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Amica Home Insurance Review
Amica might be the best insurance company you’ve never heard of. Even though it keeps a low marketing profile, the company is present at the top of any “Best of” lists — including J.D. Power’s Overall Customer Satisfaction Index. Founded in 1907, Amica’s has built top-notch customer service and solid coverage options. It’s worth getting a quote if you’re in the market for the best homeowners insurance.
For our Amica home insurance review, we used our SimpleScore Methodology to take a deep dive into Amica’s discounts, coverage options, support, customer satisfaction and accessibility.
Best for anyone who values excellent customer service – Amica
Amica is the David to the Big Insurers’ Goliath — and it holds its own and more against the giant.
- Top-of-the-line support
- Smooth claims management
- Comprehensive coverage options
- Barebones website
- Limited discounts
In The News
Amica home insurance at a glance
In business | Since 1907 |
States served | 49 states & D.C. (Not offered in Hawaii) |
Not for | Homeowners seeking guaranteed cost replacement coverage |
Standout features |
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Available bundles | Auto, condo, renters, life and umbrella |
We follow a rigorous editorial policy designed to keep our writers and editors independent. Articles may reference products from our partners, so here’s more information on
How we make money
[ Read: The Complete Guide to Homeowners Insurance ]
What we like about Amica home insurance
Top-of-the-line support
Amica’s customers routinely give top marks to the company’s support network. Amica doesn’t use agents to sell insurance products, so you’ll always have direct access via phone, email or online to a dedicated Amica rep.
Smooth claims management
Amica is the only insurer to rank as best for nine years in a row with J.D. Power’s listing of the best companies for property insurance claims experience. Claims are resolved quickly and fairly, with no fuss.
Comprehensive coverage options
Amica offers standard coverage options like dwelling coverage and personal liability, but it also has optional coverages such as Identity fraud and home business coverage that lets you customize your policy to suit your needs.
Who should get this policy
Amica is a great company for anyone who’s not caught up in the bells and whistles that the Big Guys have and just wants solid coverage at a good price point.
Things to consider
Barebones website
Amica has a simple online quote tool, and you can report and track a claim online as well as pay your bill, but there isn’t a wealth of educational material or other extras, such as you’d find at State Farm or Allstate.
Limited discounts
Amica has a few standard discounts — loyalty, claim-free, e-discount, multi-line and auto-pay — but this meager list is eclipsed by larger companies that may have a dozen or more opportunities to save money.
Who shouldn’t get this policy
If you like to manage your insurance business online, then Amica is probably not the right choice for you.
[ Read: Home Insurance Quotes, Explained]
What we analyzed
Discounts
Amica’s discounts are fine as far as they go, but there are only five of them. Other larger companies have considerably more for things like early signing or using certain roofing materials. That said, Amica’s competitive pricing makes discounts less necessary.
Coverage
Amica’s standard coverage includes:
- Dwelling coverage
- Personal property coverage
- Personal liability coverage
- Other structures
- Loss of use coverage
In addition to these, you’ll have options such as flood insurance, valuable items coverage for jewelry, furs or fine art and dwelling replacement, which increases your coverage limit by 30%.
Customer Satisfaction
Here’s where Amica shines. They are the first and only insurance company ever to have received 50 J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Awards, based on thousands of customers’ experiences.
Support
Amica’s support options are a little light — there’s no online chat function, for example — but what they have works well. You can connect via phone, email, postal mail or through the website, and representatives are available 24/7 to work with you on a claim.
Accessibility
Though it may not have a lot of features, Amica’s website is easy to understand and use for claims management, bill paying and obtaining a quote. The new app is cleanly designed and allows you to navigate claims and more.
[ Read: What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover? ]
Amica home insurance vs. the competition
The Hartford is breathing down Amica’s neck when it comes to customer service, but Amica still comes in first to the finish line.
The Hartford is right behind Amica on J.D. Power’s 2020 Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking. The Hartford, which works in tandem with AARP, is noted for providing insurance tailored toward older customers. If that’s not you, Amica will probably give you a better deal.
Read our full The Hartford Homeowners Insurance Review.
The 800-pound gorilla in the room, State Farm has a national reach and extensive offerings that Amica can’t match — but Amica has them beat for service.
State Farm is the largest homeowners insurance provider in the U.S. It comes in above average for coverage options, cost, and service — although not quite as above-average as Amica does. Having said that, it’s worth quoting to see what it can offer you.
Read our full State Farm Homeowners Insurance Review.
That little green lizard may beat Amica on prices, but service is variable, depending on who it assigns your policy to.
Geico’s business model is different from Amica’s: Geico doesn’t write it’s own policies, but instead hooks you up with another company that does the actual leg work of writing and managing your policy. So your insurance experience will be dependent on who, exactly, the lizard sends your account to.
