In This Review: Our Take | Pros and Cons | Cost & Discounts | Coverage | State Availability | Customer Reviews | Conclusion | Comparison | Company Information | FAQ | Methodology
If you’ve recently purchased a home, you’re likely thinking about the best ways to protect your investment. Purchasing a home insurance policy can safeguard your wallet in the event of an unexpected disaster like a lightning strike, fire, theft, or vandalism. Instead of having to pay thousands out of pocket unexpectedly, you can rest easy at night knowing that you’re covered.
Not all homeowners insurance companies offer the same availability, coverage options, and quality of customer service. You’ll want to work with a reputable company with a proven track record. The This Old House Reviews Team has created this in-depth Safeco home insurance review to help you determine if it’s the best fit for your needs.
Our Take
Safeco offers all industry-standard home insurance coverage in its basic policy in more than 40 states. The company offers 24/7 customer service via phone and offers some technologically savvy advantages like the Safeco Insurance Advisor Skill for Alexa. However, Safeco is a division of Liberty Mutual and does not underwrite its own policies, which adds a layer of complexity to the claims process and accessing customer service. In addition, Safeco only offers a few endorsements and discounts. Overall, we give Safeco a score of 92.87 out of 100.
On its Better Business Bureau profile, complaints cite canceled policies. Reviews range from praising courteous, efficient customer service to noting concerns about increasing premiums.
Pros and Cons
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of Safeco homeowners insurance.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive coverage | Doesn’t underwrite own policies |
| Widespread availability | Few discounts available |
| Safeco Insurance Advisor Skill for Alexa* |
*Advisor can locate local agents and answer basic home insurance questions via Amazon Echo
How Much does Safeco Insurance Cost?
The exact cost of Safeco homeowners insurance will depend on a variety of factors, including your property’s value, size, the materials it was constructed with, where you live, the coverage limits you select, the insurance deductible you choose, and more.
Discounts
Safeco offers a few discounts to help lower the amount you pay for homeowners insurance—fewer than many of its competitors.
Discounts
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Multi-policy | Discount for bundling Safeco policies |
| Protective devices | Discount for installed protective devices like burglar alarm or fire alarm |
| Pay in full | Discount for paying your annual premium in full instead of being charged monthly |
| New home | Discount for home built within the last 10 years |
Coverage
Safeco offers all industry-standard home insurance coverage in its basic policy. Customers can choose from four different tiers of plans.
- Essential: Standard coverage
- New Quality Plus: Everything in Essential, plus greater coverage limits for specific property and valuables
- Optimum: Everything in New Quality Plus, and even greater coverage for specific property and valuables
- Premier: Everything in Optimum, with the highest available coverage limits
Safeco Coverage
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Dwelling + other structures | Covers your home’s structure (interior and exterior), in addition to detached structures like garages or sheds |
| Personal property | Covers personal property, including furniture, clothes, and electronics, in case of covered loss |
| Loss of use/Additional living expenses | Covers costs associated with living outside of your home, including accommodations and meals, if it is temporarily uninhabitable due to covered damage or destruction |
| Personal liability | Covers legal fees if you are sued for injury or personal property damage to a guest |
| Medical payments coverage | Covers the medical expenses of a guest who is injured at your home |
Safeco also offers several endorsements to help you round out your coverage.
Endorsements
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Identity theft coverage | Helps with process and expenses associated with restoring your identity |
| Personal property replacement | Pays the full cost of replacing personal belongings up to policy limit (even if the cost is greater than what the property was worth at time of loss) |
| Equipment breakdown | Covers unexpected breakdowns of appliances |
| Valuable articles | Offers additional coverage for valuable art, jewelry, or antiques |
State Availability
Safeco home insurance is available in the 42 states listed below. Click on your state to read an in depth article on the best providers in your home state before coming to a final decision.
Alabama | Arizona | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Georgia | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Reviews of Safeco Insurance
Safeco is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau but holds an A+ rating from the organization. All of its reviews and complaints refer to Liberty Mutual, its parent company, and may not be specific to Safeco.
