Best Digital Insurance Companies

The technological advancements of the 21st century have had a tremendous positive impact on many aspects of life. The digital transformation is unprecedented, from how people communicate and connect to how they work or conduct business. Industries from manufacturing to retail are leveraging digital technology to streamline workflow and meet customers at their point of need. Healthcare, banking and finance and insurance have not been left out.

Like digital banking, digital insurance companies have emerged to offer more personalized and efficient services to the insured. Gone are the days when you need a lot of paperwork to purchase an insurance policy or file a claim. Digital insurance companies are optimized for speed. You can get quotes, view and buy a policy, file claims and receive feedback in real-time using apps. On their end, brokers can seamlessly receive and process your information without hassles under one system. Often, prospective customers do not need to consult an agent before setting up a suitable insurance policy. This process makes for high efficiency and flexibility.

Whether life, auto, homeowners or health insurance, digital insurance companies offer greater access and policy options regardless of your preference. Are you looking to purchase a digital insurance policy today? Benzinga’s guide will give you insight into the best digital insurance company for specific policy options. That way, you can make more informed choices.

A quick look at the best digital insurance companies: 

• Best Overall: Esurance
• Best for Homeowners: Lemonade
• Best for Life Insurance: Ladder Life
• Best for Auto: Root
• Best for Health: Oscar Health

Best Overall Digital Insurance Company: Esurance

By total inclusivity, Esurance stands out as Benzinga’s pick for the best overall digital insurance company. The carrier's platform is simple and easy to use, with offerings for a host of insurance products. Whatever you want to insure, Esurance is most likely covering it. And you can also pay in bundled subscriptions to reduce costs.

Esurance was founded in 1999 and is currently owned and backed by Allstate. Allstate is the U.S.'s most prominent publicly held personal insurer with an AM superior rating of A+ — a testament to Esurance's depth. With only a mobile phone or your laptop, you can quickly get a quote and purchase your insurance policy through its mobile app or website. You can do all these without ever having to speak to an agent.

You should note that Esurance charges a monthly installment fee for premium payments. Therefore, if you don't plan on fully paying your premiums upfront at the start of your policy, you should be prepared. An amount from $3 to $10 a month will be deducted as an installment fee.

Pros

• Offers several insurance products with a wide range of coverage
• Extensive and robust discount packages 
• Available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
• Easy-to-use mobile app and website that facilitates buying and managing policies
• Good customer service 
• Relatively lower policy prices

Cons

• NAIC rating of 2.92, indicating a relatively high number of consumer complaints
• Auto insurance coverage available in only 43 states
• Installment interest fee on premium monthly payments

Best Digital Insurance Company for Homeowners: Lemonade

Although Lemonade is a new entrant, the insurance carrier has carved its own space in the industry. With unique traits like instant settlement of simple claims, a flat heel policy and online services, the carrier is ahead of other insurance companies in the department of homeowners insurance. 

Lemonade offers homeowners policies across 36 states and Washington, D.C. Its policies include an extensive list of additional coverage options, making it easy to personalize policies that perfectly suit your needs.

Lemonade removes the stress and hassle of the homeowners' insurance process. With this carrier, getting your policy set up from start to finish is as simple as two clicks on your screen. In just two seconds, you can get your quote. And less than 2 minutes later, your policy is ready.

The insurance company charges a flat percentage of your premium payments for operational expenses and claim settlement. Any money left after charges and claim fee deduction is automatically transferred to a charity of your choice. 

Pros

• Simple yet robust mobile apps that facilitate coverage management and simplify claim filing
• Speedy framework
• Get a quote in two seconds and a policy in less than two minutes
• Flat heel policy — zero interests from claims dispute or settling
• Claims handled as fast as possible. 
• Simple claims settled immediately with a direct payment into a linked bank account
• Superior A rating for financial stability

Cons

• Limited coverage — only 36 states and Washington, D.C.
• 100% year-to-date (YTD) increase in the number of customer complaints, according to NAIC
• No AM Best ratings

Best Digital Insurance Company for Life Insurance: Ladder Life

Founded in 2015, Ladder is an insurance company that offers term life insurance to individuals between 20 and 60 years. Since its inception, this carrier has rapidly developed and now operates in all 50 states plus D.C.

Ladder leverages a simple but robust tech-forward approach to providing life insurance. With Ladder’s mobile app, you can easily set up a policy in as little as five minutes without needing agents. The app also collects all necessary signatures via E-signature.

