Is Otto Insurance Legit?
Last Updated on May 3, 2023
Otto Insurance is a Miami Beach, Florida-based company offering auto, pet, home, and life insurance products.
Otto Insurance does not directly sell insurance: they take your information and compare quotes across multiple providers, then receive a commission when you buy insurance through the site.
After completing a questionnaire on the Otto Insurance website, you can view auto insurance quotes for your area.
What is Otto Insurance? Is Otto Insurance a legitimate insurance provider? Is Otto Insurance cheap? Learn everything you need to know about Otto in our review of the company below.
Key Takeaways:
- Otto Insurance is a Miami Beach-based company that sells auto, home, life, and pet insurance products.
- Otto Insurance does not sell insurance directly but instead connects customers with multiple providers and receives a commission when customers purchase insurance through the site.
- After completing a questionnaire, customers can view auto insurance quotes for their area.
- Otto Insurance is unique because it offers a full range of insurance products, works with various providers, and can help customers bundle multiple products together to save money.
- About Otto Insurance
- Otto Insurance Products
- How Does Otto Insurance Auto Insurance Work?
- What Makes Otto Insurance Unique?
- Otto Insurance Company Discounts
- Otto Insurance Company Reviews: What Do Drivers Say?
- Otto Insurance Company Financial Strength
- Our Rating of Otto Insurance
- Other Frequently Asked Questions
- Contact Otto Insurance Company
About Otto Insurance
According to the official website, Otto Insurance has helped over 1,000,000 customers find the best premiums on auto, home, life, and pet insurance.
The company was founded with the goal of helping insurers find better insurance products at cheaper prices.
Although Otto Insurance is not an insurance company, the Miami Beach-based company connects policyholders with the insurance products and services they need to match their unique needs.
According to the official Otto Insurance “About Us” page, Otto Insurance is based in Miami Beach with a remote team distributed across the United States. The company works with nationwide carriers, regional carriers, and individual agents to provide the best insurance products to customers.
Otto Insurance was founded in New York in 2006 by Joshua Keller.
Otto Insurance Products
Otto Insurance currently offers four core insurance products, including auto, home, life, and pet coverage:
Auto Insurance: Otto Insurance offers auto insurance to customers across the United States. The company works with nationwide carriers, smaller providers, and individual agents to recommend the best auto insurance policies based on your unique needs.
Home Insurance: Otto Insurance provides home insurance for homeowners and renters. You complete a questionnaire online asking for your gender, the square footage of your home, and your address. Then, you receive customized quotes from local home insurance providers serving your area.
Life Insurance: Otto Insurance offers life insurance with no exam required. According to the official website, Otto Insurance helps over 10,000 Americans find life insurance every month. You complete a brief questionnaire online outlining your age, gender, lifestyle habits, whether or not you smoke, and other information. Then, Otto Insurance works with nationwide life insurance companies and smaller firms to find the ideal life insurance policy for you.
Pet Insurance: More pet owners are buying pet insurance for unexpected expenses. Otto Insurance offers pet insurance from small and large providers across the United States. Just enter your ZIP code into the online form to instantly view pet insurance information for your area.
How Does Otto Insurance Auto Insurance Work?
Otto Insurance is not an auto insurance company; they connect customers with other auto insurance companies.
For example, when you buy auto insurance through Otto Insurance, you might get a policy from Progressive or Nationwide. Or, you might get a policy from a smaller provider or local agent in your area. Otto Insurance compares dozens of small and large providers to find the ideal auto insurance based on your unique needs.
After you complete the Otto Insurance comparison process, however, you receive auto insurance products similar to those offered by other providers, including coverages like:
Liability Coverage: Virtually every state requires liability coverage to drive legally. Otto Insurance offers all required and optional types of liability coverage for your state, including bodily injury and property damage liability coverages. You can choose minimum liability coverage if you simply want to drive on the road at the cheapest possible rates. Or, you can increase coverages beyond the minimum requirements for added protection.
Collision Coverage: Otto Insurance offers collision coverage to protect your vehicle from damage after an accident. If you collide with another driver, then Otto Insurance’s collision coverage will repair your vehicle to pre-loss condition.
Comprehensive Coverage: Also known as other than collision coverage, comprehensive coverage covers damage to your vehicle that occurs outside of collisions with other drivers. It covers hail damage, water damage, fire damage, flood damage, fallen tree damage, and collisions with animals, among other items.
SR-22 / FR-44 Coverage: You can use Otto Insurance to find SR-22 or FR-44 insurance, including insurance for high-risk drivers. If the state has notified you of SR-22 requirements, then you may be able to buy SR-22 insurance through Otto Insurance and its affiliates.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage: Some states require uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, while others do not. Otto Insurance offers uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage through its affiliates in several states.
Medical Payments Coverage & Personal Injury Protection: Some states require medical payments coverage (MedPay) or personal injury protection (PIP). If your state requires these coverages, or if you want added protection, then you can buy MedPay or PIP coverages through Otto Insurance and its affiliated providers.
