GuideOne Insurance Review & Complaints: Auto, Home, Life, Church, Senior Living & School Insurance (2023)

A property and casualty insurer with a specific market, GuideOne insurance is aimed at churches, faith-based institutions, and those who attend them. Their combination of commercial and personal products is particularly designed for people of a variety of different faiths.

What is a GuideOne Insurance summary?

While GuideOne was always a niche insurer, they did not begin with churches. The company was founded in Iowa in 1947 as Preferred Risk Mutual Insurance Company, offering lower-cost auto insurance for non-drinkers. In 1958 the company opened a life insurance branch, also for non-drinkers.

The 1960s saw expansion and the creation of the first package policy for churches, as the company moved into many other states and grew quickly. By the 1970s they had added coverage for other faith-based institutions such as seminaries and schools. They remained focus on sober driving, donating large amounts of money to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in the 1980s.

Today GuideOne is one of the biggest insurers of churches in the country and offers its products in every state. Their headquarters remain in Des Moines, Iowa.

Products are sold through independent agents across the country and include churches, senior living and home care coverage, schools, and basic personal lines insurance.

What insurance products does GuideOne offer?

GuideOne’s products are aimed at niche markets, particularly faith-based niches, and people of any faith can apply for coverage.

Does GuideOne Insurance offer Auto Insurance?

GuideOne’s website no longer offers information regarding any kind of auto insurance policy. The same goes for a home insurance package. The company states they are now working with SafeCo Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Company. The site directs you to get a quote, where you fill out a bit of information and submit it, then await a response either by phone or email. It is likely that you will be contacted by a Safeco representative.

GuideOne plans to exit the Personal Lines Market completely in order to focus more on its specialty of church coverage. The company is currently working towards transferring all personal lines business to Safeco by February 2018.

Does GuideOne offer Home Insurance?

As mentioned above, GuideOne is gradually transitioning away from the Personal Lines Market and this includes home insurance. The company will transfer all lines of personal insurance to Safeco by 2018.

How About Life Insurance?

GuideOne offers a range of life insurance and annuity products, underwritten by Kansas City Life Insurance Company.

They offer term, whole, and universal life, as well as deferred and immediate annuities. There are also some health plans to choose from, including long-term care and income protection plans.

Can I learn more about GuideOne’s Church Insurance?

GuideOne’s flagship product is package insurance for churches, synagogues, and places of worship. Their main policy offered is called FaithGuard. Their policies include property coverage and liability, along with a long list of options and endorsements that are designed for the needs of churches. Some of the specifics include stained glass window coverage as well as coverage for the personal property of ministers.

GuideOne also offers employee benefits including group life and disability coverage for church employees.

How about Senior Living and Home Care?

GuideOne writes commercial products specifically for senior care homes as well as home care companies. Among the many facilities covered are independent living homes, skilled care facilities, and more.

What about insuring schools?

GuideOne writes package policies for faith-based schools and colleges. They provide both property and liability coverage along with specific coverage required by educational facilities.

What are GuideOne Insurance rates?

GuideOne does not offer online quoting, as all of their policies are sold through independent agents. That means we are unable to compare their rates to other companies.

How are claims handled?

GuideOne accepts claims reports through a 24-hour toll-free number, or through insurance agents. There is currently no option to file a claim report online.

GuideOne’s adjusters and claims people are all in-house, and not independent, promising personal attention. They also have a catastrophe response unit (CAT Team) available to handle major natural disasters right at the scene.

GuideOne uses Safelite for auto glass repairs, one of the biggest auto glass service companies in the nation. They handle glass repairs swiftly and directly for many insurance companies.

What is GuideOne’s average claim response time frame?

GuideOne Insurance states on their official website that customers will be contacted within 24 hours of filing a claim.

What about consumer research and complaints?

GuideOne is not Better Business Bureau accredited but has a rating of A-. There are only 13 complaints against the company in the past three years, one of which has been closed in the last 12 months. The company has been downgraded to an A- as the result of one complaint to which they failed to respond.

Common insurance review sites do not have much in the way of complaints against the company in regards to user experience. There are very few overall, which is very encouraging, and there is nothing that raises any big red flags.

What About Financial Strength?

Rating Company	Grade	Financial Outlook
AM Best	A-	Negative
Fitch	N/A	N/A
S&P	N/A	N/A

What’s the Bottom Line?

GuideOne Insurance is one of the nation’s largest church insurers, operating in all 50 states through a network of thousands of independent agents who serve more than 51,000 commercial policyholders. Since its founding in 1947,

GuideOne has remained focused on successful business operations and initiatives that can support the insurer’s growth path. For example, following its 1999 creation of the GuideOne Center for Risk Management program to help religious organizations craft strategic risk management plans. The company expanded the offering in 2008 with the launch of SafeChurch, the most comprehensive church risk management website available in the United States.

GuideOne has a good reputation and offers niche commercial products. Although GuideOne aims its products at people of faith, they are open to all individuals; those who do fit the niche will find some added benefits. Especially for their target market, GuideOne is worth a look and a comparison quote.