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Harleysville Home Insurance Review

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Harleysville Home Insurance Review

Harleysville Insurance (now Nationwide) is a Pennsylvania-based insurance company that provides private insurance options such as home insurance, auto insurance, and property insurance. Harleysville is owned by Nationwide, one of the largest insurance conglomerates in the United States. Harleysville used to operate as an independent subsidiary to its parent company, Nationwide, however, it was completely replaced by Nationwide and now their previous plans are offered under the Nationwide brand.

Harleysville Insurance is one of the oldest insurance companies in Pennsylvania – it was started over 100 years ago, Harleysville was founded in 1917 in Harleysville, PA as an automobile insurance company. Automobiles became popular in Pennsylvania during the ’20s and two prominent insurance companies – Mutual Auto Fire Insurance Company and Mutual Auto Theft Insurance Company merged together to form Harleysville Insurance. The company was initially known as Harleysville Mutual Casualty Company but it underwent a name change in 1956 when it became known as Harleysville Mutual, it’s kept that name until it’s acquisition and re-branding by Nationwide. 

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Harleysville started offering private life insurance in the ’60s when it first branched out of automotive insurance. Harleysville acquired many domestic competitors in the state of Pennsylvania and became one of the largest insurance companies – it started publically trading in 1985. Today it offers home insurance as its primary policy under the brand Nationwide.

Nationwide Acquisition

Harleysville was acquired by insurance conglomerate Nationwide which is one of the largest U.S. insurance corporations. After the acquisition by Nationwide, Harleysville continued to operate as an independent branch before the higher management decided to group all their subsidiaries under the main Nationwide brand name. Currently, the same team is offering home insurance and auto insurance policies in the state of Pennsylvania, but they are all branded as a Nationwide product. The previous policies, underwriting, claims, etc, are all available but under the Nationwide brand and Harleysville does not operate as an independent branch anymore. 

Policies from the previous Harleysville website are now re-directed to the Nationwide site. The company’s focused remained similar after the merger, however, they now focus more on residential/home insurance instead of commercial insurance for business owners. Harleysville is located in Harleysville, PA. Nationwide, the Fortunate 500 parent company is located in Columbus, OH. Harleysville is one of the few companies that offer Spanish-language support to customers.

Harleysville home insurance is available to the following:

  • Homeowners
  • Condominium unit owners
  • Renters/tenants

Financial Ratings

Harleysville is in excellent financial standing thanks to its parent company Nationwide – the company was rated by the major U.S. financial institutions. A.M. Best, a financial institution that rates insurance companies based on their financial stability awarded Harleysville an “A+” rating for financial stability and future financial outlook. Harleysville has no legal disputes in regard to claim payouts.

Harleysville is listed on the Better Business Bureau, a company that rates insurance companies based on financial stability and customer complaints. The BBB grants it an “A+” rating for low customer complaints, fast resolve, and stable finances. Nationwide, the parent company was rated “A+” by S&P and Moody’s. Nationwide is one of the most financially-stable insurance companies in the United States. 

Home Insurance HO-3 Plan

Harleysville offers a standard home insurance plan (HO-3) that covers clients against numerous perils and includes all damages/repair costs, including replacement costs for personal belongings and medical liability. There are few optional add-ons in case clients want to increase their coverage for personal items or expand their liability.

The following are covered under Harleysville’s basic HO-3 plan:

  • Home. The home is insured against all damages, and this includes full repair/replacement costs. Clients can opt for their own contractor and Harleysville will bear the full cost. All damages to the home interior and exterior are covered.
  • Side structures. Any side structures that are not attached to the main home: garages, sheds, visitor’s homes, cabanas, animal homes, etc, are covered under the basic plan. They have lower coverage than the main home and if the client wishes they can upgrade coverage for side structures.
  • Personal belongings. Any personal belongings in the home are insured for damages. This includes furniture, cash, clothing, electronics, furniture, AC units, pool equipment, silverware, and more. The only exceptions are high-value items such as gold, premium watches, artwork, antiques, and more which can be insured separately.
  • Medical liability. If the insured person is injured in their home, the company will reimburse them for the full extent of their medical bills irrespective of their medical insurance.
  • Medical liability for others. If guests of the insured person are injured in the home or side structures, they are also entitled to medical coverage.
  • Law/fire department insurance. If the fire department has to be called in and they invoice the client, Harleysville will bear all costs the client incurred.
  • Loss of use coverage. If the client has to move out of their home while repairs are carried out, they will be reimbursed for their living expenses including rent, bills, and food until their home is repaired.
  • Credit card theft. If the client’s credit card is stolen and used to make unauthorized purchases, the client will be reimbursed for all financial damage.

Add-Ons

The following add-ons are available for clients who wish to expand their basic HO-3 plan, each policy is sold independently (depending on the client’s needs):

  • Identity Theft. If the client’s identity is stolen and used for malicious purposes, the company will provide face-to-face assistance and help the client recover their identity. They will erase all damage caused to their credit history and restrain the damage.
  • Valuables Plus. This is an optional policy to expand the personal belongings liability for high-value items: watches, artwork, antiques, furs/designer clothes, gold/precious metals and more.
  • Replacement PLUS. This allows clients to replace 100% repair cost on claims with 120% replacement cost on claims, by adding 20% to their existing basic coverage.
  • Water backup. If the sump pump overflows and floods the client’s basement, this will provide additional coverage against water damage. The water damage extends to sewer and drain systems too.
  • Earthquake/flood damage. Earthquake and flood damage is not included in the main HO-3 policy and clients can insure their homes against earthquakes and floods by adding this as an option.

Customer Reviews

Harleysville received positive-neutral reviews. Many clients praise their services for offering low premiums and high coverage. Clients claim that Harleysville pays out on claims fast, however, some customers say their customer service department could use some improvement. The reviews are a mixed bag, but the overwhelming feedback is positive. Harleysville appears to be a stable company that pays its customers on time, even during emergency claims. 

Negative reviews for the company have to do with contractors and claims agents, some say they were rude and disrespectful, while other agents are nice. One client said he dealt with 2 agents – 1 was the nicest, and another was mean. He chose to have his lawyer consult them next time.

Harleysville/Nationwide has almost uniformly positive reviews (they pay clients on time), but the client experience interacting with the company might vary. 

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