While the insurance company lacks optional riders that should otherwise allow users to customize their policies, its single direct policy has robust coverage. Emphasis is on efficiency and simplicity. Policyholders can sign up for life insurance coverage for up to $8 million.

With Ladder's life policies, you can scale your coverage (Ladder up) or reduce your coverage (Ladder down), depending on your situation. This feature allows you to adjust your finances and make way for extra expenses if want to get a new home, get married or plan for kids. 

Should you ladder down, your monthly premiums decrease by the same proportion as your coverage (e.g., a 15% decrease in coverage equals a 15% decrease in premium payments) and vice versa. Ladder doesn't charge for coverage laddering.

Pros

• Excellent AM Best Rating (A)
• $0.00 fees
• Up to $8 million in life insurance
• Get a quote and set up a policy in under 5 minutes
• Increase or decrease policies flexibly
• 30-day money-back guarantee with no cancellation fees

Cons

• No additional coverage for policies
• A relatively higher number of consumer complaints
• Eligible for only adults between 20 and 60 years

Best Digital Insurance Company for Auto: Root

Root is a tech-centric auto insurance company that directly rewards private car owners for good driving habits. The mobile app boasts multiple rich features, one of which allows drivers to earn discounts (up to 50%) on monthly premium payments. 

Should you choose to insure your car with Root, you'll have to undergo a "test drive," lasting two to three weeks. Roots mobile app will use the results from the test drive to award the discount related to your estimated driving habits, even before getting a quote.

During the trial test drive run, Root gathers data about your speed, aggression, uptime and downtime periods to evaluate your driving habits. The Root app will intuitively calculate and scale your results using an algorithm and reward you accordingly. After completing the test run, you'll get a quote and pay with your credit through your mobile.

Pros

• Rewards for good driving
• Up to 52% discount on auto insurance rates
• Roadside assistance inclusive policies (except for California drivers)
• Easy-to-use multi-feature mobile app

Cons

• Limited coverage area — only 32 states
• 2 to 3 weeks test drive trial for qualification
• No coverage for motorcycles, commercial vehicles and ATVs

Best Digital Insurance Company for Health: Oscar Health

Oscar Health is a health insurance company that offers insurance solutions through telemedicine and other technological interfaces. The program provides a platform that helps customers connect easily to doctors and care providers within their network. 

Oscar offers multi-tiered healthcare coverage for individuals and families. You can also get business and Medicare advantage plans. The best word that describes Oscar's insurance framework is straightforward. Perhaps this characteristic accounts for its position as a leader in tech-based healthcare insurance company.

Oscar's integrated mobile app lets you find and consult healthcare professionals, pay and access bills and check prescriptions. Furthermore, you can check lab results and review claims. As an incentive, Oscar rewards individual consumers with up to $100 in Amazon credits yearly for meeting their health goals.

While the online insurance company is available in only a few states, it is actively spreading in real time to cover more states in the U.S.

Pros

• 24/7 free telemedicine services
• HSA inclusive plans coverage in select states
• Healthcare coverage for four coverage tiers complies with the Affordable Care Act.

Cons

• Available in only a few states
• Location-based benefit options

Features to Look for in Insurance Carriers

Before choosing an insurance carrier, you need to consider specific features. Let's review some of these features:

Bundling: Deals and Discounts

What are the insurance products you want to purchase? Can the insurance company provide bundling services? What are the deals and discounts on available insurance products? These are questions you should ask yourself before you choose an insurer.

Some insurance carriers offer better payment plans than others. Some provide additional coverage for policies in addition to their special offers.

When in the insurance market, ask how it charges for its services. You might be able to get a sizable discount for purchasing different products from the same seller. 

Easy Claim Filings

You don't want your insurance claim getting stuck for weeks and months when you need it the most. Before you choose an insurance carrier, a must-check feature is the ease of claim settlement. 

How easily can I file my claims? How soon does the carrier settle claims? You need to look out for these things during your insurance hunt. The J.D. Power report is an excellent way to get an overall sense of how well an insurance company delivers. The report surveys and ranks insurance companies based on customer satisfaction. 

Financial Strength

The financial strength of an insurance carrier should be a key deciding factor for your shortlist candidates. It shows the company's financial performance, which tells you whether or not you can trust them with your money. It'll be hard to settle a claim without financial power or assets.

An excellent reference to glean an insurer's financial strength is the AM Best ratings. AM Best rates companies from superior (A+), excellent (A), good (B+), to worse, depending on metrics that include financial strength.

