The Hartford Insurance Review
- With 4.4/5 stars in 2024, The Hartford is an excellent insurance company.
- Read The Hartford reviews, complaints and prices before you buy.
The Hartford insurance: Ratings and reviews
The Hartford is an insurance company that provides an array of coverage options. The Hartford — which caters primarily to drivers aged 50 and older — partners with AARP to offer special benefits to the organization's members. JD Power rates The Hartford as below average in overall client satisfaction, but the company's financial strength is high. The company has a low complaint ratio, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
Let’s check out some of the insurance policies and options available through The Hartford, including discounts and customer reviews.
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Special benefits for AARP members
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High customer satisfaction ratings
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Local agents available for a more personalized experience
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Not a great choice for those under 50
Is The Hartford a good insurance company?
The majority of The Zebra's review incorporates how well The Hartford scores in terms of customer service. In order to determine that we looked at the following third-party ratings.
Claims Satisfaction: Below average
- The Hartford earned Below average marks in J.D. Power's most recent auto claims satisfaction study[1]
Customer Satisfaction: Above average
- J.D. Power also rated The Hartford as Above average in overall auto customer satisfaction[2]
Complaint Index: Below average
- The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) receives Below average customer complaints for The Hartford[3]
Financial Strength: Superior
- The Hartford received an Superior financial strength rating from A.M. Best for its ability to pay out claims[4]
The Zebra Customer Satisfaction Survey
Alongside third-party ratings, we like to include results from our own customer survey. Feedback from real customers indicated which auto insurance companies are the best in multiple categories. In this survey, The Hartford scored 8.66/10 overall, putting it in 7th place. Below you can see where The Hartford ranked for some of the individual categories.
8.82/10 -Â The Hartford placed 5th in the category of customer service.Â
8.91/10 -Â The Hartford earned 5th place for online satisfaction.Â
The Hartford vs. other top insurance companies
How much does The Hartford insurance cost?
Currently, the national average for a 6 month car insurance policy is $880, whereas The Hartford is about $1203 or roughly 37% more expensive than a typical policy. This is certainly not one of the cheapest auto insurance options available, but that estimate may vary based on personal factors and elligible discounts.
The table below shows how The Hartford auto insurance compares against other top insurers.Â
| Company | Avg. Monthly Premium |
|---|---|
| Nationwide | $123 |
| GEICO | $129 |
| State Farm | $131 |
| Farmers | $149 |
| Progressive | $157 |
| MetLife | $184 |
| The Hartford | $201 |
| Allstate | $201 |
| Hanover | $281 |
Similar to any insurance company, pricing for The Hartford auto insurance does vary based on your age and generally will get cheaper the older you get. The table below shows The Hartford's car insurance premiums for different age brackets.Â
| Age Group | Avg. Monthly Premium |
|---|---|
| Teens | $416 |
| 20s | $234 |
| 30s | $199 |
| 40s | $198 |
| 60s | $197 |
| 50s | $197 |
The Zebra’s Dynamic Insurance Rating Tool data methodology
The Zebra’s Dynamic Insurance Rating Tool for home and auto insurance rates utilizes the latest ZIP code-level rate filings from across the U.S., sourced from Quadrant Information Services and S&P Global. These filings, typically updated annually or biennially by insurers, are verified through Quadrant’s QA process and then integrated into The Zebra’s estimator.
The displayed rates are based on a dynamic home and auto profile designed to reflect the content of the page. This profile is tailored to match specific factors such as age, location, and coverage level, which are adjusted based on the page content to show how these variables can impact premiums.
For a comprehensive understanding, see our detailed methodology.
Discounts offered
Because The Hartford partners directly with AARP, members of the organization can expect special benefits just for signing up. However, there are many other ways to save on an auto insurance policy through The Hartford. Have a look at some of the other discounts that The Hartford offers its policyholders.
- Good student: If there is a driver on the policy who is a full-time student between the ages of 16 and 25 who maintains a B average or higher (3.0 on a 4.0 scale), you could receive a car insurance discount.
- Defensive driver course: Complete a defensive driving course to be eligible for this discount.
- Anti-theft device: This allows you to save money on comprehensive coverage through The Hartford.
- Fuel type: Hybrid and electric cars receive extra discounts via The Hartford auto insurance.
- Bundling: The Hartford offers many types of insurance coverage, and gives a discount for bundling coverages like home and auto, saving you upwards of 5% on car insurance and as much as 20% on homeowners insurance, condo insurance, or renters insurance
Read The Hartford's full list of discounts here.
Search, compare and buy all on one site. Start saving today!
What types of coverage does The Hartford offer?
While The Hartford offers basic auto insurance coverage options like liability insurance, uninsured motorist coverage, and comprehensive, it also provides unique coverage options and exclusive benefits.
