Foremost Auto Insurance: User Reviews and Quotes (2024)

Foremost offers a variety of specialized coverages and focuses on high-risk drivers.

Mark Vallet
Written byMark Vallet
Mark Vallet
Mark Vallet

Mark is a freelance journalist and analyst with more than 15 years of experience covering the insurance industry. He has extensive experience creating and editing content on a variety of subjects with deep expertise in insurance and automotive writing.

Katie Powers
Edited byKatie Powers
Photo of an Insurify author
Katie PowersAuto and Life Insurance Editor
  • Licensed auto and home insurance agent

  • 3+ years experience in insurance and personal finance editing

Katie uses her knowledge and expertise as a licensed property and casualty agent in Massachusetts to help readers understand the complexities of insurance shopping.

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Konstantin Halachev
Data reviewed byKonstantin Halachev
Headshot of Konstantin Halachev, VP of Engineering at Insurify
Konstantin HalachevVP of Engineering & Data Science
  • 7+ years experience in data analysis

  • Ph.D. in Computational Biology

Konstantin has led data teams across multiple industries, including insurance, travel, and biology. He’s led Insurify’s engineering team for more than three years.

Updated July 25, 2024

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Foremost is a subsidiary of the Farmers Insurance Group and works with Bristol West to write auto insurance for high-risk drivers and niche coverages. Foremost policyholders pay an average of $138 per month for liability coverage.

Policies from Foremost Insurance tend to be more expensive because the company focuses on high-risk drivers. The company has an Insurify Quality (IQ) Score of 7.4 out of 5, which is lower than many top standard insurers. When shopping for coverage, you should always compare quotes from multiple insurers.

Here’s what you need to know about Foremost insurance coverage options and cost.

Quick Facts
  • Foremost offers standard auto insurance as well as add-ons like gap, collector car, and rideshare coverage.

  • The average cost of full-coverage car insurance from Foremost is $285 per month.

  • Foremost has a higher number of customer complaints filed with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) than other insurance companies of its size.

How Foremost compares to other insurance companies

Compare personalized, real-time quotes
User Reviews
2.4
IQ Score
The Insurify Quality (IQ) Score uses more than 15 criteria to objectively rate insurance companies on a one-to-ten scale. The Insurify editorial team researches insurer data to determine the final scores.
7.4/10
Liability Only
Liability-only insurance, sometimes called minimum-coverage insurance, pays for bodily injury and property damage to others in an accident the policyholder causes. It does not pay for the insured’s own damages.
$138/mo
Full Coverage
Full-coverage car insurance generally includes liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage, and may include other optional coverages such as uninsured motorist coverage. Collision covers a policyholder’s repair or replacement costs in case of an accident. Comprehensive covers damages caused by non-accident events. The average quote displayed here reflects policies with the following coverage limits: $50,000 bodily injury liability per person; $100,000 bodily injury liability per accident; $50,00 property damage liability per accident; $1,000 collision deductible; and a $1,000 comprehensive deductible.
$285/mo

Founded in 1952, Foremost is a member of the Farmers Insurance Group and operates in all 50 states. Foremost offers car insurance through its partnership with Bristol West. In addition to car insurance, Foremost offers home insurance, classic car coverage, motorcycle insurance, and more. Its range of insurance products allow Foremost to offer discounts for multiple policies with the insurer, multiple cars, paperless billing, and more. Foremost has an A.M. Best rating of A for financial strength and credit, but more than five times the expected number of complaints in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Customer Complaint Index.

Pros
  • Covers a wide variety of vehicles

  • Coverage available for high-risk drivers

Cons
  • Poor A.M. Best ratings

  • Company website gives no information on the company’s history or affiliations

Read more driver reviews of Foremost
Johnny - June 24, 2024
Verified

Not too satisfied with customer service

I assumed my payment would be on the first of every month, but it's not.

Christopher - September 13, 2022
Verified

Good

The roadside service is awful.

Travis - March 6, 2018
Verified

Average

They tell you one price and it ends up being something else.

Foremost specializes in insuring high-risk drivers who may have trouble finding affordable coverage, so comparing the company to more traditional insurers doesn’t always make sense.

Drivers with a major incident on their record — like a DUI charge or an accident resulting in a total loss claim — may find Foremost is the best available coverage option. Due to its unique market, Foremost often has higher average rates than standard insurers and the national average.

