Esurance insurance review 2023

Esurance car insurance

After reviewing Esurance, Bankrate's team insurance editorial team determined that it may be a good car insurance carrier for drivers looking for basic coverage and the convenience of managing their policy online. Esurance was one of the first digital insurance providers, and it still sells and manages policies predominantly online. The company, which was acquired by Allstate in 2011, allows drivers to get a quote, purchase coverage and file a claim online or through its highly-rated mobile app.

Esurance may be ideal for tech-savvy drivers who want to pay their premiums, manage their policy and file claims digitally. However, the carrier does not advertise as many discounts as some other companies. In addition to standard coverage types, Esurance offers optional rental car coverage, emergency roadside assistance coverage, gap insurance and underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage in select states. Based on our review of Esurance’s car insurance product, we assigned the company a Bankrate Score of 3.3 out of 5.0.

Pros and cons of Esurance car insurance

Comparing company pros and cons may help you narrow down your choices for the best car insurance company for your needs. Here are some of the key perks and drawbacks we identified with Esurance:

Esurance car insurance cost

According to rate data from Quadrant Information Services, an Esurance car insurance policy costs an average of $2,077 per year for full coverage and $905 per year for minimum coverage. This is higher than the national average cost of car insurance, which is $2,014 per year for full coverage and $622 for minimum coverage. Although these figures may be useful for comparison, keep in mind that car insurance rates are highly personalized. Your actual rate might be higher or lower based on factors like your location, vehicle type, credit-based insurance score and claim history.

Esurance car insurance rates by driving history

When you request a car insurance quote, the insurance company will likely look at your driving record to help determine your rate. If you have traffic violations on your record, like an at-fault accident or speeding ticket conviction, you will probably pay a higher rate for insurance. Keep in mind that not all insurers will extend policies to drivers with a DUI, so you might need to reach out to an Esurance agent to see if you can get coverage with a DUI.

In the table below, you can see the average rates from Esurance for drivers with a clean record, one speeding ticket conviction and one at-fault accident. Because incident data is not yet available for 2023, the rates below are averages for 2022.

Esurance car insurance quotes by age

Age is another big factor that may impact your car insurance premium. Young drivers, including parents who add a teen driver to their policy, generally pay some of the most expensive rates. In the table below, you can see the average Esurance premium for a young driver on their parents' policy, as well as average rates for drivers in various age groups with their own policy. These average rates are for a driver with a clean driving record.

Average cost of car insurance for drivers on their parent's policy

Average cost of car insurance for drivers on their own policy

Esurance car insurance discounts

Discounts may help you save on your car insurance premium, but Esurance only advertises a handful of discounts on its website. These include:

Esurance car tools and benefits

Potential policyholders may be interested in Esurance's E-Star service, which may help customers find a guaranteed repair facility to fix their vehicle after an accident. Customers are not required to use an E-Star facility and can choose to use their own repair shop, but there are a few benefits to E-Star. Repairs completed by an E-Star shop are guaranteed by Esurance for as long as you own the car. Additionally, these approved repair shops must conform to environmental standards and maintain a high standard of repairs and customer service.

Esurance home insurance

Esurance's website has limited information about its homeowners insurance product. The company provides all standard coverage types, like dwelling, personal property, other structures and liability, with the option to add valuable items coverage. However, the company does not mention any discounts online. Because of its limited discounts, lack of local offices and lack of 24/7 customer support, Esurance earned a 3.0 Bankrate Score, out of a total 5.0.

Pros and cons of Esurance homeowners insurance

Before you purchase a home insurance policy from Esurance, it can be helpful to consider the pros and cons. Here's what you need to know about Esurance home insurance:

Esurance home insurance cost

Average home insurance premiums from Esurance are not available. To see if Esurance fits within your budget, you could get a home insurance quote through the Esurance website and compare it to the average cost of homeowners insurance, which is $1,428 for a policy with $250,000 in dwelling coverage.

