You may not be as familiar with Ameriprise as you are with other big name auto insurance companies.  Part of this reason may that it is only available in 14 states.  It is not as highly advertised as some of the more well-known companies, but it is a financially sound company that offers affordable auto insurance.  Ameriprise has received overall customer satisfaction awards from J.D. Powers & Associates, but as with all auto insurance companies, there are some claims and customer service complaints.

The states where Ameriprise is available in are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Tennessee.  Even with just offering their insurance in 14 states, they still have served over 2 million customers. In addition to auto insurance, Ameriprise offers a full line of financial products through its subsidiaries including auto, home, life, health, disability, long term care insurance, annuities, and financial planning services.  They are the largest financial planning company in the United States.

Ameriprise offers discounts for Safe Driving, Auto Safety, Good Student, Multi-Vehicle, Multi-Policy, and Loyalty.

This insurer also offers accident forgiveness.  Accident Forgiveness is available at no extra charge.  They allow you to maintain your safe driving discount if you have had clean driving records for at least three years before having an accident.  They also offer flexible payment options and they allow you to waive your deductible if you have your windshield repaired instead of replaced.

Ameriprise is consistently on the Ward Group’s Ward’s Top 50 list (top performing property and casualty companies).

Pros and Cons of Ameriprise Auto Insurance

Pros:

Low Premiums – Ameriprise is an affordable auto insurance company for many people who may not be able to afford higher premiums.

Financially Secure – Ameriprise is a well know giant in the financial arena, and affiliated with American Express.

Accident Forgiveness 

Cons:

Limited Availability – Only available in 14 states

Many Complaints – There were a large number of complaints online about customer service and dealing with agents.

What Other People Are Saying

As with all auto insurance companies, there are complaints filed both with the better business bureau and on individual online sites.  One thing that I noticed about the Ameriprise complaints are that they are highly individual depending on what agent the insured person dealt with. This is too bad, but it is the reality of Ameriprise and other auto insurance companies.

Here is a complaint from one customer.  Sadly, it represented the tone of many other complaints dealing with individual agents that work for Ameriprise.  The customer said,

“My son is on our CA policy.  He had his fuel line cut.  Ameriprise agent asked unethical questions.  Asked if he locked his car.  My son and I explained it was all done outside of car.  Agent kept asking with an accusatory voice about whether he locked his car at night. Agent asked if my husband could have cut the line. I was shocked!  We don’t even live in the same state as my son.  The agent asked other unrelated weird questions that did not have anything to do with the claim.  The amount of the claim was so small that my son took care of it on his own. Last week I got a quote for my son to have his own auto policy. I was told it would be much more because of no two car discount.  We agreed to pay quote, but Ameriprise agent wanted to talk to my son.”

Cost and Process to Join

To get a quote and decide if you want to join Ameriprise, you can visit their website, call, or email them.  Their process of joining seems simple and much like many of the automobile insurance company’s processes of joining.  Ameriprise is one of the more affordable insurance companies out there.  Many people choose them because of their low premiums. They also have flexible payment options.  Ameriprise clearly is trying to win over the people on a low budget or people who simply don’t want to pay a lot for car insurance.

Ameriprise offers what they call a Payment Holiday.  That means that the five-month payment plan provides you with a one-month payment holiday.  Their car policies cover six months, but payments are divided into five equal payments. That means you will get one payment-free month.  This may be a plus for people who are tired of paying monthly bills. Even though you won’t pay less, you will not have to pay two out of every 12 months. 

Customer Service

Ameriprise seemed to have just as many customer support negative issues as the other auto insurance programs.  I went to the Better Business Bureau website to try to find out how they stood with them. I did find out that Ameriprise is not a member of the Better Business Bureau. I also found the following information that I will quote from the Better Business Bureau site.  Even though they were not a member, the Better Business Bureau stated,

“Ameriprise Financial has received 3.68 out of 5 stars based on 5 Customer Reviews and a BBB Rating of A+.”  

They had 5 feedbacks left with the Better Business Bureau and all 5 were negative.  They did respond to all 5 complaints.

My Conclusion 

Ameriprise is a low premium affordable auto insurance available to only 14 states.  The states that they service are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Tennessee. Their website is easy to navigate and understand.  You can easily apply for a quote or join by visiting their website.  When I read through the online complaints for this company, the majority were very negative, but so were most of the insurance company customer comments that I’ve reviewed.  The financial strength of the company is very good. Ameriprise also offers accident forgiveness and flexible payment options.  If you are looking for an affordable auto insurance policy, I don’t think it would hurt to take a few minutes and get a quote from Ameriprise.  But first make sure that they service your state. I hope my review of Ameriprise can help you as you look to make an auto insurance decision in the future. 

For more information and reviews, check out our Top Ten Auto Insurance Companies of 2018.