Kingsway Financial Services Insurance Review & Complaints: High-risk Auto Insurance (2023)

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Kingsway Financial Summary

Kingsway Financial is a Canadian holding company based out of Toronto, Ontario. The company was founded in 1989 and grew quickly. Their primary business in the United States is in non-standard insurance services. The company owns a large number of high-risk insurance companies, and between them they cover most of the United States, making the family of companies a major player in their niche market.

Among the subsidiary companies are Kingsway America, Mendota Insurance Company, and Universal Casualty Company. All of the policies offered through each subsidiary company are considered to be for high-risk drivers, who have had trouble obtaining insurance elsewhere due to a poor driving record or other issues. Kingsway America is headquartered in Illinois, with the other companies located in various other states.

Kingsway has acquired a large number of small non-standard insurers across the nation, which allows them to offer coverage in most states. Policies are sold individually through each company, most of which use agents to market them, particularly those specializing in non-standard insurance.

Insurance Products

Kingsway writes high-risk auto insurance exclusively through a wide variety of subsidiary companies.

These products are frequently sold as liability-only policies since drivers who require high-risk insurance, although most non-standard insurance companies also offer full coverage options. These companies frequently offer the basic options; they rarely have the more trendy perks and benefits that standard insurance companies offer due to the higher cost of non-standard coverage.

In order to determine which coverage options are available in each state, insurance customers will have to compare the companies that are offering insurance in their home state. It’s best to see an agent that specializes in non-standard coverage, if that is what you require, to go over the companies and policies that are available to you.

Kingsway Financial Rates

We are unable to obtain a price comparison for Kingsway; for one, they sell through so many different companies, and they also write only high-risk insurance, which means that their rates will not be comparable to rates from a standard insurance company.

Non-standard insurance is, by nature, pricey. Drivers who have serious problems on their record including multiple tickets, accidents, and major violations represent a higher risk to insurance companies. Those who represent the highest level of risk are often denied coverage on the standard market, and those are the drivers looking to Kingsway companies to obtain the coverage they legally require to drive.

Even among non-standard insurers there is price competition, so it is worth it for high-risk drivers to compare a few rates. Still, those rates will be high, and the best way to get a lower rate is to improve the factors that cause the driver to be rated as a high risk.

Quotes from Kingsway companies can be obtained from each individual company, usually through an agent. Some companies may offer online quoting, although this is rare for small non-standard insurance companies, particularly since the reasons for being considered high risk complicate the quoting process.

Claims

Kingsway Financial is a holding company and thus does not handle any claims directly. Each of the subsidiary companies will handle their own claims through their own claims department.

Customers will need to locate claims information on the documentation provided or on the company’s website to determine where their claim should be filed.

Non-standard claims are handled in much the same way as standard; policyholders can expect to have an adjuster assigned to the claim, and investigation completed, and a settlement reached. The time period and process will vary from company to company as well as based on the nature of the claim itself.

Consumer Research and Complaints

There is no Better Business Bureau record for Kingsway Financial Services that we could locate. As the holding company, their reviews are not likely to have any bearing on how subsidiaries are rated.

Kingsway America, however, is rated by the BBB, and holds an A+ rating with a total of 19 complaints in the past three years. Three of those complaints, six were closed in the past 12 months. That is a low number for a large non-standard insurer – such companies are often subject to greater complaint volume because they insure drivers who area already likely to have problems based on their history.

Each of the subsidiary companies will have its own reviews and complaints, which makes it harder to develop an overall picture of how the family of companies is perceived at large. Considering that Kingsway Financial really doesn’t handle any of the insurance business directly, it’s best to research the particular subsidiary that you’re considering for your insurance individually to ascertain what that company’s reputation looks like.

Financial Strength

Bottom Line

Kingsway offers non-standard insurance through a list of subsidiary companies scattered across the United States. Each of these companies offers their own rates, products, and has their own reputation. As a result, it’s best to take a closer look at the company itself before you take out a policy, as there is no overall rating or review for the company as a whole.

Kingsway America does seem to have a pretty low complaint volume, and they are a major insurer of non-standard drivers in the nation, so they are probably worth a look if you need that type of coverage. Standard drivers who are not considered high-risk are likely to find all of the Kingsway family of companies to be over-priced, and will find better coverage and rates with a standard insurance company.