Foremost offers a range of coverages and discounts comparable to traditional insurers. But it has a higher complaint score than other insurers and a lower IQ Score of 7.4, compared to a 8.3 for Farmers.

FactorHow Foremost Compares
RatesHigher than competitors
Customer serviceBetter than competitors
DiscountsFewer than competitors
AvailabilityLess than competitors
Financial strengthSimilar to competitors
  • Our editorial team spent 350 hours developing the IQ (Insurify Quality) Score and scoring insurance companies. The IQ Score objectively analyzes and calculates a score for insurers using more than 15 crucial criteria. Criteria are weighted by importance to the consumer — factors such as customer reviews and affordability influence the score more than availability and third-party ratings.

    We rate each company on a 1 to 5 scale based on five categories: financial ratings, customer satisfaction, affordability, customer support and transparency, and availability. We update ratings once a year or as more recent information becomes available.

    • Third-party financial ratings: We use data from AM Best, S&P, Moody’s, and more to compare insurance companies’ credit and ability to pay out future claims

    • Customer satisfaction: To calculate this score, Insurify analyzed more than 28,000 customer reviews across 155 car insurance companies. We also considered third-party ratings from J.D. Power, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and Trustpilot.

    • Affordability: Our data scientists analyzed more than 90 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partners across the United States, as well as available discounts, to calculate an affordability score.

    • Customer support and transparency: This measures coverage options, ease of claims filing, and the insurer’s transparency surrounding discounts, coverages, and claims process.

    • Availability and reach: Insurify identified the number of states in which insurers offer coverage and company size by market share to score availability and reach.

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How Foremost rates compare to competitors

Foremost has similar average full-coverage rates to other national insurance companies that sell insurance to high-risk drivers, like Dairyland and Amica Mutual, but higher rates than standard insurers, like GEICO and Progressive.

See how average full-coverage quotes from other insurers compare to Foremost below.

Average Quotes by Insurance Company

Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Average cost of Foremost auto insurance

People with a clean driving record pay lower rates than people with a history of speeding tickets, accidents, or DUIs. Insurers consider your driving record to assess how much risk of filing a claim you pose.[1]

Your age also influences how much you pay for coverage. Teenagers pay the highest rates because of a lack of driving experience and a higher risk of car accidents. Rates decrease with age, but senior drivers 70 and older may face a slight increase due to aging-related risk factors.

See how average quotes vary by age and driving record below.

Driver TypeForemost Average Monthly QuoteNational Average
Drivers with a clean record$138$105
Drivers with a speeding ticket$196$149
Drivers with an at-fault car accident$205$156
Drivers with a DUI$233$177
Teen drivers$243$185
Senior drivers$102$78
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Foremost car insurance cost by state

The state you live in will affect the cost of car insurance. Insurers consider state-specific factors, such as crime rates, severe weather, fire threats, population, road infrastructure, climate, and state insurance requirements when determining premiums. This means that average rates can vary dramatically between states.

Average car insurance premiums from Foremost generally cost more than coverage from standard insurers and the state average. Compare average liability-only premiums below.

StateForemost Average Monthly QuoteState Average
Alabama$87$60
AlaskaN/AN/A
Arizona$215$93
ArkansasN/A$115
CaliforniaN/A$137
Colorado$118$89
Connecticut$242$208
DelawareN/A$140
Florida$210$196
Georgia$252$146
HawaiiN/A$65
Idaho$92$69
Illinois$142$79
Indiana$114$70
Iowa$95$61
KansasN/A$82
KentuckyN/A$186
LouisianaN/A$150
Maine$61$91
MarylandN/A$184
MassachusettsN/A$109
MichiganN/A$176
MinnesotaN/A$104
Mississippi$102$76
Missouri$156$98
MontanaN/A$92
Nebraska$104$92
NevadaN/A$206
New HampshireN/A$60
New Jersey$139$117
New Mexico$103$69
New YorkN/A$155
North CarolinaN/A$56
North DakotaN/A$89
Ohio$140$74
Oklahoma$136$89
OregonN/A$101
Pennsylvania$69$94
Rhode IslandN/A$158
South CarolinaN/A$165
South DakotaN/A$67
Tennessee$154$77
Texas$220$119
UtahN/A$105
VermontN/A$68
VirginiaN/A$94
Washington$118$80
Washington, D.C.N/A$119
West Virginia$97$73
Wisconsin$113$62
WyomingN/A$70
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Foremost car insurance discounts

Always compare available discounts when shopping for a new insurer, and look for discounts that work for your specific risk profile. Foremost offers a few discounts that can help lower your premium.

