a few homeowners who are happy with the claims they filed with Central. Some even report that their premiums didn’t go up upon renewal after filing a claim.

As usual with insurance reviews, there are some policyholders that aren’t too impressed with claims. One customer warns that Central fought them the whole time to deny their claim. More customers say the same thing, noting that their adjusters will “do anything” not to pay for the damage caused.

Central’s customer reviews

In 2022, Central Insurance scored well below the average number of complaints on the National Complaint Index. According to the NAIC, this insurer only landed on 0.17 on a scale that is naturally set at 1.00 by default. This means that Central Insurance received considerably fewer complaints than an average insurance company of their size. Of those measly number of complaints, it’s no surprise that claims handling was the biggest gripe. 

Online, customers are singing a slightly different tune. These reviews are riddled with complaints about unsatisfactory claims, payouts, and wait times. On the other hand, their adjusters and other managers seem to provide decent customer service whenever necessary. 

Central’s financial ratings

According to AM Best, Central Mutual has an excellent financial stability rating (A), with a positive outlook on its budgetary future. Weiss Ratings can back this up with a score of “B” for financial stability. Likewise to AM Best, this means they also believe Central offers good financial security, and the resources to deal with adverse economic conditions.

Weiss provides this score on behalf of Central’s history of adequate reserve strength, good overall profitability index, and fair expense controls. Other rating factors included their good liquidity, sufficient cash flows, and overall ability to pass certain stability tests. 

Although Central isn’t accredited by the BBB, they have provided them with an A+ rating for their ability to handle customer-related issues. 

Conclusion

Central Mutual is another established insurance company we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing. Their home insurance products are very comprehensive and are sure to cover you in the event of a loss. 

The problem here lies with their claims process. Some of the customers were left unsatisfied that they paid for a policy that doesn’t always come through in times of need. It is important to note that some of their homeowners were able to receive payouts quickly and are happy with their claims.

Regardless, their customers seem happy otherwise, and their financial standing is decent with a positive outlook. If you’re looking for the most coverage for a decent price and don’t plan on having any accidents, Central may be the insurer for you.