See what some customers had to say about their experience.
Maria N. said:
“I have been with Liberty Mutual for four years… I can only say they are the best company I have ever dealt with. We even had a bad roofer and Liberty had patience and suggestions on how to handle the situation. I tell everyone about how well they have treated my family. Their adjusters are just as busy as others but always get back to you and always resolve anything I need. I think they are nothing but excellent and lessen my stress when here in Colorado it hails badly. I know I am well-protected. Just wanted others to know how happy this one insured has been. Thank you Liberty!”
Deborah V. said:
“Horrible!! Raised my monthly cost by 60%! I called and asked why they took so much out of my account and they said 1) You’re on autopayments so we can. 2) Your truck value points went up causing medical, liability, etc to go up! I’ve never been in an accident in a truck, nor do I hardly drive it! I asked for insurance to be cancelled at end of policy. Found out the next morning they cancelled me that night leaving me without insurance. Supervisor stated that someone emailed me to say they were increasing my monthly! I received no email, no letter nor a call! Very dissatisfied with the company!”
Safeco vs. The Competition
See how Safeco stacks up against the competition on key metrics.
Comparison
| Provider | State Farm | Lemonade | Amica® |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our score | 92.87 | 83.5 | 96.6 |
| State Availability | 42 | 27* | 48 (not available in AK and HI) |
| BBB Rating | A+ | B+ | A+ |
| Years in Business | 97 | 5 | 113 |
| 24/7 Claims Service | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Protective Devices/Safety Features Discount | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bundling Discount | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile App | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
*Lemonade home insurance is available in AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, GA, IL, IN, IA, MD, MA, MI, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI
Our Conclusion
Although Safeco is widespread and backed by Liberty Mutual, it has several drawbacks. Its policies are underwritten by third-party partners, which may make it difficult to directly file and track claims, as well as speak to customer service. Also, only few discounts and endorsements are available, compared to competitors. We give Safeco home insurance a score of 92.87
We always recommend requesting multiple quotes before making your final decision on a home insurance provider:
Company Information
- Company name: Safeco
- Company type: Public
- CEO: Matthew Nickerson
- Year founded: 1923
- Headquarters: 1001 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98154
- State availability: 42
- BBB rating: A+
Other Homeowners Insurance Resources
Frequently Asked Questions about Safeco
Our Methodology
The This Old HouseReviews team is committed to providing comprehensive and unbiased reviews to our readers. This means earning your trust through transparency and having the data to back up our ratings and recommendations.
With that in mind, we created an objective rating system to score each home insurance company. Here’s what that review process looked like:
- We analyze the information on each company’s website. This allows us to determine what products and services are offered by each home insurance provider.
- We get a sample quote from the companies by either talking to a sales representative or by using the online quote tool. This tells us what a policy looks like and costs.
- We test customer service by talking to a company representative, finding out their hours of operation, and determining what technological features are available for customers.
- We update all of this information on a continuous basis, storing it in a proprietary database that allows us to compare dozens of home insurance companies against each other.
With this data, we created a rating methodology to score each home insurance company. Our rating system is a weighted, 100-point scale based on the following factors:
- Coverage (30): We rated home insurance companies higher if they offered the six main types of homeowner protection—dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, liability, and medical payments to others coverage.
- State availability (7.5): Companies scored higher if they covered more states than their competitors.
- Customer service (15): This factor is based on our communications with the company representatives, as well as the companies’ claims and quotes processes, availability throughout the week, and customer service information found on their websites.
- Technology (12.5): Technology can increase the efficiency of filing and tracking home insurance claims. Companies scored higher if they had technology options like mobile apps and online chat functions.
- Reputation (20): We gauged trustworthiness based on years of experience and Better Business Bureau (BBB) ratings.
- Additional benefits (15): Companies that offered optional features, like discounts and endorsements, scored higher than competitors that didn’t.
Our Reviews team has a full-time researcher who collects and regularly updates data points from every company to help us compare them on key factors such as coverage, service, and dependability.
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.