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National General Home Insurance Review (2023)

National General is a large insurance company offering homeowners insurance and other policies in all 50 states. They have been recently acquired by Allstate. Customer reviews indicate that their premiums are affordable, while the NAIC complaint index is low.

Read Time: 8 mins

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4.3
★ HOIC RATING
Premiums 5
Claims 4
Customer Satisfaction 4
Financial Standing 4
PROS
  • Very inexpensive premium cost with many discounts available to further reduce the cost.
  • Offers flood insurance not only through the NFIP, but privately as well.
  • Customer satisfaction is one of the highest, with very little complaints.
  • Available in all 50 states.
CONS
  • No coverage available for mobile and manufactured homes.
  • Not quite as high of financial strength as one would hope with the low premiums.

National General Insurance is one of, if not the best home insurance companies in the country. Their premiums low comparatively speaking along with great customer service and a number of options that allow homeowners to customize the policy to their exact needs. They are backed by strong financial ratings and are an affiliate of Allstate, which gives them even more backing. National General home insurance is available in all 50 states and Washington D.C. making their policies available to most homeowners across the country.

National General is formerly known as General Motors Acceptance Corp. (GMAC). In 1997, GMAC acquired Integon at a value of $550 million and subsequently changed its name to National General by July 2013. GMAC and Integon have been around since the 1920s and both have demonstrated solid financial performance, outstanding credit, and paying ability.

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In July 2020, Allstate made an announcement that they are going to acquire National General for $4 billion. The deal was finalized in January 2021.

Coverages offered by National General

National General offers standard home insurance policies along with a number of add-ons and ways to customize the policy to allow homeowners the ability to protect their specific needs in their situation.

The standard policy sections include:

  • Dwelling: protection for damage that occurs to the structure of the home or any attached structures
  • Other structures: coverage 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: coverage for additional living expenses incurred while the home is being repaired or rebuilt to make it habitable 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

Coverage limits

Unfortunately, we were unable to find the coverage limits for National General 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 National General agent to learn the specific limits of your policy.

Additional coverages offered

National General offers numerous additional coverages to homeowners. These include:

  • Guaranteed replacement cost: This protection pays for the entire cost to rebuild the home even if it is well above the dwelling coverage limit
  • Extended replacement cost for personal belongings: This protection provides greater than 100% replacement cost value of an item that is damaged
  • Flood insurance: Offered both privately and through the National Flood Insurance Program to protect the homeowner in the event of flooding damage
  • Scheduled personal belongings: this protection increases the coverage limits or specific high-value items that are “scheduled” by the homeowner
  • Open perils coverage of personal property: This endorsement brings more perils under the umbrella of personal property coverage than a normal named peril protection. All perils not explicitly excluded in the policy will be covered. This add-on turns your standard HO-3 policy into a premium HO-5.
  • Water backup /sump pump overflow: This protects the homeowner if damage occurs due to water backing up into the home
  • Appliance breakdown: This provides protection for appliances and other mechanical or electrical repairs needed due to covered damage
  • Service line coverage: This protects the homeowner for repairs or replacements of underground pipes and wires on the property that are damaged
  • Ordinance/law coverage: This provides extra reimbursement to the homeowner to bring the home up to the current code when damage occurs
  • Green coverage: Provides the homeowner with additional money to repair or rebuild the home with eco-friendly materials
  • Matched roofing/siding coverage: This provides the homeowner with money to replace a whole section of roof or siding to get it to match the rest of the roof or siding
  • Home-sharing coverage: This provides coverage when renting out the home on a short-term basis
  • Identity theft: This coverage reimburses the homeowner for costs related to gaining their identity back
  • Electronic data recovery coverage: This coverage reimburses the homeowner for costs related to recovering electronic files that were damaged
  • Personal injury liability: This coverage provides protection for legal bills associated with lawsuits against the homeowner for libel or slander

Other policies offered

National General offers other home insurance related policies including:

  • Renters insurance: This policy protects the tenant of a rental property from damage to their belongings along with personal liability protection.
  • Umbrella insurance: Umbrella policies provide overarching, high coverage limits that can kick in in the event that a homeowner surpasses the coverage limits stated in their policy.
  • Condo insurance: This policy is similar to a standard home insurance policy, but with language and coverage that is specifically meant for condos.

Cost of National General homeowners insurance policy

The average cost of a home insurance policy with National General is drastically cheaper than the national average cost of a home insurance policy among all insurers. Many of their customers report finding affordable premiums from this insurer. According to the data we saw on several review sites, National General policies cost in the neighborhood of 50% less than the average home insurance policy. This of course can differ based on a homeowner’s individual situation. There are numerous factors that go into determining the cost of a specific policy.

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National General home insurance discounts

Not only does National General offer comparatively cheap home insurance policies, but they also offer a number of discounts to further reduce that cost. These discounts include:

  • Bundle discount: If you bundle your home and auto with National General you can receive a discount on both
  • New home: this discount applies to new homes and owners of newly built homes
  • Electronic: You can receive a discount for receiving all policy documents online instead of in paper form
  • Protective systems: Installing security systems, smoke detectors and other preventative systems will lead to a discount
  • Claims-free: You can receive a discount for not having any claims in at least five years
  • College educated: You can receive a discount for having a college degree
  • Gated community: You can receive a discount for living in a gated community
  • Homeowners’ association: You can receive a discount for living in a homeowners association community
  • Qualifying construction: You can receive a discount for owning a home that was built with qualifying construction materials as determined by National General.

Available discounts may differ from state to state.

National General’s claims experience

According to policyholder reviews that we found online, National General is one of the best companies in terms of the claims process. They have great resources on their website that explain the whole claims process and make it easy to understand the timeline for each step of the process. They have agents available 24/7 to help policyholders out.

Of course, not all homeowners are happy with their claims experience. Some customers left reviews with complaints online about how their claims were handled. It seems the process of filing a claim and getting a payout greatly depends on the agent you get paired up with.

National General’s customer experience

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners complaint index, National General has significantly fewer complaints than expected. Their complaint index sits at about 70% lower than average. This is a good sign for homeowners. There are still negative reviews and complaints against the company, but the vast majority of experiences were positive, comparatively speaking.

National General’s financial strength

National General has strong financial strength with a rating of A+ from AM Best, but no ratings from Standard & Poor’s or Moody’s. A+ is the second-highest rating obtained by any insurance company and shows that the company is in good financial health.

Conclusion

National General is one of the top home insurance companies in the country. They are one of a handful of companies that is available in all 50 states and D.C., making them available to just about anyone. They also offer flood insurance both privately and through the NFIP, which is a rarity.

Their premiums tend to be drastically lower than the average, providing the homeowner with cheap, but high-quality home insurance. Unfortunately, they don’t offer coverage to mobile and manufactured homeowners, which is a drawback of theirs. Overall, their customer experience is one of the best. The overwhelming majority of reviews are positive.

National General has an easy-to-use website with a ton of resources that makes it easy for even the layman to understand. They provide a number of discounts, which lowers the cost of their policies even more than the already cheap cost. National General also provides numerous additional coverages that allow homeowners to customize their policy to the exact needs of their specific situation.

While it would be nice to see ratings from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s, the fact that National General has an A+ rating would make a homeowner feel confident in the financial health of the company. If you are a homeowner looking for home insurance that fits your needs and budget, National General is a great option for you.

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ABOUT AUTHOR
Kyle has extensive background in financial planning and financial writing. He is an expert in home, auto and life insurance. Kyle holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from San Diego State University and multiple financial planning designations.
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