Our verdict: Formerly known as Ameriprise, Connect is now partners with Costco and offers affordable home insurance policies with great add-ons and benefits to the retailer’s members.
Connect is an insurance agency with 20 years of experience powered by American Family Insurance that has been on the market for nearly a century. Connect home insurance provides exclusive deals to over 400,000 Costco members, along with auto, renters, and other standard policies.
It offers diversified coverages at affordable rates and various discounts. It has an excellent website packed with detailed information. Additionally, the company provides unique policies that you can’t find with many other insurers.
Our review will tell you all you need to know about this provider to help you make your decision.
Connect Home Insurance Pros and Cons
Every insurance company has good and bad aspects regarding business decisions, customer service, and handling claims. Here’s what you need to consider before purchasing your insurance with Connect.
Pros
- Low rates
- Availability in 44 states
- Flexible payment plans
- Costco members discounts and benefits
- Solid discount offers
- Website with detailed information
Cons
- Not a direct provider of policies
- Below-average customer satisfaction
Costco Home Insurance Overview
Connect insurance is suitable for both new clients and experienced individuals with particular requirements. Homeowners insurance protects your home, personal property, and yourself with additional benefits, like identity theft or fraud protection.
Connect offers some unique add-ons, such as mine subsidence and earthquake protection. Several endorsements include home media equipment, water backup, or personal injury. The homeowners policy is diverse enough to provide excellent coverage for any homeowner.
Features
Let’s explore the features of the home insurance policies you can purchase at Connect.
Home and Condo
Connect home insurance applies to your home, belongings, or both. The dwelling coverage protects the physical structure in case of these covered events:
- Lightning
- Fire or smoke
- Windstorm
- Hail
- Explosion
- Vandalism
- Falling objects
- Damage caused by aircraft or a motor vehicle
It also includes plumbing, heating, electrical wiring, and similar installations. It may apply to other structures on your property, like garages or decking. However, the dwelling coverage doesn’t include damage caused by lack of maintenance, floods, sewer backups, and similar.
Connect condo insurance has the same features.
Additionally, personal property coverage insures your clothing, furniture, appliances, and electronics, while scheduled personal property serves to protect high-value items in your home such as:
- Jewelry
- Furs
- Silverware
- Stamps, coins, and other collectibles
- Computers
- Firearms and similar
The endorsements, which help you customize your policy and expand coverage, include:
- Home media equipment — protects TVs, home theatres, computers, and other electronics
- Adventure equipment — covers golf clubs, skis, bikes, and fishing equipment
- Connect insurance for water damage — covers water backup and sump overflow
- Personal injury— covers false arrest, imprisonment, slander, libel, and similar
You can also add loss of use coverage, which pays additional living expenses while your home is rebuilt, personal liability coverage for damage or injury to other people, and medical payments coverage if a visitor gets hurt on your property.
Other benefits include:
- ID theft protection
- Food spoilage protection
- Lock replacement expense
- Wildfire loss coverage
Earthquake
Connect earthquake insurance is another add-on you can use to expand coverage. It insures your dwelling, detached structures, and personal property. It also covers debris removal, additional living expenses, damage to personal belongings, and more.
If you need additional protection for fire or damage to your vehicles, fences, or pools, you’ll have to purchase them separately.
Mine Subsidence
There are many abandoned mines across the US, and millions of homes are built over them. With Connect Costco insurance, you can protect your home in case of land shifting or collapsing because of man-made mines. Some states require that you have this coverage, but others don’t offer it at all.
Renters
Regardless if you rent your first place or renew an existing policy, renters insurance is a good choice to protect your personal belongings. Personal property covers your items if they get stolen, damaged, or lost in a natural disaster.
With this type of Costco Connect insurance, you’ll also have personal liability and be able to pay medical costs to others. Your living expenses will be covered if you have to leave your rental due to damage or natural disaster.
