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Agency Insurance Company of Maryland Summary
Agency Insurance Company (AIC) was founded in 1990 in Maryland to provide an affordable alternative for auto insurance to local drivers. They have since expanded to cover several other states, offering insurance products in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida. Their headquarters is located in Hanover, MD.
Unlike many other smaller auto insurance companies, AIC writes insurance policies for a complete range of vehicles, from two wheels to trailers. They aim to provide cost-efficient coverage with a solid insurance program that offers multiple options and discounts. They also promise low down payments and flexible payment plans, things we usually see offered by non-standard insurance companies. AIC, however, does not present itself as a non-standard insurer, at least not in any obvious way.
AIC policies are sold through independent agents across the states they serve – they do not offer online quoting or direct sales.
Insurance Products
AIC insures all kinds of vehicles, including a standard personal auto insurance program and commercial vehicle coverage. They also cover many different specialty vehicles.
Personal Auto Insurance
AIC writes standard auto insurance coverage that includes all of the basics required by law, as well as common options such as comprehensive, collision, roadside assistance and rental reimbursement.
They have a fairly good list of available discounts as well, including multi-policy, homeowner’s (this is a discount for owning a home, and not an auto-home discount), and paid-in-full discounts. They also offer the option of accident forgiveness, which is one of the most popular add-ons and not always offered by smaller insurers.
Other Vehicles
AIC offers coverage for a long list of other types of vehicles, with coverage and availability varying by state:
- Motorcycles
- Mopeds
- Snowmobiles
- Scooters
- Segways
- Golf carts
Commercial Auto
AIC writes commercial auto coverage for vehicles that are used in various types of business activities. Policies include all of the basics of coverage as well as add-ons to suit the needs of the particular business. Among the commercial options they offer are:
- Any Auto
- On-Hook
- Garage Keepers’
- Motor Truck Cargo
- Combined Single Limits up to $1 million
AIC Rates
AIC does not offer online quoting, and instead will direct you to an agent who can provide a quote. Due to the lack of quoting service and the fact that the company doesn’t write insurance in our rate test states, we are unable to provide a rate comparison.
The company promises low rates, however they write policies only through agents, which generally points to higher premiums than direct buy companies. Furthermore, small regional insurers rarely come in at premium levels that can compare to the larger national companies.
That said, this company does advertise low rates and budget-friendly payments, so they may well be competitive with similar companies.
Claims
AIC accepts claims over the phone, by fax, or via email. The toll-free, 24/7 claims line can be reached at 1-800-841-5241. The fax number is local-only; faxes can be sent to 410-684-3271.
The claims email address is claims@aiconline.com. This is the only option for filing a claim online; there is no online claims form for direct submission to the company.
The company’s website does not provide further information regarding their claims process, although it most likely follows a standard procedure of assignment to an adjuster, investigation, and determination of available benefits.
The site likewise doesn’t indicate whether or not they offer a preferred vendor network for guaranteed repairs. Not all smaller companies offer this service, but it’s not unheard of for a multi-state regional insurer like AIC.
It would be an added benefit to see a claims information page added to the website. This would provide a little more information, beyond just contact phone numbers, so that customers would be able to access information quickly.
Consumer Research and Complaints
AIC, as Agency Services, Inc., has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau currently. There are only three complaints against the company in the past three years, two of which were closed in the past 12 months.
Google reviews for the company are across the board negative, with a few higher ratings near the bottom. Since these ratings aren’t accompanied by any comments it’s difficult to put any weight to them. The complaints are from both customers of AIC and those who were involved in an accident with an AIC-insured driver. They fall into two main categories: poor customer service and poor clams handling.
Although the reviews are mainly negative, there still aren’t a large number of them.
Financial Strength
| Rating Company | Grade | Financial Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| AM Best | B++ | Positive |
| Fitch | N/A | N/A |
| S&P | N/A | N/A |
Bottom Line
Agency Insurance Company of Maryland is a relative newcomer to the insurance market, and promises low rates – a promise we are unable to verify due to the lack of online quoting. Although they are not labelled as a non-standard company, they do give the impression of catering to a budget market, and may appeal more to those who haven’t had much luck with bigger companies.