Esurance home insurance discounts

Esurance does not list any home insurance discounts on its website. Some common discounts you could ask about during the quoting process include paid-in-full, bundling and new home.

Esurance home tools and benefits

Esurance does not advertise any additional services that home insurance policyholders can use.

Esurance customer satisfaction

Third-party ratings may give you a better sense of an insurance company's level of customer satisfaction, claims satisfaction and financial strength. While poor third-party ratings aren't necessarily a sign of a bad insurance company, they may be indications that you should do additional research and investigation on a company.

As a fully digital insurance company, Esurance policyholders may be interested in the company's digital tool reviews. The Esurance app is highly rated by users, with 4.8 out of 5 stars from iOS users and 4.4 out of 5 stars from Google Play users.

To assess customer and claims service, our insurance editorial team analyzes data from J.D. Power and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). J.D. Power conducts studies on auto and home insurance satisfaction, with carriers ranked and assigned a score out of 1,000 for general and claims satisfaction. The NAIC tracks complaints filed against insurance companies and their specific product lines. The NAIC Complaint Index has a baseline of 1.00. An index above 1.00 indicates a company receives more complaints than expected for a company of its size and vice versa.

Lastly, we look at financial strength ratings from AM Best to assess a company's historical ability to pay claims.

Esurance auto satisfaction

Esurance has a financial strength rating of A+ (Excellent) from AM Best but has more complaints than expected logged with the NAIC. The carrier's private passenger product complaint index is 1.67. Esurance is not included in recent J.D. Power studies, but its parent company, Allstate, is ranked above average in the 2022 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study with a score of 889. In the more general 2022 U.S. Auto Insurance Study, Allstate's ranking ranges widely from second place to second-to-last, depending on the region.

Esurance homeowners satisfaction

Esurance's homeowners NAIC Complaint Index of 1.32 indicates that it has slightly more complaints than expected for a company of its size. Esurance is not rated by J.D. Power for property claims satisfaction, but Allstate came in below average in both the 2022 U.S. Home Insurance Study and the 2022 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study.

How to file a claim with Esurance

You can start a new Esurance claim online or through the mobile app. You can also call the company to file a claim at 1-800-378-7262.

Esurance availability

Esurance sells insurance in 43 states, but some policies are not available in every state. The Esurance website does not mention which states are excluded, but you could begin an online quote to see if the company writes policies in your area.

Other Esurance perks worth considering

In addition to auto and home insurance, Esurance offers two additional policy types:

• Motorcycle insurance: If you have a motorcycle, Esurance may have coverage options for your needs.
• Renters insurance: An Esurance renters insurance policy covers personal property, liability, medical payments and additional living expenses. Esurance sells renters insurance in 21 states.

Esurance corporate sustainability

While Esurance does not disclose its corporate sustainability initiatives online, it does make references to sustainability commitments. For example, all E-Star repair facilities must meet company and EPA environmental standards. The carrier's parent company, Allstate, has a variety of environmental and social responsibility initiatives, including The Allstate Foundation, which focuses on empowering the youth, ending domestic violence, promoting racial equality and developing nonprofit leaders. The foundation achieves its goals through donations, partnerships with other organizations, and its own curriculums and programs for people to participate in.

Not sure if Esurance is right for you?

After reading this review, you might not be sure Esurance is the right fit for your auto and home insurance needs. If so, you could consider these alternative companies:

Esurance vs. Progressive

Like Esurance, Progressive has highly-rated digital tools for online policy management. Plus, Progressive has a wider array of advertised discounts, and its auto insurance is available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The carrier also offers life insurance, so it could be a good option for policyholders who want to meet all their insurance needs with a single carrier. However, Progressive has slightly higher-than-average NAIC Complaint Indexes for private passenger and homeowners insurance products.

Learn more: Progressive Insurance review

Esurance vs. Geico

Geico could be a good choice for drivers looking for a wide array of discounts. With numerous affiliation discounts and a telematics program, policyholders may be able to save significantly on their premium. However, Geico has limited endorsements, so it may not be the best option for those looking for policy customization. Geico has highly-rated digital tools for policy management, but its home and life insurance is underwritten by partner companies, so you may need to do additional research to see if these products could meet your needs.

