Esurance Review

How Esurance simplified car insurance with their ‘Quote. Buy. Print.’ and how they’re still turning heads with their spokes-agent, Erin.

Iconic Secret Agent/Insurance Agent - Erin Esurance

I like what Esurance has done in the car insurance industry. With a few other companies like GEICO and Progressive, Esurance has simplified the auto insurance buying process. They’ve made the old-guard like State Farm and Allstate worried. Sure, there are some problems with that (more below), but I love it when companies make things easier.

Esurance advertising is bold. Somewhere around 2003, someone in marketing asked a question like: “GEICO has a lizard. Why don’t we get a young, pink-haired, undercover secret agent/insurance sales-vixen for our commercials? Let’s call her ‘Erin Esurance.’ What d’ya think, Boss?” That poor-CEO must have had a tough sell when he presented their new mascot to the board. But in marketing, different works today. And today, Erin works for Esurance.

About the Company: Esurance

Esurance was a Silicon Valley start-up in 1998. Ten years later, they’ve become one of the fastest growing insurance companies in the United States. They’re currently owned by White Mountain Insurance Group (WTM), a global insurance holding company.

Esurance sells or re-sells insurance for cars, motorcycles, watercraft, home, renters, health, and even life insurance. They primarily focus on auto and home insurance products, or as the industry likes to call it, property and casualty business. At first, I thought they were just a reseller, but Esurance actually markets their own policies direct to consumers.

Esurance is a financially strong company, although not as strong as many of their larger competitors. According to independent rating agency AM Best, Esurance carries an ‘A-‘ or ‘Excellent’ rating.  They are a stable company with the backing of an even stronger holding company.

Getting an Esurance Quote

In the old days, us consumers went from dingy office to dingy office to get a quote for our car insurance. These days, it’s pretty easy to get an online auto quote. Esurance is one of the reasons why. They are pioneers of internet auto insurance.

Knowing their history, I jumped online for a quick quote. It was simple, straightforward, and, so-long as I knew about the coverages, informative. In less than 5 minutes, I had an auto quote on my screen and one in my email inbox. Esurance rates very well for quote accessibility.

After that, I called them up. It was 7 am and I got Kelly in Nebraska. Evidently, Kelly was an Esurance insurance agent who works out of his home to give quotes to would-be customers. I’ve spoken with many insurance agents. From my experience, Kelly was one of the better ones. He was informative, pleasant, and eager to get my business – never mind that he couldn’t find my online quote in his system. Many call center agents could learn a few things from Esurance Agent Kelly.

When he finally gave me a quote, the price was close to what I got online. At least it was less than what I’m paying right now – which is always good.

Esurance Positive: Simple Car Insurance

Like Progressive, Esurance offers a virtually-frictionless car insurance transaction at their website. If you’re comfortable giving your credit card online, then you can have a policy in a few minutes. There’s no need to go through the extra step of calling. However, to get a better feel for the policy, I don’t discourage the phone call – especially if you’re uncomfortable with all the coverages on the policy.

Esurance Negative: Not a “Centralized” Insurance Company

Car insurance isn’t just about getting a quote. It’s a promise. Will Esurance take care of me if something happens to my car? From what I can tell, they stand behind their product. Independent ratings show them to be a strong company, they lived through the dot-com bust, and emerged a very strong competitor in the auto insurance industry.

And still, it has the feel of an internet company. From the online quote, to the Silicon Valley headquarters, to the agent telecommuting in Omaha, Esurance doesn’t feel like your typical car insurance company. In a way, they feel like an internet bank or like, well, this website. Nothing against their business model, it’s just not like the other guys.

Will I Be Hiring Erin Esurance?

I’m still shopping for car insurance after Esurance. Their price wasn’t enough to make me move from my policy – at least not yet. I may yet hire the pink-haired secret agent – prices change with carriers. After all, I’m shopping because my company is high right now. And yet, I’m still calling around.

Quote Process: 9
(Scale 1-10: 10=the best)

Price: 7
(Scale 1-10: 10=Cheapest)

Customer Service: 8
(Scale 1-10: 10=the best)

Claims: *
(Scale 1-10: 10=the best)

Overall Rating: 8
(Scale 1-10: 10=the best)

Anything to add? Leave a comment about your experience with Esurance or write your own review.