Sentry Auto Insurance Review: Handing Personal Policies Off to Dairyland

This auto insurer is a good fit for: Business owners with a fleet to insure, or high-risk drivers who may have trouble securing private coverage through other auto insurance providers.

Sentry Car Insurance Snapshot

Pricing

Sentry covers fleets of cars and other motor vehicles, while its subsidiary, Dairyland Insurance, covers personal policies. We don't have access to Sentry's fleet prices, but we were able to compare Dairyland to competitors. Because Dairyland is an option for high-risk drivers, we looked at rates for a male driver with one accident on their record. Dairyland's premium cost was roughly twice as expensive as Geico and USAA. Offered rates are more competitive for drivers with clean driving records.

Discounts

Customers purchasing auto insurance for their personal vehicles are offered a fair number of discount options, although none of them are unique. They include things like a multi-car discount, advanced quote discount, and discount for vehicles outfitted with an anti-theft device.

Perks

One of the most attractive things about this insurer is the ability to contact the company 24 hours a day. If purchased separately, Sentry's roadside assistance is fairly comprehensive.

Customer service

As with many insurance companies, opinions are mixed. For every customer who complains about customer service, there's another who says they've had a positive experience.

Dairyland personal auto insurance at a glance

Average annual premium:

• 35-year-old female with clean driving record: $3,306
• 35-year-old male with clean driving record: $3,322
• Adult driver with one accident: $4,548
• 18-year-old with clean driving record: $7,134

Coverage options:

• Liability
• Uninsured motorists (UM)
• Underinsured motorists (UIM)
• Personal injury protection (PIP)
• Medical payments
• Physical damage
• Towing and labor
• Rental reimbursement
• Special equipment

Top perks

AM Best rating of A+ for financial strength

No one wants coverage with a company that can't pay out claims when the need arises. Sentry has earned a "superior" rating with AM Best, indicating the highest level of financial strength.

24/7 customer support

If an accident occurs in the middle of the night, there's no reason for the policyholder to wait until the next morning to make a claim.

What could be improved

Personal coverage only available in 37 states

Sentry auto insurance is available for commercial auto coverage, dealership auto coverage, and motor carrier insurance in all 50 states. However, Dairyland only offers personal auto coverage in 37 states.

No way to file claims online

The last thing a driver may want to do after an accident is to sit on the line with an insurance agent, explaining for the tenth time what happened. Unfortunately, that's the only way to file a claim with Dairyland.

For filing claims from a phone or online: Progressive stands out from the crowd. Using the Progressive app allows users to take care of insurance business on the go. That includes filing claims, making payments, and checking coverage. Progressive also offers a competitive rate for drivers with a single DUI.

For a company with forgiving rates for high-risk drivers: Check out State Farm. In addition to low rates, State Farm offers some of the highest customer service ratings in the business.

It's difficult to judge Sentry premiums due to the variables that go into fleet insurance. However, here's how Dairyland stacks up in a variety of scenarios.

Dairyland offers a menu of discount options for personal policies, including:

• Multi-car discount
• Transfer discount
• Homeowners insurance discount (some states also offer a discount to renters who carry renters insurance)
• Advanced quote discount
• Payment frequency discount
• Defensive driving discount
• Anti-theft discount

Policy types

The type of coverage a customer needs determines whether they will work with Sentry or Dairyland.

Sentry

• Commercial auto coverage
• Dealership auto coverage
• Motor carrier insurance

Dairyland

• Auto coverage
• Motorcycle coverage
• ATV/UTV coverage
• Dirtbike coverage
• Snowmobile coverage

Whether a policyholder purchases coverage through Sentry or Dairyland, the safety factor is the same. That's because Sentry and all the companies under its umbrella share the same A+ AM Best rating.

Coverage types

• Liability
• Uninsured motorists (UM)
• Underinsured motorists (UIM)
• Personal injury protection (PIP)
• Medical payments
• Physical damage
• Towing and labor
• Rental reimbursement
• Special equipment

The temptation may be to keep rates as low as possible by skipping add-on coverages, like rental reimbursement and roadside assistance. It pays to check on how much (or little) the premiums will increase if such coverage is added. Yes, it costs more upfront, but investigating all types of auto insurance can end up saving a driver thousands of dollars in the event of an accident.

Neither Sentry or Dairyland is accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). However, customers have left reviews on the BBB site, giving Dairyland a dismal score of 1.5 stars out of 5. However, low online scores are par for the course. Typically, the people who take time to post on the BBB site do so because they're frustrated. The primary complaint appears to involve how claims are handled and poor customer service.

That said, Dairyland did much better on the ConsumerAffairs site, where customers gave the insurer 4.1 out of 5 stars. Interestingly, the bulk of compliments mentioned customer service and price.

Sentry is well suited for people who:

• Have a fleet of vehicles that require coverage.
• Are comfortable working with an agent rather than accomplishing tasks online.

Dairyland is well suited for people who:

• Are considered high-risk drivers.
• Are not looking to bundle home and auto.