One of the most important purchases in your life is insurance!

I have written many articles on how to choose car insurance to how forest fires can affect your insurance rates.

With that in mind, this article will discuss who Ameriprise Financial is and review each of their insurance policies.

For a summary of what the Ameriprise Financial company is, do watch this video:

History of Ameriprise

Ameriprise started as Investors Syndicate in 1894 by John Tappan. He was able to get 1,000 people to invest $5 each.

In 1925, John R. Ridgeway, a West Coast entrepreneur, bought it off Tappan. While he was able to pay out a total of $101 million to their certificate owners and grow their assets from $28 million to $153 million, the stock market crashed at the same time.

However, they were able to get through this, and they were able to expand into mutual fund programs in 1945. In 1957, they were able to create Investors Syndicate Life Insurance.

Years later, 2005 was the year where they registered themselves as Ameriprise Financial as an independent, publicly-owned company while renaming their insurance companies to Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance from American Express Property Casualty Insurance.

Since then, they were able to establish themselves not only as a company that has experts in investing from mutual funds to stocks but also as an insurance company.

Aside from that, they have been partners with Feeding America and American Red Cross to provide access to basic needs to many impoverished families across the nation.

Types of Insurance Offered

In this section, I will explore the insurance products that Ameriprise has to offer. It will include their automobile, home, and life insurance.

Ameriprise Automobile Insurance

Automobile insurance, by definition, is an insurance policy that helps protect the insurer’s vehicle.

I will discuss this in two parts: its features and the discounts they offer.

Features

This policy by Ameriprise is offered in two different levels through Costco:

• Costco’s gold star membership

When paying $60 for this membership, you can get your windshield repaired while waiving the deductible. Aside from that, Ameriprise will also pay your out-of-pocket travel and accommodation if ever your insured vehicle gets into an accident more than 100 miles from your own home.

• Costco’s executive membership

After claiming this membership, you can get coverage of up to $75 if your insured vehicle gets a flat tire, runs out of gas, or has a dead battery. Attached to that is their guarantee that you can renew your vehicle’s policy for life, with or without it getting into accidents throughout its lifetime.

If you opt to get Ameriprise auto insurance from the company, you can get the same benefits when you register for Costco’s gold star membership. Doing so will also give you the option to append roadside assistance coverage with the policy.

Aside from that, they also offer assistance in replacing your car’s locks in case its keys get stolen. They can waive the deductible as long as the total bill does not come up to $250.

You can also opt for any of these products to protect your car even further:

1. Comprehensive insurance
2. Collision insurance
3. Roadside assistance insurance
4. Towing insurance
5. Rental car insurance
6. Bodily injury insurance
7. Property damage insurance
8. Uninsured motorist coverage
9. Medical expense insurance
10. Personal injury protection (PIP) insurance
11. Guaranteed auto protection (GAP) insurance

Discounts

When you avail any of the insurance products I have mentioned in this section, you are entitled to the following discounts:

1. Good Driver Discount (California only)
2. Premier Safety Discount
3. Defensive Driver Discount
4. Vehicle Safety Features (as long as your car has anti-lock brakes, airbags, automatic seatbelts, and anti-theft devices)
5. Garaging Discount
6. Good Student Discount
7. Student Away Discount
8. Education Discount
9. Multi-car Discount
10. Multi-product Discounts (refers to bundling this the following type of Ameriprise insurance products)
    • Home
    • Umbrella
    • Home and Umbrella
11. Tenure Discount

Ameriprise Homeowners Insurance

This type of insurance concerns protecting your home, whether it is a one-story bungalow in the countryside or a condominium unit in the city.

Features

First off, you can choose any of the following coverage packages for this product:

1. Dwelling Coverage. This part of the policy covers your house if in case events such as lightning, fire, or vandalism occurs where you have to repair or rebuild it. They will only cover events that are not due to “lack of maintenance.”
2. Other Structures Coverage. If your property has either a garage, driveway, or gazebo, this policy can cover it in case of an event. Do take note that this will only be available in some states.
3. Personal Property Insurance. This policy may cover items that are not permanently fixed to your home, including furniture and electronics. If you are applying for this policy, you should make a list of all household items to make future claims faster.
4. Scheduled Personal Property. This part of the policy covers items you want the policy to cover while signing up for homeowner’s insurance. Things such as jewelry, cameras, and furs may be included as long as you indicate it for coverage.
5. Homeowners Endorsements. You can opt to have coverage of your home media equipment, adventure equipment, water backup, sump overflow, and personal injury with this insurance policy.
6. Earthquake Insurance. In case your property gets hit by an earthquake, you can opt for coverage for damage to personal belongings, debris removal, renovations for building code compliance, and additional living expenses during renovation or repair.
7. Mine Subsidence Insurance. In the case that your property was built over existing or abandoned coal mines, you can get this option with your policy in order to get paid for damages due to a future human-made mine collapse or erosion.
8. Loss of Use Coverage. This part of the policy takes into effect if ever you have to repair or renovate the insured property. It can cover lodging, meals, pet care, storage fee, and utility costs.
9. Personal Liability Insurance. Your child accidentally breaks a neighbor’s window and destroys one of their vases. This part of the policy will cover any legal fees that you would need to settle this issue.
10. Medical Payments Coverage. This coverage can only be valid if you accidentally injure someone on your property or someone else on your property gets injured themselves.
11. Insurance Deductible. This part of the policy can help you get a smaller deductible while reducing your insurance premium at the same time for hurricanes, wind, or hail. Do take note, however, that you should be able to cover the amount of the reduced deductible when you file in your claim at an event.