Read our full Geico Homeowners Insurance Review.
[Read: How to Find Cheap Homeowners Insurance]
Amica’s home insurance rates
Amica’s rates are competitive with what larger insurers are paying, but your own quote will vary based on your home’s location and value, your own credit rating and situation, and more. The national average for homeowners insurance is $1,211, but your own premium cost is likely to be different from the average.
Amica online and mobile app
As we’ve mentioned, Amica’s website is on the sparse side, but it still allows you to perform a majority of your insurance-related tasks online with little difficulty.
Amica’s app is available at the Apple App Store and Google Play. It gives you immediate access to your policy information, claims and billing. You can also download your docs and review your discounts. The App Store gives it a 4.8 out of 5 rating, with nearly 8,000 reviews, mostly glowing.
[ Read: Types of Homeowners Insurance ]
Amica renters, auto and life
Amica is a full-service insurer, with policies covering cars, rental units, condos, motorcycles, life, and more.
Renters insurance
Even if you don’t own your home, it pays to have insurance to protect your property. Amica’s policies are available for as little as $4 a week and covers personal property, personal liability and loss of use. Options include smart device and computer coverage and identity fraud coverage. A handful of discounts, such as autopay and loyalty, make your dollars go further.
Life insurance
Amica offers term life insurance, which covers a specific period of time, such as 10 or 20 years; and whole life coverage, which is pricier but lasts throughout your life as long as you pay the premiums. Plus, it builds cash value that you can draw on when needed. A handy life insurance calculator on the website lets you start planning at your convenience.
Auto insurance
Amica’s auto policies cover liability, medical payments, personal injury protection and property damage. Standar optional coverage includes collision and comprehensive, rental reimbursement and glass coverage, Discounts include multiple auto, legacy, and multi-policy. The big news, though, is that you can choose a dividend policy that earns you back up to 20% of your annual premium — something that’s also available to homeowners.
Bundling options
Combining your homeowners insurance with auto, life or umbrella policies can earn you back up to 30%.
[ Read: The Average Cost of Home Insurance ]
Amica in the news
- Businesswire.com reported in January that Amica had modernized its legacy software system to provide better customer service for holders of its life insurance and annuities. “Along with the quick stand-up and ease of use of the system, we’re excited by the features and functionality that a modern PAS affords our customers and employees,” said Amica’s vice president, Andy Mudra.
- In the week leading into Thanksgiving, Amica Insurance partnered with Feeding Children Everywhere to host a virtual food drive, which provided more than 187,000 meals to families across the country. “Their eagerness to help families and seniors in need speaks volumes to the character of the organization and its people,” said Rick Whitted, CEO of Feeding Children Everywhere.
- To help those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Amica announced that it would refund up to 10% of its customer’s auto premiums for four months. Losses were lower this year than planned due to fewer cars being on the road, allowing for the discount.
Too long, didn’t read?
Despite being a smaller company, Amica provides some top quality services to its homeowner insurance customers. Highly-ranked customer service, solid standard and optional coverage offerings, and the ability to earn back a portion of your premium are just some of the reasons why Amica is worth considering.
We welcome your feedback on this article and would love to hear about your experience with the insurers we recommend. Contact us at inquiries@thesimpledollar.com with comments or questions.
Methodology
The SimpleScore is a proprietary scoring metric we use to objectively compare products and services at The Simple Dollar.
For every review, our editorial team:
- Identifies five measurable aspects to compare across each brand
- Determines the rating criteria for each aspect score
- Averages the five aspect scores to produce a single SimpleScore
Here’s a breakdown of the five aspect scores and their rating criteria for our reviews on home insurance.
Why do some brands have different SimpleScores on different pages?
To ensure the SimpleScore is as helpful and accurate as possible, we developed unique criteria for every category we compare at The Simple Dollar. Since most brands offer a variety of financial solutions, their products and services will score differently depending on what we’re scoring on a given page.
However, it’s also possible for the same product from the same brand to have multiple SimpleScores. For instance, if we compare State Farm’s home insurance according to our criteria for the best home insurance, it scores a 3.8 out of 5. But when we compare State Farm according to the criteria for the best auto insurance, it scores higher, since the features the company offers can vary by the type of insurance.
Discounts
We looked at the number of discounts each company offers – more discounts mean a higher score.
Coverage Options
We awarded higher scores to the companies that offer more coverage options.
Support
We awarded higher scores to companies with the most channels for customer support.
Customer Satisfaction
We leveraged the J.D. Power 2019 Home Insurance Satisfaction Study℠ to see how customers rated their experience with each company. (If a company wasn’t included in J.D. Power’s study, we skipped this aspect and averaged the four remaining aspect scores.)
Accessibility
We looked at the level of accessibility of each company – the more resources they have the higher their score