AIC has a few complaints, and although there is nothing serious overall, there isn’t enough to highly recommend the company due to a general lack of detailed information on the website. You may want to consider them if you’re already receiving multiple quotes from an agent who offers their products, just to do a price comparison, but it would be wise to compare them against other companies before committing to a policy.
For a list of companies that we recommend, visit our Best Insurance Companies page.
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Review Information
I am a former insurance agent and banker turned consumer advocate. My priority is to help educate individuals and families about the different types of insurance they need, and assist them in finding the best place to get it.
Jocelyn Owens says
Please please please DO NOT go with this insurance company. I just recently moved to the Eastern Shore for a new job and the car that I had for 6 years and for four cross-country trips was totaled by another driver. This agency treated me like complete garbage despite the fact the accident was deemed not my fault. I lost my car, a half of day of work, $400 in registration/tag/title fees, and my sanity in this accident. I contacted Nationwide, the other party’s insurance because I learned a week later FROM THE BODY SHOP that my insurance never made contact with the other party. They never did anything and when I alerted them to the situation they didn’t even care. They dragged the situation out an entire week and complained constantly about how much money they were paying for storage. That’s all they cared about. They don’t give a crap about their clients.
Do yourself a favor and spend more money on a better agency. You’ll want a company that is there for you. This one could care less.
Angela says
I am not a customer of theirs, their driver rear-ended me and the adjuster was the most unprofessional jerk I’ve ever met! They never investigated my claim and denied it without anything but a statement from their insured. He HIT ME at 70mph and they know it’s their fault but denied it hoping I will just go away. I filed a formal complaint thru the state insurance bureau and have an attorney to pursue all legal actions needed to force them to do the right thing!
John Hardy says
The worst insurance company I’ve ever experienced. When you request to be removed because your premium has doubled, they claim they never received your request and charge your account anyway.
holly kuhstos says
We picked up AIC compared to other companies pricing. The first month was fine $138 for 2 vehicles, they then raised the rates to over 2x the original price $296. I quickly told my agent that this was not acceptable so he contacted them and said the rate would drop back to the original, it dropped $24. Wasn’t happening, so he switched me to another company and told me that there may be a $50 cancellation fee…they charged me over $213 for a cancellation fee. Since I did auto pay they already had my $. I will be filing with the better business bureau. If i could leave 0 stars I would. I had never heard of them before and now I can see why. I can’t imagine that they’ll be in business long. AIC should stand for [Redacted], Idiots & Crooks!!!
jarmel taylor says
I filed a claim on a holiday Labor Day. Customer service representative was extremely rude to me, was beyond outrageous. I’m so in shock to the point I had to hang up and call back, she was still the same representative to cover her self she states “Sir this call is monitored and recorded so please hang up.
AS says
I have AIC through a broker. He’s been an agency principal for 30 years. These guys have done some things that he has never seen in his entire career. They don’t have roadside assistance although the way their contracts are phrased it sounds like they do – in actuality, they have towing reimbursement up to what your limit is set at. And I’m a little disturbed by the fact that they called my agent and asked that my previous roommate, who had until my move been listed as an excluded driver, be put back on my policy as he was very young to be removed from it – note, again, he was excluded and the only reason he was on the policy at all is because it is a state law that all members of the household of driving age need to be listed. Also note, they called my AGENT to make changes to my policy, and never contacted me. Left me very leery and perturbed.
A client says
Unfortunately, it’s a poor service. They cancelled my insurance without notice and while they were charging my Credit Card. My bank sent them the prove that the charges went through. They mixed up something in their system after calling for a week and discussing the issue finally a lady [Redacted] called my insurance agent that “everything went through so he said everything is perfect” They were shouting at me at some point I had to hung up the phone – it wasn’t what I expect to not have car insurance for almost 60 days without knowing. I’ve been their client since 2008 for 8 years I thought I deserved to receive a call before they canceled my insurance. If you want to work with this company you have to constantly call them and ask make sure everything is ok otherwise this kind of surprise will send you to the hospital.