Wawanesa Insurance Review & Complaints: Life, Home & Auto Insurance (2023)

A major Canadian insurance company, Wawanesa offers insurance in only two U.S. states, but has made a name for itself in the California market with top-tier consumer satisfaction ratings. Wawanesa’s focus on good drivers allows them to offer lower rates to their target market.

What is Wawanesa?

The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company was founded in 1896 on the Canadian prairies. The goal of the company at that time was to provide insurance protection to struggling farmers. The company, named for the town in which it was founded, grew quickly and became one of the largest insurance companies in Canada. After weathering the Great Depression, Wawanesa expanded to serve every province in the nation. The company’s Canadian headquarters is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

In 1974, Wawanesa expanded into California, opening an office in San Diego and becoming the first Canadian insurance company to successfully enter the U.S. market. They later expanded into Oregon as well. In California, the company writes both auto and home insurance, while only auto is available in Oregon.

Wawanesa sells its personal insurance products direct, without agents, both over the phone and online. Their target market is safe drivers with a clean driving record, allowing them to offer lower rates than many other insurance providers.

What insurance products are offered?

Wawanesa offers a range of products to their loyal customers in Canada, including Wawanesa life insurance products, property, and auto. In the states, they are focused mainly on auto insurance policies, although home insurance is available in California.

Auto Insurance

Wawanesa offers a solid auto insurance policy without a lot of frills. In addition to mandatory liability (bodily injury and property damage) vehicle casualty insurance, they offer common optional coverages such as comprehensive insurance, collision insurance, rental reimbursement coverage, and a roadside assistance program. Their offerings are free of many of the more common trends and gimmicks in the industry, even such popular ones as accident forgiveness.

The different types of auto insurance discounts this company has available are pretty straightforward, including a good driver discount, persistent (loyalty) discounts, and multi-car discount for those with more than one vehicle.

You can get an insurance quote online in both California and in Oregon, as well as over the phone.

Wawanesa Insurance’s approach as an auto insurance company is to help provide the cheapest car insurance option for your vehicle, and they keep payments low by focusing on people with a clean driving record. This helps keep their expenses low, as does their no-frills list of auto insurance coverages.

If you’re a good driver looking for cheaper rates, this auto insurer may be just what you need.

Home Insurance

Wawanesa writes home insurance and renters insurance across Canada and in California.

Home insurance offerings include:

• Homeowners Insurance, with coverage for the structure, personal property, and personal liability. . A homeowners insurance policy will include guaranteed replacement cost on property and an inflation guard benefit that ensures replacement cost keeps up with the increased cost of materials and construction.
• Condo Insurance, with coverage for the portions of the structure that are under the owner’s responsibility, personal property, and liability.
• Renter’s Insurance, with coverage for the personal property of tenants as well as liability.

Wawanesa offers a range of discounts for home insurance products including, multi-product/policy, sprinkler system, and non-smokers. You can also get an online quote or call during business hours to learn more.

At this time, Wawanesa does not offer life insurance product lines.

Are the rates competitive?

Wawanesa’s quoting system requires quite a bit of personal information. We were able to obtain a quote, however, not at the same levels for which we normally quote due to the fact that Wawanesa does not offer all of the same options.

Although it’s not a direct comparison, Wawanesa’s insurance rates fall well below the average — and it should be noted that this is with lower deductibles than we usually quote, as Wawanesa doesn’t offer a deductible above $500.

Their rates come in about 22% below average, even with the higher deductibles. That doesn’t make them the cheapest, but it does make their prices quite competitive. Selecting additional coverages on your standard insurance policy will likely affect your personalized quotes.

It is important to note that Wawanesa caters to drivers who have a clean record. Drivers with tickets or accidents may find their rates much higher, even with only one motor vehicle accident on your record.

What is the claims process?

Wawanesa accepts claims both online and over the phone. The 24-hour toll-free claims line can be reached at 1-800-427-9669 or 1-800-57-CLAIM.

The online claims form is easily accessible on the Wawanesa General insurance company’s website, but does require a policy number, so if you aren’t the insured and do not have the number, you will need to call in the claim.

Wawanesa provides a claims guarantee that promises quick and fair claims service and contact throughout the process where the policyholder will have a say in the repairs and settlement.

Wawanesa will send an appraiser to review the damage within 48 hours of the claim being reported in order to create an estimate. Customers can use a recommended repair shop or any shop of their own choosing. Wawanesa’s Direct Repair network offers a guarantee on their work.

What does Consumer Research and Complaints Say?

Wawanesa has been BBB accredited in the U.S. since 1975. They currently have an A+ rating. The BBB lists 55 complaints over the past three years, 20 which have been closed in the last 12 months.

In the 2015 J.D. Power U.S. Household Survey of auto insurance, Wawanesa was the top-ranked insurance company in California. This ranking is based on overall customer satisfaction determined by several factors including policy offerings, price, and customer service.

ConsumerAffairs.com shows a total of 34 ratings of Wawanesa. Of 34 ratings, five were rated five stars and 26 reviewers gave the company a one-star rating. There are also negative reviews, but it’s very important to point out that positive customer reviews are very unusual on this site, and it is always encouraging to see them.

Negative reviews are mostly centered on difficulty reaching customer service representatives at the company. There is little else of note in the reviews, and an unusual lack of complaints regarding claims service issues, which is where we usually see the bulk of the customer complaints.

What is the financial strength of the company?

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

What is the bottom line?

The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company offers solid and comprehensive coverage options without gimmicks and maintains a good reputation. Although they are relatively new to the U.S. insurance market, they have been around for over 100 years in Canada and are an experienced provider of personal insurance products.

Wawanesa’s rates are very competitive, but they aim their rates at good drivers, which means anyone who has blemishes on their driving record may do better elsewhere in terms of premiums. For residents of Oregon and California who have a clean record and generally meet the lowest-rate standards of most auto insurance companies, Wawanesa is well worth a look and a comparison quote.