Shelter Insurance review 2023

Shelter earned a Bankrate Score of 3.7, which is a bit lower than some top companies due to its higher-than-average rates and limited availability. Still, our Shelter Insurance review shows that it could be a solid choice for drivers who value customer service over cheap rates. In the 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Study, Shelter earned the top official rank of car insurance companies in the Central region. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), it also has fewer complaints than the national baseline.

Shelter car insurance is unique in that roadside assistance and new car replacement are included in every policy. Meanwhile, coverage types like collision and comprehensive, rental reimbursement, disability income, gap insurance and loss of use are optional.

Shelter provides both home insurance quotes and car insurance quotes online and through a network of local agents. Although the company typically has higher-than-average rates, it offers a wide range of discounts to help policyholders save money.

Shelter home insurance may be a good choice for homeowners looking for standard coverage types such as dwelling coverage, coverage for other structures, personal property and personal liability. Like many of the best homeowners insurance companies, Shelter also offers optional add-ons, like sewer back-up, coverage for docks and piers, increased computer protection, farm insurance and earthquake damage.

Our team calculated a Bankrate Score of 3.0 out of 5 possible points for Shelter’s home insurance. Shelter fell short in its lack of nationwide availability, and it was not included in the 2022 J.D. Power U.S. Home Insurance Study. However, this score also reflects Shelter’s high AM Best score for financial strength, fewer than average complaints from the NAIC and wide range of home insurance coverage options. However, Shelter fell short in its lack of nationwide availability, and it was not included in the 2022 J.D. Power U.S. Home Insurance Study.

Shelter life insurance offers term life and permanent life insurance, as well as low-cost life insurance for children. The company’s permanent life insurance options include several types of whole life insurance and one type of universal life insurance. The company also offers several endorsements that could help you personalize your policy. If you’re looking for a life insurance provider with several policy options and life insurance for children, you may want to consider a quote from Shelter.

After considering points from our Shelter Insurance review, you may still be uncertain if this company is the right choice for you. To round out your insurance shopping experience, this list of car insurance providers may also be worth exploring in your research:

Our insurance editorial team, which has decades' worth of combined experience, works to ensure that the information we provide is accurate, honest and helpful. We dedicate hundreds of hours each year to conducting comprehensive insurance company reviews to help guide our readers in choosing the best carrier to fit their personalized needs. 

With that in mind, Shelter could be a good insurance company, depending on your priorities. According to third-party scores, Shelter policyholders are generally happy with its service. Its policies are also highly-customizable because of its robust coverage and rider options. However, you may pay a little more than average for these benefits, and depending on where you live, Shelter may not be available to you. You can contact an agent to request a quote to find out if Shelter Insurance best fits your individual needs.

Shelter home insurance claims satisfaction

Although J.D. Power did not include Shelter’s property insurance product line in its 2022 or 2023 homeowner insurance studies, the company’s low level of NAIC complaints regarding its homeowners policies could mean that customer satisfaction is high.

Shelter customer complaints

Researching customer complaints is another way to find insurance companies that are more likely to offer quality customer service. Regarding customer complaints, Shelter scores well on the NAIC’s customer complaint index for its private passenger and home product lines. The NAIC complaint baseline is 1.0, so an index below 1.0 means that Shelter receives fewer customer complaints than average.

Other Shelter tools and benefits

When comparing quotes from different insurance companies, it can be helpful to look at a company’s perks to see if it stands out from the crowd. In Shelter’s case, it offers a wide range of coverage types and features, including:

• Umbrella insurance: An umbrella policy can offer formidable liability protection above and beyond what you carry on your home and auto policies.
• Farm insurance: Shelter offers policies that can protect your farm property, livestock, farm equipment and more through its suite of farm insurance.
• Flood insurance: Shelter Insurance offers flood insurance written through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Wright Flood Insurance company.
• Mobile app: Not all regional carriers offer a mobile app, but Shelter does. With it, you can access your ID cards, view your agent’s contact information, schedule a payment and see your policy details.
• Business Insurance: From small business and general liability to commercial fire insurance, Shelter Insurance has additional policies and online tools that cover a large range of business insurance needs. 
• Life Calculator: Shelter Insurance features a life calculator tool to help customers understand the correct life insurance type and coverage limit they may need.
• Shelter Insurance Gardens: Policyholders in the Columbia, Missouri, area may want to visit the Shelter Insurance Gardens located at the company’s corporate headquarters. Among the garden’s many features, you will find more than 300 types of trees, a waterfall, a Vietnam veterans’ memorial, a garden for the blind and more.

Frequently asked questions about Shelter

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 2020 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 18-20 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. 

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.