Foremost has the following auto insurance discounts that you can qualify for:

  • Go paperless: You can save by signing up to receive policy and billing documents in your email inbox rather than in the mail.

  • Multi-car: This discount rewards you for insuring two or more vehicles with Foremost.

  • Multi-policy: If you have other insurance policies with Foremost, Bristol West, or another Farmers company, you may qualify for a bundling discount.[2]

Contact your insurance agent to request a discount review to determine what discounts Foremost offers and what you qualify for.

How customers feel about Foremost

Foremost has mixed reviews from customers online. The company isn’t included in many industry rankings, but Farmers — Foremost’s parent company — is the seventh-largest car insurance company by market share and regularly receives average rankings from J.D. Power.[3]

Foremost customer reviews

Like most insurance companies, Foremost has a mix of positive and negative reviews. Some Foremost customers have left positive reviews about their customer service experience with the company, while others found Foremost difficult to deal with.

Here is what real, verified Foremost customers had to say about their experience:

Johnny - June 24, 2024
Verified

Not too satisfied with customer service

I assumed my payment would be on the first of every month, but it's not.
Christopher - September 13, 2022
Verified

Good

The roadside service is awful.
Travis - March 6, 2018
Verified

Average

They tell you one price and it ends up being something else.
Pamela - January 10, 2018
Verified

I was insured with them, but everything was set up through my husband. Our fees were expensive because he had a terrible driving record, so I understood why. However, when he suddenly passed away, it took me a while to make the necessary phone calls to people and businesses. When I finally contacted the insurance company, they still left the insurance in his name. They didn't refund me any of the money from his unused policy, which was still active for about a year. On top of that, they kept my rate really high, despite the fact that I've only had one ticket ever, and that was 20 years ago. I've been driving for 28 years. Then, they raised my insurance by almost double. So, I'm leaving them.

I was insured with them, but everything was set up through my husband. Our fees were expensive because he had a terrible driving record, so I understood why. However, when he suddenly passed away, it took me a while to make the necessary phone calls to people and businesses. When I finally contacted the insurance company, they still left the insurance in his name. They didn't refund me any of the money from his unused policy, which was still active for about a year. On top of that, they kept my rate really high, despite the fact that I've only had one ticket ever, and that was 20 years ago. I've been driving for 28 years. Then, they raised my insurance by almost double. So, I'm leaving them.

Foremost ratings

Industry ratings can indicate an insurance company’s financial strength and provide insights into customer satisfaction.

The chart below shows Foremost’s industry ratings from AM Best and the NAIC.

RatingScoreWhat this means
AM BestA (Excellent)Indicates the company can pay claims
NAIC Complaint Index1.60More complaints than other insurers of its size

Foremost car insurance coverage options

In addition to state-required coverages, like bodily injury and property damage liability insurance, and standard optional coverages, like collision and comprehensive insurance, Foremost sells add-on endorsements. Foremost has similar coverage offerings to other insurers.

Here are some of the add-on coverages Foremost offers:

  • illustration card https://a.storyblok.com/f/162273/150x150/13c17bd678/car-service-96x96-orange_027-car-lift.svg

    Loan/lease

    If you total your vehicle in a car accident or someone steals your car, this coverage pays the gap between your loan or lease balance and the insurance claim compensation you receive from your collision or comprehensive coverage.

  • illustration card https://a.storyblok.com/f/162273/100x100/24f1697280/car-key.svg

    Rental reimbursement

    If your car needs repairs after a claim, this coverage can reimburse the cost of temporarily renting a vehicle.

  • illustration card https://a.storyblok.com/f/162273/100x100/9997698e9e/emergency-roadside-service.svg

    Towing and roadside service

    This policy covers the cost of towing or roadside assistance if your vehicle breaks down.

  • illustration card https://a.storyblok.com/f/162273/150x150/7d6bccfe65/car-and-driving-96x96-blue_019-car.svg

    New vehicle replacement

    In the event of a covered total loss, this replacement cost coverage can help cover the expense of buying a new vehicle.

