- Clear, easy-to use-website
- Strong financial rating
- Multiple discounts available
- Positive customer experience
- Only available in six states
- Some additional coverage available and not very high limits for them
- No online quote available
Hastings Mutual Insurance Company is a regional insurance provider headquartered in Hastings, Michigan. The company has a long history, having been founded in 1885. The company originally sold windstorm policies and had rapid growth in its early years. In 1959, the company reorganized itself into an insurance company that could sell more than just wind policies.
Hastings Mutual has a little over $1 billion in assets and continues to do quite a bit of business each year in the six Midwest states that it serves. The company has around 500 employees. They are a top choice for homeowners’ insurance in the areas they serve.
Where does Hastings Mutual offer home insurance?
Hastings Mutual Offers coverage in six states with all six states being in the Midwest of the country. They offer coverage in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin. For residents of these six states, Hastings Mutual is one of the top options for home insurance coverage.
Homeowners insurance coverages offered by Hastings Mutual
Hastings Mutual offers standard HO-3 home insurance policies along with some additional coverages and other home-related insurance policies.
The standard policy sections include:
- Dwelling: protection for damage that occurs to the structure of the home or any attached structures
- Other structures: protection from damage to any structures on the property not attached to the home
- Personal property: protection to repair or replace personal belongings such as furniture or electronics
- Loss of use: protection for additional living expenses incurred while the home is being repaired or rebuilt to make it livable again
- Personal liability: protection for any lawsuits that might arise from injuries or damages to others where the homeowner is found to be at fault
- Medical payments to others: protection for any injuries that may occur to a guest on the property no matter who is found to be at fault
Additional coverages offered
In addition to the standard home insurance policy, Hastings Mutual offers some optional add-on coverages. These coverages include:
- Recreational motor vehicles: this protection will protect the homeowner for damage to recreational vehicles on the property or personal liability that may arise because of them
- Watercraft: This coverage will protect against damage and/or liability of watercraft 26 feet or smaller on the property.
- Identity recovery: This protection will pay for expenses related to recovering one’s identity if stolen.
- Mechanical breakdown: this protection covers the breakdown of appliances in the home
- Utility line: This protection pays for repair or replacement of service lines on the property.
Hastings Mutual also offers a packaged add-on called Homeowners Coverage Plus that adds a number of coverages to the standard policy. The coverages that are a part of the package include:
- Water backup: This protection provides coverage for flooding of a home due to a water backup or sump pump failure.
- Identity recovery: see above.
- Mortgage expense: This coverage provides up to $1,000 for acquisition costs related to a mortgage.
- Replacement cost of personal belongings: This protection provides a higher limit than actual cash value coverage due to depreciation not being factored in.
- Credit card/forgery protection: This coverage provides up to $500 in reimbursement if a credit card is stolen and used.
- Debris removal: This protection provides up to $300 to remove debris from the property.
- Refrigerated products coverage: This protection provides up to $500 for refrigerated good lost due to a failure of the refrigerator or freezer.
- Personal injury: this protection provides coverage for a lawsuit filed against the homeowner.
- Lock replacement: This protection provides up to $300 to replace locks on the property if keys are stolen.
- Landslide due to underground water: this coverage makes a landslide a covered peril.
Other policies offered
In addition to the above coverages, Hastings Mutual also offers some other home-related insurances. These insurance policies include:
- Renters insurance: This insurance will cover a renter’s personal belongings in the event of damage
- Condo insurance: This insurance works in much the same way as a standard home insurance policy but with language and coverage that is specifically tailored to the unique risks of a condo
- Personal umbrella insurance: This insurance provides higher personal liability limits for any medical bills or legal fees that a homeowner may be stuck with as the result of property damage or injury
Coverage limits
Unfortunately, we were unable to find the coverage limits for Hastings Mutual home insurance policies. It is safe to assume that the limits work similarly to other major companies in that a dwelling coverage limit is determined and then the other sections of coverage are a percentage of that coverage limit. Typically, other structures coverage is 10% of the dwelling limit, personal property 50%, and loss of use 20%, but that has not been confirmed. Talk with a Hastings Mutual agent to learn the specific limits for your policy.
Cost of Hastings Mutual home insurance
Unfortunately, we were unable to find the average cost of a home insurance policy with hastings Mutual. Due to the regional nature of the company, it is a possibility that the company’s policies will be more expensive than that of a nationwide insurer. This has not been confirmed and there are a number of factors that go into the cost of any individual home insurance policy. Talk with a local Hastings Mutual agent to determine the cost of a policy for your unique situation.
Discounts available
Hastings Mutual offers a few discounts on their home insurance. These discounts include:
- Bundling: This discount is available for homeowners who purchase multiple policies with Hastings.
- Experienced homeowners (over 50 years old): This discount is available for homeowners 50 years old or older.
- Preventative devices: This discount is available for those who install preventive devices such as security systems and smoke detectors.
- Higher deductible: Homeowners can opt for a higher deductible, which will reduce the premium cost.
- New home: This discount is available for those who own newly built homes.
- Waiver of deductible credit: This credit is available for every year that the homeowner does not file a claim. The reduction is $75 per year up to $750 in total.
Claims
Hastings Mutual boasts a step-by-step overview of their claims process and homeowners can start the claims process via the company website or call an agent. Most reviews of the claims process were positive, with the only negative being that the company can be a little slow to respond and update homeowners on their claims.
Customer experience
A majority of the reviews by customers of Hastings Mutual state an overall positive experience with the company. Of course, there are some negative reviews, but they are far outweighed by the positive reviews. Customers generally are happy with the service that is provided by employees of the company other than the response time can be slow. This is positive to see for homeowners looking to obtain home insurance coverage.
Financial strength
Hastings Mutual has an A rating from AM best and they state that they have had that rating since 1961. This is positive as an A rating is one of the highest ratings that a company can obtain. The longevity of that rating is also reassuring to see. Unfortunately, the company is not rated by the other two major credit ratings agencies, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. Homeowners looking for coverage should take this rating into account as they shop around. An A rating is a good sign that the company can weather any major downturn.
Conclusion
Hastings Mutual seems like one of the better home insurance options for residents in the six states that the company offers coverage in. The company has a long history with a positive track record over those years, which is always encouraging to see for potential policyholders. The longevity in the strong financial rating is a huge plus as well.
Hastings Mutual offers a nice variety of discounts and additional coverages in addition to the standard HO-3 policies they sell. Homeowners have the opportunity to customize policies to their exact needs for the most part.
Another encouraging sign is the ratio of positive to negative reviews of the company. Most reviews of Hastings are positive which leads to peace of mind knowing the company is upholding their end of the deal when it comes to customer service, cost, and other aspects of taking care of their customers.
One drawback is that they aren’t more clear about the cost of their policies. There is no online quote tool for homeowners to play around with either. The regional nature of the company can be a drawback as well.
Overall, Hastings Mutual is a great option and should be included in the list of companies that homeowners looking for coverage pursue.