What Makes Otto Insurance Unique?
Otto Insurance is not an insurance company. They connect drivers with insurance companies to meet their unique needs. These factors and other factors make Otto Insurance unique.
Not an Insurance Company: Otto Insurance is not an insurance company. They work with large and small providers across the United States to recommend the optimal insurance products to customers.
Get Auto, Home, Life & Pet Insurance: Otto Insurance provides a full range of insurance products from which to choose, including auto, home, life, and pet insurance. You can bundle multiple insurance products together to save money.
Works With Nationwide Carriers, Regional Providers, and Individual Agents: Instead of recommending the best policy from GEICO or other insurance giants, Otto Insurance works with nationwide carriers, regional providers, and individual agents to identify the optimal insurance products for your unique needs.
Cutting Edge Technology Combined with Decades of Experience: According to the Otto Insurance “About Us” page, the team uses cutting-edge technology combined with decades of insurance industry experience to give you an insurance quote.
Instant Quotes from Hundreds of Carriers: While some insurance comparison websites only work with a few providers, Otto Insurance claims to work with hundreds of carriers to provide quotes.
Easy, Online Questionnaire: Otto Insurance has an easy online questionnaire that walks you through the insurance shopping process. You answer basic questions about yourself and your insurance needs, and Otto Insurance uses this information to recommend the best insurance products.
No Obligations Estimates: When comparing rates through Otto Insurance, you are not obligated to buy insurance from any listed providers. You can get free, no-obligation estimates for your unique needs.
Work with Major Providers: Besides recommending insurance from small companies and individual agents, Otto Insurance works with some of America’s largest insurance companies. The company’s affiliated providers include Nationwide, Esurance, AAA, Farmers, Mercury Insurance, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, and American Family Insurance, among others.
Otter Mascot: Otto Insurance uses an otter as its cute mascot. The company’s logo appears online and on certain cars insured with Otto Insurance.
Otto Insurance Company Discounts
Otto Insurance customers receive discounts through affiliated insurance companies. Discounts vary between insurers.
However, common discounts available through most Otto Insurance affiliated insurers include:
Bundling Discounts: If you plan to buy home and auto insurance through Otto Insurance, then Otto Insurance will display the prices for home and auto insurance bundles. Bundling home and auto insurance together can save 10% to 20% across both policies.
Safe Driving Discounts: All major insurers offer safe driving discounts. If you have 3 to 7 years of claim-free, accident-free, ticket-free driving history, you should pay significantly less for car insurance than someone with a messier driving history.
Low Mileage Discount: If you drive significantly fewer miles than the average driver, you could save money on your Otto Insurance policy. For example, most insurers offer discounts when driving a car for fewer than 5,000 miles per year. In comparison, the average American drives around 14,500 miles per year.
Otto Insurance Company Reviews: What Do Drivers Say?
Otto Insurance has mixed reviews online. Some customers claim Otto Insurance helped them save hundreds of dollars per year, while others were disappointed with the service they received from Otto Insurance.
Otto Insurance has a 1.1-star rating on Facebook, for example. Most customers left poor ratings because Otto Insurance directed them to a major provider. After completing the Otto Insurance questionnaire, they received a quote from Progressive or another major provider at a higher price than they would have gotten by working directly with Progressive.
However, the most common complaints about using Otto Insurance include receiving frequent calls after using the service. One customer reported receiving 10+ calls in 30 minutes after completing an Otto Insurance application. Customers complain about Otto Insurance giving information to insurance companies. As an insurance broker, that’s how Otto Insurance makes money.
The most positive reviews for Otto Insurance are found on the official website. For example, one customer claims her insurance dropped $100 by switching to Otto Insurance, while another claims to be saving $400 per year. Others claim Otto Insurance helped them add bonus perks to their auto insurance policy, including roadside assistance and other benefits.
Otto Insurance has a Better Business Bureau profile. However, the company is not BBB-accredited.
Otto Insurance Company Financial Strength
Otto Insurance does not sell insurance products, so its financial strength is unrelated to its business.
When you buy insurance through Otto Insurance, you’re working with third-party insurance companies. You can look up the financial strength of each individual insurance company. However, Otto Insurance’s financial strength has little impact on the quality of your insurance.
Like most insurance brokers, Otto Insurance has not been assessed by A.M. Best, S&P, and other insurance company ratings organizations that would normally assess financial strength.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
Contact Otto Insurance Company
You can contact Otto Insurance via the following:
Email: info@ottoinsurance.com
Phone: 1-888-804-5641
Mailing Address: 429 Lenox Ave, Fl 5, Miami Beach, FL 33139
The Better Business Bureau profile for Otto Insurance also lists an address in New York (1732 1st Ave, Suite 20257, New York, NY 10128), although this address does not appear on OttoInsurance.com.