  • illustration card https://a.storyblok.com/f/162273/100x100/26eb27a188/rideshare-coverage.svg

    Rideshare

    This insurance type covers you while you drive rideshare customers for a transportation network company, like Uber or Lyft.

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Other options for Foremost customers

Foremost offers a full suite of vehicle coverages, including commercial and off-road vehicles, watercraft, travel trailers, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, and boats.

In addition to vehicle insurance, Foremost can also protect your house. Foremost offers homeowners insurance policies and renter insurance products. Here are a few of Foremost’s home insurance options:

  • Homeowners: Traditional homeowner insurance coverage and named-peril coverage can protect your home, roof, and personal items.

  • Mobile home: This protects a mobile home against a variety of perils.

  • Vacant home: If your home sits vacant for part of the year, you may need to add a vacant rider to your policy, as vacant homes are a bigger risk.

  • Flood: Standard homeowners policies exclude flood damage. If you live in an area at risk of flooding, you should purchase flood insurance to protect your home.

Foremost insurance FAQs

Foremost may be a good choice for drivers with a major offense, such as a DUI or at-fault claim, on their driving record. The following information can help you determine if Foremost is the right choice for you.

  • Is Foremost legitimate?

    Foremost is a legitimate business, part of the Farmers Group of insurance companies. It has more than 38,000 agents and can operate in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

    But Foremost Insurance Group specializes in coverage for high-risk drivers and offers many non-standard insurance options. Drivers with a clean record will probably find better rates with more standard insurers.

  • What is the average cost of Foremost car insurance?

    The average premium for Foremost is $138 per month for liability coverage and $285 for full coverage.

  • Is Foremost good at paying claims?

    Customer reviews indicate some dissatisfaction with Foremost customer service and insurance claim handling. The company has an A (Excellent) financial strength rating from AM Best, which indicates financial stability and the resources to pay claims.

    Affiliate partner Bristol West underwrites Foremost car insurance. You can file a claim for a covered loss online on its website or by calling the claims center’s phone number.

Methodology

Insurify data scientists analyzed more than 90 million quotes served to car insurance applicants in Insurify’s proprietary database to calculate the premium averages displayed on this page. These premiums are real quotes that come directly from Insurify’s 50+ partner insurance companies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quote averages represent the median price for a quote across the given coverage level, driver subset, and geographic area.

Unless otherwise specified, quoted rates reflect the average cost for drivers between 20 and 70 years old with a clean driving record and average or better credit (a credit score of 600 or higher).

Liability-only premium averages correspond to policies with the following coverage limits:

  • Bodily injury limits between state-minimum rates and $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
  • Property damage limits between $10,000 and $50,000
  • No additional coverage
Full-coverage premium averages correspond to the same bodily injury and property damage limits in addition to:
  • Comprehensive coverage with a $1,000 deductible
  • Collision coverage with a $1,000 deductible

Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates.

Sources

  1. Insurance Information Institute. "What determines the price of an auto insurance policy?."
  2. Foremost. "Personal Auto Insurance."
  3. J.D. Power. "Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Plummets as Rates Continue to Surge, J.D. Power Finds."
Mark Vallet
Mark Vallet

Mark is a freelance journalist and analyst with more than 15 years of experience covering the insurance industry. He has extensive experience creating and editing content on a variety of subjects with deep expertise in insurance and automotive writing.

Katie Powers
Edited byKatie PowersAuto and Life Insurance Editor
Photo of an Insurify author
Katie PowersAuto and Life Insurance Editor
  • Licensed auto and home insurance agent

  • 3+ years experience in insurance and personal finance editing

Katie uses her knowledge and expertise as a licensed property and casualty agent in Massachusetts to help readers understand the complexities of insurance shopping.

Featured in

media logomedia logo
Konstantin Halachev
Data reviewed byKonstantin HalachevVP of Engineering & Data Science
Headshot of Konstantin Halachev, VP of Engineering at Insurify
Konstantin HalachevVP of Engineering & Data Science
  • 7+ years experience in data analysis

  • Ph.D. in Computational Biology

Konstantin has led data teams across multiple industries, including insurance, travel, and biology. He’s led Insurify’s engineering team for more than three years.

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