Melanie is a blogger, author, and speaker specializing in personal finance and debt management. She’s also the author of the blog and book “Dear Debt.”
Sara Getman is an Associate Editor at Insurify and has been with the company since 2022. Prior to joining Insurify, Sara completed her undergraduate degree in English Literature at Simmons University in Boston. At Simmons, she was the Editor-in-Chief for Sidelines Magazine (a literary and art publication), and wrote creative non-fiction.
Outside of work, Sara is an avid reader, and loves rock climbing, yoga, and crocheting.
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Founders Insurance Company stands out for its accessibility when it comes to high-risk drivers and non-standard auto insurance. But its availability only extends to a handful of states. The company originally began in 1901 and went through several iterations until it started offering automobile insurance in 1990.
The Illinois-based company offers many basic coverage options and several discounts, and it provides SR-22 filings for drivers who need them. If you have trouble getting car insurance and live in one of the eligible states, Founders may be a good fit for you.
Quick Facts
Founders car insurance is available only in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
The company offers non-standard auto insurance, including non-owner policies.
Founders Insurance has an above-average number of complaints with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
How Founders compares to other insurance companies
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.
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Founders car insurance is a solid non-standard insurance option for high-risk drivers. But it has very limited availability. Only drivers in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin can get an auto insurance policy through Founders. Founders also has fewer coverage options but a similar number of discounts compared to its 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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Founders car insurance coverage options
The Founders car insurance website doesn’t provide many details about its coverage options. But based on the information available, you may get:[1]
Liability insurance
Though not mentioned on the website directly, Founders offers liability coverage, which includes bodily injury and property damage. So if you cause an accident, you’re not on the hook for costs related to other peoples’ injuries or property damage.
SR-22 insurance
While an SR-22 isn’t specifically a type of insurance, it’s a form for high-risk drivers showing that they have the minimum liability insurance in their state. Founders provides SR-22 filings.[2]
Collision coverage
Through Founders, you can get collision insurance to pay for damages from any type of collision, whether it’s a car accident or hitting an object or pole.
Comprehensive coverage
Car damage can happen for a range of reasons that don’t have to do with a car accident. Comprehensive insurance protects you in these situations, such in the case of theft, fire, or flood.
Non-owner policies
If you don’t have regular access to a car but still need car insurance, you can get a non-owner policy.
You may also be able to add roadside assistance. Founders car insurance is ideal for drivers who need an SR-22, have prior losses, never had insurance, or have poor or no credit. If you don’t qualify for a standard auto insurance policy, Founders is a good non-standard option to look into. If you don’t fall into this category or are looking for a wide variety of coverages, another insurance company may be a better fit.
How to get a quote from Founders Insurance
If you want to get a quote from Founders Insurance, you’ll have to work with independent insurance agents and take the following steps:
Find an agent by providing your city, state, and ZIP code.
Select “search.”
Review the results; some areas may have no agents.
Select an agent.
Get in touch via email or phone.
Founders car insurance discounts
To help you lower the cost of auto insurance, look for discounts from multiple insurers.[3] Doing a little research may save a lot of money. The Founders Insurance website doesn’t offer exact percentages of how much you can save. But the company offers the following discounts:
Multi-car discount: If you get auto insurance policies for multiple cars in your household, you may be eligible for this discount.
Transfer discount: If you make the switch from your current auto insurer to Founders car insurance, you may qualify for a transfer discount.
Renewal discount: When you renew your policy with Founders Insurance, you may be eligible for a renewal discount for sticking around.
Non-owner discount: If you get a non-owner policy through Founders due to an SR-22, an out-of-state or expired license, or another eligible reason, you may score a discount.
How customers feel about Founders Insurance
Founders insurance reviews tend to be more negative than positive. The company has a higher-than-average number of complaints on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Complaint Index. On Trustpilot, Founders has 3.2 out of 5 stars, but there’s also only one written review.
The Founders insurance reviews on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) are worse, with a customer rating of 1.15 out of 5 stars, though the company has an A+ rating on the site.
