American Modern Insurance Review & Complaints: Homeowners Insurance (2023)

American Modern is an insurance company catering to the specialty insurance market. With policies for homes and vehicles that are outside the standard auto and homeowner’s insurance framework, American Modern fills in the gaps left by other insurance companies.

Understanding what you needs in terms of coverage for your personal property can help immensely. Educating yourself on the types of insurance that are out there can be a good starting point. This way, if you’re looking for any sort of specialty insurance, you’ll know whether or not you meet the requirements. Specialty insurers generally offer assistance if you have any questions, too.

What is American Modern?

American Modern Insurance Group is a group of specialty insurance companies dating back to 1965 when American Modern Home Insurance Company and American Family Home Insurance Company were both founded. These two companies formed the beginnings of the insurance group and are still the main subsidiaries. The initial focus was on insurance for manufactured homes, which was then an underserved market. The insurance companies were an expansion of Midland Discount Corporation, an auto finance company going back to 1938.

In 1990 American Modern started expanding into other specialty products, including watercraft insurance and collector cars. In 2000 further expansion added ATVs and snowmobiles, Over the following years, American Modern began providing other home insurance coverage for seasonal and rental homes that do not qualify for standard homeowners.

American Modern Insurance Group products are sold in a variety of ways, including through agents and by insurance companies looking to expand their product lineup without underwriting the policies themselves. American Modern’s subsidiary companies bear the American Modern, American Family, and American Western/Southern names.

The company’s headquarters are located in Amelia, Ohio. In 2008 international corporation Munich Repurchased the entire Midland company, including American Modern Insurance Group.

What types of insurance products are offered?

Buying insurance may feel daunting when you first set out, because there is such a wide variety of policies offered, and various types of coverages you may need. Knowing what to look for helps when you’re buying insurance. This way, you won’t waste time or effort looking into companies who may not be a good fit for you. That being said, American Modern writes a variety of specialty home insurance products, as well as policies for recreational and collectible vehicles.

Specialty Home Insurance

American Modern started as a manufactured home insurer, but now offers many different types of home coverage:

• Mobile Home Insurance – Offered for all different types of factory-built homes, including single, double, and triple-wide mobile homes, in addition to one and two-story manufactured homes. Homes can be either owner-occupied or seasonal, rental, or even vacant with the American Modern program.
• Non-Standard Home – Policies cover homes that are owner-occupied but do not qualify for standard homeowners policy. This can be due to location, previous claims, or other issues with the house.
• Vacant Home – Insurance designed for homes that are currently unoccupied for a variety of reasons such as, renovations or rentals that are currently between tenants.
• Landlord Insurance – Provides coverage specifically for the needs of landlords, providing extra coverage such as loss of rent.

Specialty Vehicle Insurance

American Modern writes several products to cover the types of vehicles that standard insurance companies leave behind.

These include:

• Collector and antique cars
• ATVs
• Snowmobiles
• Recreational Vehicles
• Personal Watercraft
• Golf Cars
• Motorcycles
• Boats
• Yachts

Additional Products

Pet Insurance

The newest addition to the American Modern lineup, pet insurance provides pet medical insurance. Coverage includes accident and illness protection, and there is also an option to cover well checks and annual vaccinations.

Does the company offer competitive rates?

American Modern does not offer online quoting to compare rates. Their policies are sold mainly through insurance agents or are underwritten by the company on behalf of another insurance company or group. As a result, it is more difficult to obtain a price comparison than with other companies, even other non-standard insurers.

How are claims handled?

The company lives up to its name, with a modern approach to claims filing that includes all of the options you would expect from a much larger insurer. Claims can be filed by phone through a 24/7 toll-free line, by mail, fax, or even online.

Claims adjusters are assigned immediately at the time of the claim being filed, and American Modern will provide the policyholder with the adjuster’s name and contact number right over the phone when filing a claim through the toll-free line.

The adjuster will then begin the process of inspecting the damage and determining what coverage is available. When this is complete, the adjuster will then discuss the settlement with the policyholder and pay out the claim minus any applicable deductibles. American Modern field adjusters can frequently provide an immediate check to customers right on the site of the inspections.

Are there customer complaints about the insurer?

American Modern has been accredited with the BBB since 1947. The site gives the company an A+ rating and lists a total of 70 customer complaints against American Modern in the past three years. Of the 70 complaints, 22 of them have been closed in the last 12 months. This is not a large number of complaints for a company of this size.

There is not a lot in the way of reviews available for American Modern, which may be a function of the frequency with which the policies are sold through other insurance companies that don’t underwrite that type of coverage. Customers may be placing their reviews under the name of the insurance company through which they purchased the policy, not the company actually responsible for underwriting and administering the policy.

The reviews that can be located for American Modern are somewhat balanced, surprisingly, as positive reviews of insurance company’s are often hard to come by. American Modern does have its share of negative reviews, mostly pointing to dissatisfaction on the part of the insured with the outcome of a claim. There are also a number of positive reviews by customers who are very pleased with their policies and service.

There is certainly nothing worrisome in the reviews, and the overall impression is a positive one.

What is the company’s financial strength rating?

Rating Company	Grade	Financial Outlook
AM Best	A+	Stable
Fitch	N/A	N/A
S&P	N/A	N/A

What’s the bottom line?

While those in search of standard insurance will do better elsewhere, anyone looking for a non-standard policy, specialty home, or vehicle policy will likely find American Modern on the list of options. So if you’re looking for a classic car policy, or better insurance rates on non-standard home policies, American Modern offers those seemingly strange coverage types. If you are being offered American Modern insurance through another company or group, it is a choice that is well worth considering.

Although their rates are a bit unknown, they provide specialty coverage and a great deal of market experience that is not found by other companies. Combined with a strong reputation from customer reviews and a solid claims system, American Modern is a good choice.