Scheduled personal property insures certain items in your possession. In most states, you can secure:
- Jewelry
- Stamps, coins, and other collections
- Computers
- Art
- Furs
- Firearms
- Silverware and similar
If your rental has a basement, you can include water backup and sump overflow to your renters insurance. This coverage is an add-on, just like the optional earthquake coverage and personal injury coverage.
Flood
Connect flood insurance goes through the National Flood Insurance Program if your community participates in it and covers:
- Dwelling and the foundation
- Electrical and plumbing systems
- Central AC
- Refrigerators, stoves, and built-in appliances
- Carpets
- Window blinds
- Debris removal, etc.
Keep in mind that structures built over water can’t be insured with the flood policy. Damage from moisture or mildew is typically not covered, and neither are items in basements. The waiting period before the flood policy becomes effective is 30 days.
Financial Strength
A.M. Best gives Connect great insurance reviews for its financial strength — the third-highest rating, an A. The company is also a BBB accredited business.
As Connect is part of the American Family Insurance Group, we’ll mention its ratings as well. A.M. Best rates it with an A (Excellent), proving a stable financial outlook. Based on that, you shouldn’t experience any issues with your claims.
Connect Home Insurance Customer Service
There are several ways to reach Connect customer support. One option is via the phone number listed on the “Contact Us” page. There are also two FAQ sections designed to answer your most common questions.
According to the latest reviews, the customer support and the overall service are not the best on the market. Some of the complaints were related to delays, long claim handling, and denial.
Regarding J.D. Power’s 2020 Home Insurance Study on customer satisfaction, Connect is not listed. However, American Family has a score of 821/1,000, which is just below the average.
- NerdWallet — 3.5
- Wallethub — 1.7
- Valuepenguin — 60%
- Clearsurance — 3.7
Connect Home Insurance Quote
The cost of your monthly premium will mostly depend on your location. Not all states have the same requirements for homeowners policy coverage. So, if you wish to expand coverage and include several add-ons, your premium will be higher.
Usually, the calculations for a monthly premium are for an average of $250,000-worth dwelling. With Connect, you can expect to pay about a $73 monthly fee. That is below the national average of $100.
Connect also has a good list of discounts to help you lower your premium even further, and we’ll cover those in the following section.
Discounts
There are many discounts available for lowering your Connect home insurance quote, and here is how you can qualify.
Age of Home
Connect will consider the age of your home, and the newer it is, the higher the discount you can get.
Claims Free
This deal is available in some states. If you haven’t filed a claim in the last five years, you might be eligible.
Protective Devices
If you installed smoke alarms, deadbolt locks, have fire extinguishers or any other security system, you’ll likely qualify for this deal and save more on home insurance from Connect.
Tenure
Ask your agent about your anniversary celebration and whether you’ll qualify for this offer. Keep in mind that it’s not available in all states.
Multi-products
Bundling policies is a standard way to save with many providers. With Connect, you can hold two or three policies to receive a discount, such as home, auto, or umbrella insurance.
Renovation
Depending on the state, you might be eligible for this deal if you recently handled roof replacement, heating and cooling system renovation, or electrical and plumbing renovation.
Costco Home Insurance Rates Comparison
You can see how Connect compares in terms of the monthly cost of home insurance policies to a couple of other popular companies.
Connect vs. Allstate
Allstate is a famous US insurance company with many decades of experience, offering an extensive list of discounts. The cost of your insurance will depend on your location, the dwelling, and the necessary coverage.
Allstate is known for charging above the national average, with an annual premium of about $1,730. For comparison, Connect insurance from Costco costs close to $900 per year on average.
Connect vs. State Farm
State Farm has a great online quoting tool and provides more than just insurance services. With it, you’ll likely include extended coverage in your policy, which can increase its price. Overall, the annual premium of State Farm home insurance is about $1,600.
Compared to Connect, State Farm is more expensive. However, there is no guarantee of how much your insurance will cost after considering all factors.
