Foremost Insurance Review 2024

Foremost may be a good choice for those who prefer working directly with an agent to purchase insurance policies.

Foremost Is Best for Those Who:

• Want the personalized advice you can get by working with an agent
• Are looking to bundle home and auto insurance
• Need to insure alternative vehicles, such as RVs, motorcycles, or boats
• Are high-risk drivers, as they can access Bristol West policies through Foremost in 43 states

Foremost Is Not Best for Those Who:

• Prefer to get quotes and shop for car insurance online
• Are looking for cheap insurance policies, since Foremost’s $2,541 average annual cost is on the higher end. However, Bristol West policies (that cater to high-risk drivers) are sold by Foremost and drive up Foremost’s average annual cost. If you’re not a high-risk driver, you may qualify for a significantly cheaper policy.

Based on our aggregated data, the average cost of Foremost car insurance is $2,514 per year for a full coverage policy and $786 per year for a minimum coverage policy, which is significantly more expensive than the national average of $1,924 per year and $547 per year, respectively.

Keep in mind that these are only averages, so the rate that you get yourself could be very different. If you’ve got a spotless driving record, your rate could be much lower, but if you’re a teenager, have gotten into a bunch of accidents, or have a DUI, it could be a lot higher.

Foremost offers several discounts, but not as many as other companies — there’s no telematics discount for tracking safe driving habits, for example, which is pretty common among most insurers. That said, there are still ways to save with Foremost.

Highlighted Offering: Diminishing Deductible

Most comprehensive and collision insurance policies have deductibles, which is the amount of money you need to pay before your coverage kicks in. For example, imagine that you get into an accident that results in $1,000 of damage, and it’s covered by your policy. If you have a $750 collision deductible, that means that even though the damage is covered, you’ll need to pay $750 out of pocket first to meet your deductible, and then your insurer will cover the remaining $250.

Typically, the lower your deductible, the higher your premiums. However, Foremost offers another way to lower your deductible. With Foremost’s diminishing deductible add-on, your deductible lowers each year that you don’t make a claim on your comprehensive or collision insurance policies. After a few years, you can lower your deductible by up to $500 just for not getting into any accidents or making any claims.

For example: imagine that your deductible is $1,000 when you start your policy. In your first year, you need to pay $1,000 out of pocket for a covered claim before your insurance kicks in. But in the second year, your deductible would automatically drop down to $900 if you didn’t make any claims the prior year. Then, if you still don’t make a claim in your second year, your deductible would drop down to $800 in the third year, and so on, until it drops to $500.

Other Discounts

In addition to the diminishing deductible, Foremost offers the following ways to save:

• Good driving discount: If you maintain a clean driving record and don’t get into any accidents or have any other violations, you can receive discounts on your premium.
• Safety device discount: If your car has working safety devices, like seatbelts and airbags, you can get a discount.
• Paperless discount: The paperless discount rewards you for opting to receive policy documents and bills via email instead of by regular mail. You can opt into this program at any time.
• Multicar discount: If you have multiple vehicles, insuring all of them with Foremost can save you money. Learn how to add a vehicle to your policy.
• Multipolicy and bundling discounts: Foremost gives you premium discounts if you purchase multiple policies from it, such as home insurance, renters insurance or condominium insurance. Another benefit of getting multiple policies with Foremost is that you’ll get combined bills and deductibles, which can make financial planning and payments a bit more convenient.

To get a quote from Foremost, you’ll need to speak with an independent agent. The agent will ask you basic questions about your vehicle, driving history and other important factors to help them calculate a quote.

Foremost offers all the standard types of insurance coverage, like liability coverage, collision and comprehensive coverage, medical payments/personal injury protection and uninsured motorist coverage.

I personally have higher liability limits and full coverage, which I opted for to get additional financial protection. If you can afford it, it’s generally a good idea to get more than the minimum coverage required by your state.

Foremost offers some unique add-on coverages, including worldwide liability, auto extra, and a safety glass deductible waiver. It also offers the following optional coverages:

As a subsidiary of Farmers Insurance, Foremost has an Excellent AM Best Financial Strength Rating, which indicates that it can reliably pay out its claims. That means that you likely won’t get stuck waiting on a payout that never comes.

Foremost doesn’t do as well in the customer complaint department. According to the NAIC Customer Complaint Index, which ranks how often customers file complaints about different insurers, Foremost has a score of 1.7, which means that it receives 1.7 times as many complaints as the average. That said, I’ve seen insurers with even greater customer complaint indices—as high as nine or ten times the average—which puts Foremost’s rank into perspective and makes it seem a little more modest.

You can file a claim with Foremost through the website, mobile app, or by calling the company directly. You’ll need to provide details about yourself and the incident, including your name and address, policy number, date of the loss and a description of what happened.

The company notes that every claim is different, so processing times can vary depending on the complexity. Some claims may be resolved within a few days, while others can take weeks or months to be paid out. Since Foremost is sold through agents, you can speak to your agent about a claim; while agents usually can’t file a claim directly on your behalf, they can answer questions or concerns and help you throughout the process if needed.

Foremost customers can create an online account on the company’s website, which they can use to pay their bills, sign up for automatic payments and paperless communication to receive a discount, access ID cards and other policy documents and file and track a claim.

The company also has a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices that offers the same functionality as the online portal in addition to requesting roadside assistance and contacting their agent. The app was first released in 2021, making Foremost a relatively new participant in the world of on-the-go availability.

I downloaded the app to check out the home page, and it has a clean and clear user interface. You can log in for access to all the features, or get roadside assistance, file a claim and contact the company without needing to log in.

Customers on both app stores report that the app is often glitchy and practically unusable. When it does work, however, customers tend to be happy with it. Overall, iOS users may have a better experience than Android users, given its higher App Store rating.

At AutoInsurance.com, we evaluate auto insurance providers based on four key factors:

• Price (40%): We analyze average premiums for full and minimum coverage for good drivers with good credit, as well as various driver profiles, including those with DUIs, accidents, or low credit. We also consider available discounts. Full coverage averages use the following limits:
  • Bodily injury liability: $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident
  • Property damage liability: $50,000 per accident
  • Uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury: $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident
  • Comprehensive and collision: $500 deductible
• Claims Handling (25%): A good claims handling process from an auto insurer is prompt, transparent, and efficient, with clear communication throughout, fair evaluation of damages, and timely payment or resolution. We assess claims practices through sources like the CRASH Network Insurer Report Card and J.D. Power’s Claims Satisfaction Report, and financial strength from sources like AM Best and S&P Ratings. Real-life customer experiences are included when available.
• Customer Experience (25%): We evaluate the ease of the customer journey, from getting a quote and purchasing a policy to making changes or accessing documents. We consider the availability and quality of both online and agent interactions, as well as the functionality of the company’s website and mobile app. Our sources include J.D. Power studies, the NAIC complaint index, BBB ratings, and app store reviews.
• Coverage Options (10%): We review each company’s coverage offerings and value providers with options beyond the state required minimums, like accident forgiveness, gap coverage, rideshare coverage, and more.

Read more about our ratings and methodology.