Founders Insurance ratings
In addition to reviews, looking at ratings is another way to evaluate a company. Here, you can see different rating agencies, Founders’ scores, and what they mean. For example, Founders Insurance has an A rating with AM Best, which refers to the company’s financial strength and ability to pay out claims.
On the other hand, Founders isn’t evaluated by J.D. Power for customer satisfaction and has an above-average number of complaints with the NAIC.
Rating
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Score
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What This Means
▲▼
AM Best
A (Excellent)
Excellent financial strength rating
J.D. Power
N/A
Not rated on 2024 surveys
NAIC Complaint Index
5.74
High number of complaints
Other options for Founders customers
In addition to auto insurance coverage, Founders also offers the following insurance products:
Renters insurance: You can protect your personal belongings and get medical and liability coverage through Founders.
Homeowners insurance: Founders offers homeowners insurance with various dwelling limits based on the type of home. Optional endorsements are also available, such as water backup, identity fraud coverage, and more.
Commercial auto insurance: Aside from personal auto coverage, Founders also offers commercial auto insurance for businesses.
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How to file a claim with Founders
If you have an incident such as a car accident or backing up into a pole, your car insurance policy can help. But to get started, you’ll first need to file a claim. Here’s how you can file a claim with Founders car insurance:
Collect information. To file a claim with Founders, gather the relevant information about the incident. This includes the location of the incident, the time, the date, and any photo evidence. The more information you have, the easier your claims process will be.
Report a claim on the company website. The Founders Insurance website has a section where you canreport a claimand provide your personal information. You’ll need to provide your full name, email, phone number, date of loss, time of loss, and policy number to get started.
Finalize claim. Your insurance company will assess the damage and help reimburse what your policy covers, after taking out your deductible.
Founders Insurance FAQs
If you’re shopping for car insurance coverage, Founders Insurance is an option to consider. Find out more about Founders Insurance through these answers to frequently asked questions.
Is Founders Insurance legitimate?
Yes. Founders Insurance is a legitimate auto insurance company that began in 1901 and now works under Utica National Insurance Group. Additionally, Founders Insurance has an A+ rating with accreditation from the Better Business Bureau.
Is Founders Insurance good at paying claims?
Founders Insurance currently has an A financial strength rating from AM Best, which it considers “Excellent.” Based on that, Founders is likely pretty reliable with paying claims. Founders Insurance isn’t listed on the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study.
How do you cancel your Founders Insurance policy?
To cancel your Founders Insurance policy, contact its customer service team at 1 (847) 768-0040. When you talk to a representative, you can request a cancellation of your auto insurance policy.
Who owns Founders Insurance?
Utica National Insurance Group owns Founders Insurance, which is a member company of the brand. The company originally began in 1901 and was formerly called Mutual Fire Insurance Company.
Does Founders Insurance have a grace period for non-payment?
Founders Insurance may have a grace period for non-payment; but there’s no specific information available on the website. In general, car insurance companies with a grace period allow three to 30 days after non-payment before canceling a policy. Ask an agent if you’re interested in learning more about the company’s grace period.
Melanie Lockert is the founder of the blog and author of the book, "Dear Debt." Through her blog, she chronicled her journey out of $81,000 in student loan debt. Her work has appeared on Allure, Business Insider, Credit Karma, Fortune, and more. She is also the co-founder of the Lola Retreat and host of the Mental Health and Wealth show podcast. She lives in Los Angeles and enjoys jazz music, traveling, coffee, and spending time with her two cats and partner.
Melanie has been a contributor at Insurify since November 2022.
Sara Getman is an Associate Editor at Insurify and has been with the company since 2022. Prior to joining Insurify, Sara completed her undergraduate degree in English Literature at Simmons University in Boston. At Simmons, she was the Editor-in-Chief for Sidelines Magazine (a literary and art publication), and wrote creative non-fiction.
Outside of work, Sara is an avid reader, and loves rock climbing, yoga, and crocheting.
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