- Easy to use, clear, and detailed website
- Great claims and customer experience satisfaction
- Strong financial health
- Mobile app and other resources available
- Many discounts and additional coverages available
- Only serves the state of Michigan
- Unable to get an online quote for a standard home insurance policy
Pioneer State Mutual Insurance Company is a company headquartered in Flint, Michigan. The company has a long history, being founded in 1908. It was created after some severe lightning storms in the area. They actually originally started selling lightning rods along with their policies in order to help determine the risk of lightning strikes and fire damage as a result.
Pioneer State offers not only various types of homeowners insurance, but also auto, farm, and business insurance policies as well. The company only offers coverage in the state of Michigan but is a top home insurer option for residents of the state.
Where Is Pioneer State Mutual Home Insurance Offered?
Pioneer State only offers coverage in one state, Michigan. The company was founded in Michigan and has remained in service of only the state of Michigan since its founding in 1908 even through all of the changes the company has faced over the years. For residents in the state of Michigan, Pioneer State is a high-quality insurance option.
Pioneer State Mutual homeowners insurance coverages
Pioneer State offers standard home insurance policies along with a number of additional coverages and add-on packages available.
Their standard policy coverages are:
- Dwelling: protection of the structure of the home and any attached structures
- Other structures: protection of any detached structures on the property such as detached garages, sheds, and fences
- Personal property: protection of personal belongings that may become damaged or destroyed by a covered peril in the policy
- Loss of use: protection of expenses that may be incurred on top of normal living expenses due to a covered peril forcing the homeowner to not live in the property while repairs or rebuilding is being completed
- Personal liability: protection of medical expenses or lawsuit expenses that may be incurred by the homeowner due to property damage or injury to a guest that occurs on the property where the homeowner is found to be at fault
- Medical payments to others: protection of medical expenses that may be incurred due to someone being injured on the property whether the homeowner is found to be at fault or not
Coverage limits
We were unable to determine the coverage limits that Pioneer State Mutual sets for each section of their standard HO-3 home insurance policies. Talk with Pioneer State Mutual agent to determine what coverage limits may apply in your unique situation.
Additional coverages offered
Pioneer State has quite a few additional coverages that they offer along with endorsements and a few “upgrade” packages to their standard policy that homeowners can choose from.
Additional coverages offered include:
- Debris removal
- Temporary repairs
- Landscaping protection
- Fire department service charges
- Property removal
- Credit card fraud/forgery
- Loss assessment
- Refrigeration products
- Collapsing
- Glass glazing
- Landlord furnishings
Optional endorsements offered include:
- Water/sewer backup
- Equipment breakdown
- Residential glass
- Watercraft liability
- Recreational vehicle liability
- Personal belongings replacement cost
- Extended replacement cost
- Ordinance or law coverage
- Scheduled personal property
There are two upgrade packages that Pioneer State offers as well. They offer The Pioneer Advantage plan and the Pioneer Advantage PLUS plan.
The Pioneer Advantage
According to the company’s website, The Pioneer Advantage plan includes:
- Home cyber protection up to $25,000
- Backup of sewers or drains up to $5,000
- Increased theft from a storage unit up to $5,000
- Mortgage extra expense coverage up to $1,000
- Fire department service charges protection up to $500
- Tree removal up to $500
- Refrigerated products coverage up to $250
- Ordinance and law coverage up to 10% of the coverage A limit
Pioneer Advantage PLUS
The company’s website also states that the Pioneer Advantage PLUS includes everything from the Pioneer Advantage plan plus:
- Increased backup of sewer or drains coverage up to $15,000
- Increased ordinance or law coverage up to 20% of the Coverage A limit
- Appliance seepage or leakage coverage up to $10,000
- Residential glass coverage
Other policies offered
In addition to the additional coverages and endorsements listed above, Pioneer State Mutual also offers some other home-related insurance policies to Michigan residents. They offer:
- Renters insurance
- Personal umbrella insurance
- Condo insurance
- Mobile home insurance
- Rental dwelling (landlord) insurance
Cost of Pioneer State Mutual home insurance policy
Unfortunately, we were unable to determine the average cost of a standard home insurance policy with Pioneer State. Customer reviews state that the company offers some of the lowest rates compared to other companies that offer coverage in Michigan. There are a number of factors that go into determining the cost of a policy in any specific situation. Talk with a Pioneer State Mutual agent to get a quote for your policy for your individual set of circumstances.
Checking customer reviews, we did find several customers reporting that they were able to find affordable premiums with Pioneer State Mutual, lower than the competition. Some stated that they have the best rates.
Discounts available
Pioneer State Mutual offers quite a few discounts to policyholders to help reduce the cost of their policies. According to Pioneer State’s website, the company offers the following discounts:
- Group member
- Mortgage free
- Smoke-free
- Claim free
- Customer loyalty
- Senior citizen
- New home
- Construction credit
- New roof
- Fire alarm
- Burglar alarm (security system)
- Sprinkler
- Bundling (multi-policy)
Many homeowners looking for coverage will have access to some are all of the discounts listed above. Talk with a Pioneer State Mutual Insurance agent to learn more about each discount and which ones you might be eligible to receive.
Claims
Pioneer State Mutual has a great website that makes it easy for customers to start the claims process as well as numbers to call if customers prefer that method. They also have a mobile app and claims can be reported via that as well.
Customer reviews state that Pioneer State is quite good when it comes to the claims process. Customers appreciate the helpfulness and response times of agents as well as the company paying out claims they say they will pay out. Overall, the claims process is mostly all positive with only a handful of negative reviews. The company’s website boasts a 97% claims satisfaction policyholder survey result.
Customer experience
The overall customer experience with Pioneer State Mutual is positive according to customer reviews. There are very few negative reviews of the company, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners complaint index shows that Pioneer State has almost no complaints. This is a very good sign for Michigan residents looking to obtain home insurance coverage.
Financial strength
Pioneer State has an A+ rating from AM Best, which puts them among the top companies in terms of financial strength. This should give Michigan residents peace of mind when it comes to the financial health of the company. Based on that rating Pioneer State should be able to meet any financial obligations that are thrown their way, even in major economic downturns. This is a major positive for the company. Unfortunately, they are not rated by the other two major credit rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.
Conclusion
Pioneer State Mutual Insurance Company seems to be one of the best home insurance options available to residents of the state of Michigan. The company has a long history of success and taking care of its policyholders.
The A+ rating from AM Best is a very good sign to see for homeowners looking for coverage. The company’s website is easy to use and is detailed but clear and concise. It is also a plus that they have a mobile app. The reviews are overwhelmingly positive, which shows that the company is doing business the right way. Of course, there are always some negative reviews showing that the company is not perfect.
Pioneer State offers a plethora of additional coverages and discounts to policyholders making their home insurance policies highly customizable and affordable to many homeowners in the state. The Pioneer Advantage and Pioneer Advantage PLUS plans are also a nice touch that makes it easy for homeowners to purchase additional protections in one easy bundle.
The only major downside to the company is that they only serve the state of Michigan, severely limiting the number of people that they insure. Even though they are only a one-state insurance provider, they do an outstanding job based on customer reviews and should be a strong candidate to be the insurance provider that a homeowner in the state of Michigan chooses.
Another positive is the giving back that they do. Their website shows that they give back to local communities to ensure educational success for Michigan’s youth as well as make sure residents of the health and human services that they need to live long, healthy lives. It looks as if homeowners are in great, caring hands with Pioneer State Mutual Insurance Company. This is an option we would recommend to Michiganites.
