Victoria

4.0
from 0 reviews

Victoria is a little-known insurance company and a subsidiary of Nationwide. We'll give you a breakdown of what Victoria is all about.

Overview

Victoria Insurance was founded in 1983 in Cleveland, OH, and wasn't originally in automotive insurance, instead focusing on credit-related insurance products. It wasn't until 1986 when they offered non-standard insurance. The company has gone through many changes since their inception. In 1995 USF&G acquired the company and when they went out of business Victoria transferred to Saint Paul Companies in 1998, then Prudential in 2000. Nationwide procured the company in 2003 and the company managed to retain its original name while most subsidiaries were simply absorbed into the Nationwide family.

Victoria has spread across 39 states, currently operating in 26 states for automotive insurance, and 15 for commercial automotive insurance. Victoria is comprised of five separate companies: Victoria Automobile Insurance, Victoria National Insurance, Victoria Specialty Insurance, Victoria Select, and Victoria Fire & Casualty Company. These five companies comprise the Victoria Insurance Group. Victoria is a good agency for individuals who are difficult to insure by other companies. They also offer commercial automotive insurance at competitive rates. Despite these claims, it may be very difficult to gather information and comparison shop with this company. The lack of information may lead some to go with a more expensive option because information about this company and their services isn't widely available.

Victoria Insurance Group is currently operated out of Columbus, OH. They currently operate three claim offices nationally: Arizona, Ohio, and Texas. All 26 states are assigned to one of these three claims offices after their initial report. Total property & casualty direct premiums written stands at $1,560,179 annually. Its market share of the industry stands at 0.01%.

Victoria Pros and Cons

Pros

  • High-risk drivers can use Victoria to acquire relatively low rate insurance.
  • Victoria offers flexible billing options and payment plans for their customers.
  • Victoria works through local agents so their customer service tends to be more personalized and of a higher quality since they are members of their client’s community.
  • As a part of Nationwide they have the financial backing to handle coverage.

Cons

  • They don't have their own website presently and work exclusively through local independent agents.
  • There is limited data about exact coverage and policy specifics which makes it more difficult to compare rates to other companies.

Victoria Coverage

Non-standard drivers are typically the most expansive tier of car insurance, and not only covers high risk drivers, but may also cover drivers with a foreign driver’s license, younger drivers, people who want car insurance without owning a vehicle, or individuals whose car is deemed salvage. Other people who fall into this category are people who require an SR-22. An SR-22 is a legal certificate that serves as proof that the individual, usually found guilty of a major moving violation, has the minimum insurance legally required by the state. States typically raise rates substantially after an accident as an example CA standard auto insurance typically costs $1,830, but raises to $3,060 for a speeding ticket, $7,794 for DUI, and $6,177 for teenage driver.

Victoria has provided limited information about their exact coverage but the consensus suggests that they offer full coverage auto insurance. Given that Victoria primarily insures high-risk and non-standard drivers, their coverage gears more towards liability insurance and don't offer a wide array of options. While they do offer commercial rates, commercial insurance is only available in 15 states.

Direct quotes are not available online for Victoria coverage and packages. Most of this is due to the variability and legal requirements from state to state. Victoria exclusively works through local agents and despite their connection to Nationwide there is no information on Victoria through Nationwide's website. Victoria as stated above specializes in a non-standard insurance and this includes drivers with multiple tickets, accidents, international driver’s licenses, or poor credit risk, and cannot get insurance elsewhere. Given Victoria Insurance Group's locus, their insurance tends to focus on bottom-line coverage so drivers can legally drive.

Standard Coverage Offered

  • Total Private Passenger Automobile
  • Auto Liability Property/Body Injury
  • Total Commercial Automobile
  • Private Passenger Collision
  • Private Passenger Comprehensive

Car Insurance Rates

Victoria currently operates in 26 states for non-standard automobile and 15 for commercial Insurance. Rates for commercial insurance were not listed however there is information on average rates through Victoria by state. These averages may apply to commercial as well as private insurance although the research didn't make that clear. Virginia was the lowest at $2,357.87 and Kentucky was the highest at $5,195.40 on average. The prices vary across 26 states that Victoria is licensed to do business currently. Rates will also vary depending on desired coverage.

Car Insurance Discounts

There is limited information on discounts apart from the suggestion that they offer competitive rates. Victoria doesn't list any discounts online, but it is likely that they do offer some of the more common discounts comparable with other companies. Lack of data in this area makes it hard to be sure, but since they work through local agents it is possible there may be varying discounts from state to state.

There is no bundling information online, but it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility. Again, due to lack of data it is a matter of calling individual agents state to state to see if there are any bundling options available.

Victoria Insurance Vs. Competitors

We will provide comparison to three other agencies for your convenience. Victoria has limited information online, but despite that there is a lot of things that can be gleaned by looking at other insurance companies and their rates. There were few reviews from customers, but the company overview was generally well received, suggesting that Victoria has excellent customer service and overall good rates for what they were providing.

Progressive Vs. Victoria: Progressive is among the lowest non-standard insurance in the industry. In general Progressives rates are median for the industry but they have a more forgiving approach than most companies in the industry. This puts Progressive likely ahead of Victoria in terms of price for coverage. This may change state by state depending on their legal requirements.

Victoria Vs The General: Both Victoria and The General specialize in non-standard insurance. Victoria does have better financial backing and overall has better reviews. Due to a lack of any clear rate information with The General the favor falls with Victoria if only for ease of research and more transparent cost information. Additionally, Nationwide's backing allows Victoria to get rates as low as $196.42/month.

Below are 9 other companies that sell non-standard automotive insurance:

  • Acceptance Auto Insurance
  • Access
  • Direct General
  • Gainsco
  • Infinity
  • Progressive
  • The General
  • Titan
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