- Full glass coverage - This coverage guarantees that repairs to headlights, mirrors and windows are covered in full with no out-of-pocket costs or deductibles.
- Car towing coverage - Helps pay towing and labor charges if your car breaks down.Â
- Gap insurance - This option pays the difference between your car's actual cash value and the amount you owe on your loan if it's totaled.Â
- Rental car reimbursement - This pays for a rental car if your car is damaged and requires repairs that leave you without a vehicle.
View all of The Hartford's coverage options here.
AARP Auto Insurance Program
The AARP Program provides customers with additional benefits, provided they meet the age and membership requirements.Â
- RecoverCare -Â If you are injured in an auto accident and end up unable to perform essential home services, The Hartford offers the chance for reimbursement. This includes reimbursement for things like house cleaning, food preparation, and dog walking.
- New car replacement coverage - This coverage provides a replacement car if your vehicle is totaled within the first 15 months or 15,000 miles after purchase. The Hartford will replace your vehicle with a car of the same make, model, and equipment, and will not deduct for depreciation.
- Lifetime car repair assurance -Â If you go through a repair shop authorized by The Hartford for repairs after a claim, they will cover the cost of this work for as long as you own the vehicle.
- Accident forgiveness - If the drivers on your auto policy have a full five years of clean driving, you will qualify for accident forgiveness. This means your first accident will be forgiven and you won’t face an increase in your premiums.
- Disappearing deductible - If you keep a clean driving record, you can expect to see your collision coverage deductible drop (as low as $0). Learn more about vanishing deductibles.
Learn more about these advantages here.
The Hartford insurance review: Summary
If you are a member of AARP, The Hartford could be a good option, especially when you consider the higher premiums many insurance companies impose on drivers of advancing age. However, younger drivers may not find the policies as beneficial. With its strong history and reputation for ethical practices, The Hartford is certainly a strong choice for auto and home insurance.Â
Methodology — how The Zebra reviews insurance companies
The team of insurance experts at The Zebra considers the company's standing in five main categories to come up with an overall rating. These metrics are weighted according to importance and are detailed below:
- Price (20%): Using the base profile detailed below, we compared the company's average rate with the national average. If it surpassed this average, we gave a lower rating; if it fell below, we awarded a higher rating.
- Coverage (20%): The highest-scoring companies offer a variety of coverage options, including bundling options, roadside assistance, telematics, beyond-basic coverage levels, and a variety of other coverage types.
- Customer service (30%): We averaged ratings from JD Power, the NAIC complaint index to come up with a rating for the company's customer service. In instances when a company is not rated, we may use alternative rating agencies such as the Better Business Bureau and Trust Pilot.
- Financial strength (10%): We use AM Best to determine a company's financial standing. In some cases when a company is not rated by AM Best, we may use an alternative measure such as Demotech.
- The Zebra's Customer Satisfaction Survey (20%): The Zebra conducts an annual survey measuring customer satisfaction for many of the top insurance companies with the goal of ranking both the best auto insurance companies and best home insurance companies. Read more below.
For our auto insurance review, we analyzed more than 83 million insurance rates spanning every U.S. ZIP code using a sample user profile: a 30-year-old single male driver with a Honda Accord, good credit and full coverage at these levels:
- $50,000 per person/$100,000 per incident for bodily injury liability
- $50,000 per incident for property damage liability
- $500 deductibles for collision and comprehensive coverage
For our home insurance review, rates are based on a sample user profile: a 45-year-old married homeowner living in a 2,500-square-foot single-story home built in 2011 with these coverage levels:
- $200,000 for the dwelling
- $20,000 for other structures
- $100,000 for personal property
- $100,000 for personal liability
- $1,000 deductible
These sample premiums are dynamic and automatically refresh whenever the newest data is made available.
To generate pricing for particular rating factors, we adjusted this profile based on common pricing factors used by major car insurance companies. These factors include credit score, coverage level and others.
For The Zebra's Customer Satisfaction Survey, findings are based on an online quantitative survey of 4,134 current U.S. auto and home insurance customers, with Census-balanced sampling by age, gender and region. Categories with n=<20 responses are considered insufficient sample size and are not reported. This survey was developed by The Zebra and executed by independent research firm Maru/Blue in 2023.
The Hartford insurance: Frequently asked questions
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About The Zebra
The Zebra is not an insurance company. We publish data-backed, expert-reviewed resources to help consumers make more informed insurance decisions.
- The Zebra’s insurance content is written and reviewed for accuracy by licensed insurance agents.
- The Zebra’s insurance editorial content is not subject to review or alteration by insurance companies or partners.
- The Zebra’s editorial team operates independently of the company’s partnerships and commercialization interests, publishing unbiased information for consumer benefit.
- The auto insurance rates published on The Zebra’s pages are based on a comprehensive analysis of car insurance pricing data, evaluating more than 83 million insurance rates from across the United States.