Aside from that, getting this insurance product from this company would help you gain access to the following benefits:

1. Advisor Client Benefits: If you sign up for this insurance policy with a certified Ameriprise Financial advisor, you can get additional discounts on the automobile and home policies. Aside from that, you can also get specialty coverage packages by being a client too.
2. Identity Theft Protection: This item in your policy gives you up to $5,000 coverage in costs if you would ever be involved in fraud or your identity is stolen in some shape or form.
3. Stolen Credit Card Use or Check Fraud Protection: If you were to open your credit card bill and you found out that there were thousands of changes made in your name when it was lost, stolen, or hacked, this part of the policy will help you get your stolen money back. This is on top of the fact that you don’t have to pay your deductible on it too.
4. Food Spoilage Protection: Whether your insured home experiences a power outage during a storm, a construction accident, or any other reason, this insurance product can replace spoiled food for up to a value of $500 and without a deductible.
5. Lock Replacement Expense Protection: For this final part of this insurance policy, this allows you to have coverage of up to $100 in case your property gets broken into. This also includes if someone broke in and stole anything inside your home too.

Discounts

Aside from the benefits listed above, you can also get the following discounts:

1. Advisor Affinity Discount. This gives you access to a discount to an automobile insurance policy once you ask an Ameriprise agent regarding your homeowner’s insurance.
2. Age of Home Discount. Depending on how recent your purchase is for a property you want this company to cover with this insurance, you can get a discount for your policy.
3. Claims Free Discount. If you take care of your house as often as possible, you can get a discount on your policy if you did not get a claim within five years of the policy.
4. Protective Devices Discount. Thinking about adding upgrades such as smoke alarms or a monitored security system for your house? Getting this insurance product can help you get a discount for any of these upgrades.
5. Tenure Discount.
6. Multi-Product Discounts. You can get a discount if you plan to get one or more insurance products from this company as a group. As an example, if you already signed up for an automobile and home insurance bundled with this company in the past and you wanted to add an umbrella insurance policy, you can get an additional discount on your original home insurance.
7. Renovation Discounts. From replacing your roof to improving your plumbing system, they can cover for as long as you have an existing home insurance policy with them, a licensed contractor must complete it, and the repairs or renovation must meet local codes.

Ameriprise Life Insurance

Unlike the other products I have featured in this article, this policy is provided by RiverSource, one of the subsidiaries under Ameriprise Financial.

This insurance can help you plan ahead for your assets to be passed to the newest generation of the family, like the two grandparents above with their granddaughter.

This policy can help your finances in the following ways:

1. Let your beneficiaries receive a benefit that is free of tax
2. Increase your life earnings through income-tax-free loans, tax-free withdrawals, and enable tax deferral
3. Includes a lifetime guaranteed death benefit whose amount is higher than the number of premiums paid to ensure your wealth
4. Transfer the amount deferred to IRAs and 401(k)s to your death beneficiaries

You can invest in an insurance policy in increments of 10, 15, 20, or 30 years. This also comes with a universal life policy and a variable universal life policy.

Customer Reviews

According to NerdWallet, they rated Ameriprise Financial’s insurance products and service three and a half stars out of five.

They pointed out that they are notable for offering a wide range of discounts for their services. However, they noticed that their policies are not available in all states.

Aside from that, they noticed that there were more than the average number of complaints when it comes to clients with auto and home insurance. For life insurance holders, there were few complaints.

Meanwhile, at ValuePenguin, they noticed how they were receiving 25% fewer complaints for customers of its home insurance products. On the other end, auto insurance customers have 37% more claims compared to their total number.

They point out that most of these complaints are negative. The two most talked-about claims were unclear costs of policyholders and minimal communication from the company regarding unexpected rate changes.

Overall, ValuePenguin gave them a rating of three and a half stars out of five as well.

Finally, at Consumer Affairs, the overall score amongst its many reviewers is three out of five stars. Most of the reviewers rated it between three to five stars.

Its most recent reviewer had a complaint regarding how Ameriprise abruptly turned them down multiple times. Another pointed out that their agent was unable to give all the necessary forms to change her insurance beneficiaries in time.

Meanwhile, one reviewer said that they recommended others often to get an insurance policy through Costco due to their helpful and friendly customer service. Another was pleased after switching to this company for their insurance, and they were quick to answer their inquiries.

Wrapping Up!

Ameriprise offers policies with a lot of discounts and benefits under its belt. However, do remember that you should expect varying customer support for any inquiries while it may not be available in the state you are in as well.

Did this review of Ameriprise insurance help you? Read more about other insurance companies to help with your financial education:

• Understanding rebuilt title
• GEICO vs. Allstate vs. State Farm vs. Progressive 2020 – A side-by-side comparison
• 3 Tips to Find the Cheapest Health Insurance Rates

Which insurance company do you go to for all your insurance requirements? Let me know in the comments below.