Repwest Insurance Company Review & Complaints: Moving & Storage Insurance (2023)

Shortened from Republic Western Insurance Company, RepWest provides specialty insurance to the moving and storage industry. Their products are specifically designed for their parent company, U-Haul.

About RepWest

RepWest was founded in 1973 in Pheonix, Arizona. They operate as a subsidiary of AMERCO, which also owns U-Haul. Most of the company’s products are directly tied to their relationship with U-Haul, providing moving and storage insurance programs for those renting U-Haul trucks and vans.

RepWest insurance products are generally sold to U-Haul customers at the time of the rental of a truck or storage unit. Products are sold solely through branch offices for U-Haul rentals, whether for a truck, trailer, or a storage unit under the U-Haul brand.

Because of their unique line of products and its target market, products are not sold online or through any source other than the moving and storage companies partnering with RepWest. The company’s headquarters remains in Pheonix, and products are available across the country.

RepWest Products

There are two main product lines from RepWest: U-Haul and SafeStor. These are designed to work with moving truck rentals and storage space rentals to provide a range of coverage.

U-Haul Truck & Trailer Products

There are several products available to those renting from U-Haul, both for rental trucks and trailers.

SafeMove provides a damage waiver with a $150 deductible for any accidental damage done to the U-Haul vehicle during the rental. It also includes cargo protection of $25,000 for a one-way rental and $15,000 for an in-town move.

Medical and life coverage is also included, with $25,000 for lessee loss of life, $15,000 for passenger loss of life, and $1,000 in medical payments.

SafeMove Plus adds $1,000,000 in liability coverage to supplement your personal insurance policy, acting as an umbrella policy during your move.

SafeTow is similar to SafeMove, but is designed for those renting U-Haul trailers to be used with a personally owned vehicle. It includes a damage waiver and several optional levels of towed cargo coverage, ranging from $5,000 up to $20,000. Lessee loss of life is covered at $10,000 and passenger at $5,000, with $500 for medical expenses.

Storage Products

SafeStor is a policy designed to protect personal property while it is in storage in a U-Haul facility. Limits range from $5,000 to $15,000, with a $100 deductible applied to any covered loss.

SafeStor Mobile is a similar product that applies coverage to U-Box storage, which means personal property is protected at all times while stored in the mobile U-box.

Coverage on the mobile plan ranges from $1,000 up to $20,000.

The SafeStor program is marketed to storage facilities by Ponderosa insurance, which appears to sell the product even to non-U-Haul branded facilities.

UCar Share

The final product from RepWest is UCar Share. This is a membership program for people who do not want to own a car but want access to one when needed. Hourly and daily rates are available for use of a car that includes the cost of gas, mileage, and car insurance for the vehicle.

Cars can be reserved online and picked up from parking locations found throughout the cities in which the program is running.

Rates

Rates are not listed on the RepWest site and are available when requesting a U-Haul rental from the local branch.

The cost of this rental insurance likely varies by the type of rental and the coverage levels requested (in the case of storage) as well as the length of the rental period.

Like the coverage options offered when you rent a car, this program can be tacked on to the total cost of your U-Haul rental at the time of the contract, and cannot be purchased separately.

Claims

Claims for every type of RepWest and U-Haul insurance product can be filed online, with a list of each product offered and a claim filing form provided for that specific product.

This is the only claim filing option that is listed on the RepWest site, although it is likely that a phone number is provided to the person purchasing the coverage at the time that the contract is signed. There is no evidence of a phone number and no further information provided in regards to claims on the RepWest site. That is not surprising given the fact that most people buying this coverage will probably never have been to the website, having purchased directly at the rental branch.

Ratings and Consumer Reviews

RepWest has a dismal D- rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which the file states is due to the failure to respond to 16 of the complaints filed against the company. The total number of complaints on file is 50.

Eight customers have left reviews on the BBB page, with a one-star rating overall. All of the complaints are related to failure to pay claims.

Yelp has 12 reviews of the company with an overall 2-star rating. Two five-star reviews citing an excellent claims experience bump it up a star from the other one-star reviews. Again, the complaints focus on claims being denied and lack of contact.

The Bottom Line

If you are renting a U-Haul, this coverage will likely to presented as the only way to protect yourself and your belongings. Before you pay for it, however, it is worth a check into what other overages your current home insurance and auto policy provide that may fill the same gaps. Like the coverage offered on a rental car, you may not need to pay for extra coverage.