Overall Competition Comparison
Let’s see how Connect home insurance compares to a few other insurance companies regarding policy availability, customer satisfaction, and financial strength.
Connect vs. Amica
Amica has a net income of $178 million and $5 billion in assets. A.M. Best ranked Amica companies with A+ and S&P gave it an A++. For comparison, Connect is rated with an A from A.M. Best.
Amica Mutual is second on J. D. Power’s 2020 Home Insurance Study for customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, Connect home insurance has no rating.
Amica doesn’t offer its insurance in all states, while Connect is available in 44of them.
Connect vs. Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual is another financially stable insurer to consider. A.M. Best ranks it with an A rank, Moody’s with an A2, and S&P with an A. These ratings show that Liberty Mutual has no issues in paying out claims.
J.D. Power gives Liberty Mutual a score of 805/1,000 in its 2020 Home Insurance Study. Even though this rank is below the average, Liberty Mutual provides decent support via Twitter, email, and phone.
However, there are no local agents or coverage provided in some states.
Connect vs. Farmers
Finally, we’ll compare Connect homeowners insurance with Farmers. Regarding Farmers financial strength, A.M. Best ranks it with an A- and a stable outlook. Farmers Insurance is also a Fortune 500 company.
In J.D. Power’s 2020 Home Insurance Study, Farmers rating is slightly below the national average with a score of 814/1,000. Still, it’s known for good customer support and assistance, and availability in 48 states.
Expert Thoughts
Connect used to be called Ameriprise, and the shift brought some issues with current clients and their support, resulting in poor customer reviews. Still, Connect home insurance is available to Costco members and regular customers and is backed by American Family Insurance.
Connect insurance policies provide good coverage, and there are some unconventional add-ons to help you expand the protection of your home, items, and yourself. The policies are more affordable than the national average, and there are plenty of discounts that you can qualify for to lower your expenses.
Overall, Connect insurance is a good choice if you’re a Costco member looking for good coverage at a low price.
People Also Ask
Connect is backed by American Family Insurance and is partnered with Costco. As such, it’s ideal for the retailer’s members. In addition, it offers a variety of insurance policies and has affordable coverage with excellent discount options.
However, customers aren’t entirely satisfied with customer support and how the company handles claims. If you still decide to go with Connect, you’ll enjoy excellent insurance and other perks.
Costco is known for offering discounts on bulk foods and inexpensive hot dogs, but that’s not all it is about. The company also provides money-saving services and home insurance that you can purchase through Connect.
You don’t have to be a Costco member to buy insurance, but you’ll be eligible for more benefits if you are. There are several endorsements as well, and the premiums are generally low. Connect is backed by American Family, which provides the necessary experience in the field.
Connect insurance policies are inexpensive. Still, the coverage is comprehensive and available in almost all states. There are many add-ons and endorsements that other insurers don’t offer. These allow you to customize your coverage but keep it affordable.
If you’re a Costco member, you may also receive exclusive benefits and discounts. Currently, about 400,000 Costco members have switched their auto and home insurance to Connect. Still, if you insist on excellent customer support, Connect might not be the best fit for you.
Connect was owned by Ameriprise, a financial company that offered financial advice, investments, banking, and insurance products. Currently, Ameriprise is still active, but it’s focused more on other services, and its insurance policies strictly belong to Connect and American Family Insurance.
Connect is the brand name of American Family Connect Property and American Family Connect Insurance Company and is not affiliated with Ameriprise Financial Inc. in any way.
Costco offers home insurance via Connect, previously known as Ameriprise, but is now owned by American Family. With Connect, Costco can provide customers with good coverage, add-ons to customize policies and deals, and other benefits to save costs.
Costco insurance is available in 44 states and the District of Columbia. Still, Connect has issues when it comes to customer satisfaction. Many policyholders reported problems with their claims, delays, and slow service. Nonetheless, Connect home insurance is one of the least expensive and comprehensible options on the market.
