Shelter Insurance review 2024

Shelter Insurance is a regional insurance carrier with a 3.8 Bankrate Score for auto insurance. Limited third-party rankings put Shelter’s score a bit lower than some top-rated carriers, but the company could still be a solid choice for drivers in the 15 states that Shelter serves.

Customer service may be Shelter’s greatest advantage. In 2023, Shelter became the top-ranked insurer for customer satisfaction in the Central region of J.D. Power’s U.S. Auto Insurance Study for the third year running. Shelter’s coverage options are also more generous than many other insurers, with roadside assistance and new car replacement included in every policy. The company offers some uncommon optional coverage types, such as disability income coverage and loss of use coverage, which offers a one-time payout when your car’s in the shop following a claim.

Pros and cons of Shelter car insurance

It’s important to look at the big picture when shopping for car insurance quotes. If you’re considering Shelter car insurance but are unsure how it stacks up, consider these pros and cons.

Home insurance from Shelter may be a good choice for homeowners looking for customizable coverage in the states it serves, especially if they already have an auto insurance policy through Shelter. While Shelter advertises a generous number of endorsements and discounts for its home insurance product, Bankrate’s insurance editorial team awarded it a Bankrate Score of 3.5 out of 5.0 possible points. Higher rates, limited availability and a lack of J.D. Power ratings contributed to Shelter’s home insurance score.

Pros and cons of Shelter homeowners insurance

The pros and cons below could help you better understand what you may expect from a Shelter homeowners policy when comparing quotes with other companies:

Shelter life insurance offers term life and permanent life insurance, as well as low-cost life insurance for children. The company provides three different options for term life insurance coverage depending on your age and insurance needs, and its permanent life insurance options include three 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:

While Shelter’s regional availability is limited and its rates may be above average for some customers, Shelter stands out from competitors for its positive customer experience indicators and its highly customizable coverage. Shelter policyholders seem to be generally happy with their experience based on customer satisfaction rankings, and the company offers a generous list of discounts that could offset higher rates for some people.

Bankrate’s insurance editorial team, which includes licensed agents with combined decades of industry experience, dedicates significant resources each year to conducting comprehensive reviews of insurance carriers to help guide our readers in choosing the best company to fit their personalized needs. Based on our Shelter Insurance review, Shelter could be a good insurance company for those living in its service area, depending on each shopper’s needs and priorities.

What are real-life customers saying about Shelter?

To get more nuanced insight into how actual Shelter policyholders would rate their provider, we examined forum responses, online reviews and social media posts by Shelter customers. Looking at posts on Reddit and TrustPilot, we saw mostly positive responses, with policyholders praising their low rates and reporting great experiences with Shelter’s customer service. The most common complaint we found about Shelter Insurance related to sudden rate increases with no clear reason.

Reddit

Reddit users discussed Shelter Insurance in a variety of forums, from regional forums to car-focused forums. In both places, we found a mix of positive and negative comments about Shelter’s coverage and rates.

TrustPilot

Some Shelter policyholders reviewed their experience on TrustPilot, calling out strengths and weaknesses of the company. While negative reviews focused primarily on difficult claims or unresponsive customer service, other reviews praised the personal attention offered by Shelter’s customer service agents.

*The quotes and citations included on this page have been verified by our editorial team and are accurate as of the posting date. Outlinked content may contain views and opinions that do not reflect the views and opinions of Bankrate.

Shelter company details

Shelter offers policyholders several ways to contact customer service, starting with dedicated phone lines for general service, claims and roadside assistance. While claims service is 24/7, policy service is only available Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CST. You can also contact Shelter via email or set up a My Shelter account online.

• Customer service: 1-800-743-5837 or 1-800-SHELTER
• Claims: 1-800-743-5837
• Roadside assistance: 1-855-817-6510
• Website: shelterinsurance.com
• Mailing address: 1817 W. Broadway, Columbia, MO 65218

State availability

Shelter Insurance offers products in 15 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

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 and Wright National Flood Insurance Services.
• 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 July 2024 rates for all ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Rates are weighted based on the population density in each geographic region.

Auto

Quoted rates are based on a single, 40-year-old male and female driver with a clean driving record, good credit and the following full coverage limits:

• $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 base profile drivers own a 2022 Toyota Camry, commute five days a week and drive 12,000 miles annually.

These are sample rates and should only be used for comparative purposes.

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 parents' 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, single at-fault accident and single DUI conviction.

Credit-based insurance scores: Rates were calculated based on the following insurance credit tiers assigned to our drivers: “poor, average, good (base) and excellent.” Insurance credit tiers factor in your official credit scores but are not dependent on that variable alone. Four states prohibit or limit the use of credit as a rating factor in determining auto insurance rates: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan.

Bankrate Scores

Our Bankrate Score considers variables our insurance editorial team determined impact 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.

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. Our scoring model provides a comprehensive view, indicating when companies excel across several key areas and highlighting where they fall short.