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Nationwide Auto Insurance

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6.2

Overall Score

Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: November 12th, 2021

Nationwide Insurance was founded as the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company in Columbus, Ohio in 1925. Initially, auto insurance policies were offered primarily to area farmers. In 1928, the company expanded into West Virginia then moved from farms to small towns in 1931. By 1943, the company had spread across 12 states and offered policies in big cities as well as small towns and rural areas.

Today, with nearly 100 years of experience, Nationwide is a Fortune 100 company that offers auto insurance in 48 states. In addition to auto insurance, Nationwide provides several types of insurance, including homeowners, business, renters, condo, flood, RV, boat, pet, and dental. 

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The Good

  • Customizable Coverage Features
  • Special Auto Coverage Options
  • Discounts
  • Customer Service

Customizable Coverage Features

Nationwide provides a good range of auto insurance policy options, including liability, collision and comprehensive coverage, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, medical payment and personal injury coverage, along with roadside assistance, towing, and rental reimbursement. Policy rates are comparable to many other insurance companies, and customers can pick and choose their own insurance packages based on the variety of features listed below.

  • Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Coverage, which is required by law in most states and covers expenses from injuring a person during an accident or damaging their vehicle.
  • Personal Injury Protection, known as PIP insurance, helps cover the medical bills, lost wages, or other expenses resulting from an auto accident.
  • Uninsured Motorist protects the policyholder and any passenger from accidents caused by uninsured drivers or a hit-and-run.
  • Underinsured Motorist protects the policyholder from other drivers not having enough insurance to cover the cost of expenses incurred due to an accident.
  • Medical Payments, which is mandatory in some states, helps pay for the cost of medical expenses due to an accident, regardless of who is at fault.
  • Collision Coverage pays for damages to the policyholder's vehicle during an accident with another vehicle.
  • Comprehensive Coverage assists in payments for damages caused by natural disasters, accidents involving animals, vandalism, or theft.
  • Towing and Labor Insurance can reimburse for towing and labor costs in order to get the covered vehicle up and running.
  • Rental Reimbursement helps pay for a rental car should the policyholder's vehicle take time to repair. Nationwide typically has a specified amount using a daily limit and overall maximum.
  • Gap Coverage may cover the cost between the actual cash value of the policyholder’s car and what they owe on the lease or loan, should the car be a total loss after an accident.

Standard coverage options are Bodily Injury, Property Damage Liability, Personal Injury Protection, Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury, and Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury. It's important to remember that each state varies in its standard coverage limit.

Special Auto Coverage Options

On top of the standard coverage options listed above, Nationwide Auto Insurance also offers an array of specialized coverage features for drivers seeking additional options. These include the following:

  • Accident Forgiveness Coverage helps policyholders avoid a rate increase following their first at-fault accident.
  • Roadside Assistance Coverage protects policyholders should they need a tow, run out of gas, or have a flat tire.
  • Vanishing Deductible is an exclusive program offered to reward safe drivers by reducing the deductible by $100 for each year of safe driving, up to $500.
  • Total Loss Deductible Waiver is a feature where the policyholder can have the physical damage deductible waived if the vehicle is a total loss following an incident.

Discounts

Nationwide's Vanishing Deductible program rewards safe drivers by reducing the size of a policy's deductible over time the longer the policyholder goes without an accident. Along with accident forgiveness, this provides people with extra incentive to drive safely, and it can lead to significant savings.

Other discounts include the following:

  • Multi-policy
  • SmartRide discount
  • SmartMiles discount
  • Good student
  • Defensive driving
  • Anti-theft
  • Safe driver
  • Easy pay sign-up
  • Affinity car insurance discounts
  • Paperless documents
  • Customer service

A unique feature of Nationwide's commitment to customer service is the On Your Side review program. This review is a free annual consultation with a Nationwide Insurance agent who helps customers determine the options that are right for them and meet their budgetary requirements. They can also discuss recent or upcoming life events that might impact coverage. Lastly, the agent looks for all applicable discounts, benefits, and coverage options, making sure customers are getting as much out of their policy as possible.

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The Bad

  • Not Available in All States
  • Customer Complaints About High Rates

Not Available in All States 

Nationwide does not provide auto insurance coverage in Alaska or Hawaii.

Customer Complaints About High Rates

Some Nationwide Auto Insurance customers have left reviews stating that the company’s coverage is very expensive or that compared to other auto insurance companies, Nationwide’s estimates are much higher. Other customers complain that their rates at Nationwide increased unexpectedly or without any explanation from the company.

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The Bottom Line

Nationwide provides a good array of insurance products to meet the needs of drivers from many walks of life, and the company offers nice incentives for safe driving. Also, Nationwide is committed to providing customers with what they need rather than merely trying to sell the most expensive policy. The free annual On Your Side review is a clear demonstration of this, and it has the benefit of ensuring that customers don't miss any discounts that they might qualify for. 

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4.0

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44 Reviews

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Peter A Hogg

Very expensive considering we've had no tickets or accidents for over 10 years.

7 years ago

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Dorothy

Rates keep increasing despite no tickets or claims

4 years ago