Learn more: Geico Insurance review

Esurance vs. Nationwide

Nationwide may be a great car insurance provider for drivers who want to add endorsements to their policy for more coverage or homeowners with high-value homes. If you're not sure that Esurance's limited homeowners insurance coverage options meet your needs, Nationwide could be a good alternative. Nationwide ranks above average in the 2022 J.D. Power property claims study, but below average in the auto claims study. Nationwide also offers life insurance, but its digital tools are not as robust or highly rated as Esurance.

Learn more: Nationwide Insurance review

Is Esurance a good insurance company?

After careful review by our insurance editorial team, Bankrate has determined that Esurance may be a good insurance company for customers looking for basic auto or home policies with minimal endorsements. Esurance's mobile app may make it a convenient option for drivers who prefer to manage their policy digitally, but the carrier does have high NAIC Complaint Indexes and few advertised discounts. Shoppers interested in Esurance but seeking more robust coverage options might consider getting a quote from its parent company, Allstate.

Methodology

Bankrate utilizes Quadrant Information Services to analyze 2023 rates for ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Rates are weighted based on the population density in each geographic region. Quoted rates are based on 40-year-old male and female homeowners with a clean claim history, good credit and the following coverage limits:

Auto

• $100,000 bodily injury liability per person
• $300,000 bodily injury liability per accident
• $50,000 property damage liability per accident
• $100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per person
• $300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per accident
• $500 collision deductible
• $500 comprehensive deductible

To determine minimum coverage limits, Bankrate used minimum coverage that meets each state's requirements. Our sample drivers own a 2021 Toyota Camry, commute five days a week and drive 12,000 miles annually.

Age: Rates were calculated by evaluating our base profile with the ages 16-60 (base: 40 years) applied. Depending on age, drivers may be a renter or homeowner. Age is not a contributing rating factor in Hawaii and Massachusetts.

The rates for drivers ages 16–20 added to their parent's policy reflect the good student and driver's training discounts applied. The rates for drivers aged 16-20 on their own policy do not include the good student and driver's training discounts. Additionally, 25-year-old rates are based on the driver as a renter and 30+ on the driver as a homeowner.

Incidents: Rates were calculated by evaluating our base profile with the following incidents applied: clean record (base), single speeding ticket and single at-fault accident. Incident rates were calculated using 2022 rate data.

Bankrate Scores

Our 2023 Bankrate Score considers variables our insurance editorial team determined impacts policyholders’ experiences with an insurance company. These rating factors include a robust assessment of each company’s product availability, financial strength ratings, online capabilities and customer and claims support accessibility. Each factor was added to a category, and these categories were weighted in a tiered approach to analyze how companies perform in key customer-impacting categories.

Like our previous Bankrate Scores, each category was assigned a metric to determine performance, and the weighted sum adds up to a company’s total Bankrate Score — out of 5 points. This year, our 2023 scoring model provides a more comprehensive view, indicating when companies excel across several key areas and better highlighting where they fall short.

• Tier 1 (Cost & ratings): To determine how well auto and home insurance companies satisfy these priorities, 2023 quoted premiums from Quadrant Information Services (if available), as well as any of the latest third-party agency ratings from J.D. Power, AM Best and the NAIC, were analyzed.
• Tier 2 (Coverage & savings): We assessed companies’ coverage options and availability to help policyholders find a provider that balances cost with coverage. Additionally, we evaluated each company’s discount options listed on its website.
• Tier 3 (Support): To encompass the many ways an auto and home insurance company can support policyholders, we analyzed avenues of customer accessibility along with community support. This analysis incorporated additional financial strength ratings from S&P and Moody’s and factored a company’s corporate sustainability efforts.

Tier scores are unweighted to show the company's true score in each category out of a possible five points.