Efficient Customer Service

It is possible to overlook the possibility of lousy customer service when you are shopping for insurance coverage or product. Excellent and efficient customer service means that you can easily file and settle claims and adjust your policy coverage if needed. You definitely shouldn't overlook it.

Some digital insurance companies offer self-help/robot advisors that are available 24/7. Others provide online servicing through their mobile app and website. An excellent way to gauge the efficiency of your potential carrier's customer service is by referencing NAIC surveys. The survey reports the level of customer complaints insurance companies receives.

You can take this one step further by reading the BBB listing for the business. You will learn quite a lot, see how complaints progressed, how many were filed in the last year and how many were filed in the last 3 years. Additionally, you may want to check standard reviews you find online through business listings. It’s one thing for a customer to be upset about a very specific situation—it’s quite another for the carrier to have several poor reviews that point to inattentive customer care.

Ultimately, using an insurer with good customer care service will save you a lot of trouble.

How to Purchase Insurance Online

Now that you've understood the specific features to look for and probably have a carrier that ticks the various boxes, it's time to get a quote and purchase the insurance policy that applies to you. This process shouldn't take more than a few minutes from start to finish. Let's quickly review the steps you need to take.

Step 1: Choose the coverage

Before purchasing a policy, you need to define what the insurance policy will cover. It could be home insurance, auto insurance, life insurance or an insurance bundle. 

Regardless of your target policy, do not go in blind. Otherwise, you could be dazzled by different offerings and product deals from the selected carrier. And before you know it, you could be buying a policy that isn't a priority for you at that moment.

Step 2:  Choose the product

Once you've determined the coverage you want, power up your mobile or laptop and go to the insurance company's website. If you don't already have an account with the carrier, add your details and accurately fill out other information required to create an account.  

Some policy coverage comes with unique product offerings. So while setting up an account, you can explore your provider's product list and choose whatever products align with your coverage. 

Step 3: Fill out the required details 

After choosing your product, you have to fill out whatever information the insurer needs. These questions are dependent on the coverage and products you've picked. For example, an auto insurance policy will require you to submit details like the car model, age and previous damages the vehicle has sustained.

Step 4: Choose a plan and pay

After choosing a product, the next and last thing is to select a plan from the various insurance plans available for you and pay. Some plans will have optional extras, while others may have additional coverage, all with different premiums. Some online insurance companies allow you to customize a plan that fits your needs.

Once you're satisfied with the chosen or customized plan, the carrier generates a quote. Subsequently, all you need to do is pay for the quote using your credit card or other applicable payment methods. After the payment is successful, you'll immediately receive your policy documents in your email. Then you'll have successfully purchased your insurance online.

How You Can Improve Your Finances

Improving your finances is essential if you want to live a fulfilling life. Understandably not everybody will be a billionaire. But let’s face it, being able to travel, go on vacation, pay bills and take care of loved ones makes life more fulfilling. Unfortunately, you can’t do all of these without being intentional about improving your finance. Let’s briefly review some approaches that’ll help you improve your finances.

Start Budgeting

While most of people know what budgeting is, many lack the discipline to budget. A budget is the single best tool to transform your finances and guarantee a stable financial future.

When you prepare a budget, you are optimizing your spending and can potentially free up more expenses for savings, debt payments or otherwise essential needs. So, if you're not already used to budgeting, you need to start now. 

Saving

You can never go wrong with saving. It is a fast lane to financial independence. When you save, you take control of your finances and empower yourself for the future. 

You should ensure that you save at least twice a month, no matter how small. And if you're a salary earner, ensure that you keep a certain percentage of your paychecks every time you receive your salary. Small gains will accumulate to more significant returns in the long term.

Paying Off Debts

Debts are bad for your finances. Carrying a lot of debt is not advisable — especially if the debt is in the form of high-interest credit card debts. If you want a chance to strengthen your finances, you must pay off your debt as soon as possible. 

If you have outstanding debts (credit card debts or otherwise), list them and check how much you owe. You can then set up a repayment plan and adopt better-disciplined spending habits.

Buying the Right Type of Insurance

Another great way to protect your finances is by purchasing insurance. The right insurance type shouldn't cost you much. It could be car insurance, health insurance or renter's insurance. 

It is tempting to skip insurance and save costs. However, the small monthly premiums you pay are worth it to keep an insurance policy that will can come in handy during a financial emergency. And who says you can't purchase coverage while saving? It is all about priorities.

Frequently Asked Questions