Estrella Auto Insurance Review

Company Background Information

Estrella Insurance was founded in 1980 in South Florida. The company offers affordable auto coverage options in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Hialeah area, and sells its insurance at over 45 locations in South Florida. Estrella’s parent company is Star Casualty Insurance Company, a company founded by Nicolas Estrella in 1988 that currently offers insurance in five states: Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Georgia. Star Casualty is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida and was given a B++ (Good) rating for financial stability by A.M. Best in the most recent ratings and a credit rating of “bbb”. The outlook of Star Casualty was recently improved from negative to stable in the 2013 A.M. Best review.

Pros of Estrella Auto Insurance

• Customizes its products for the South Florida Market
• Decent financial strength ratings from A.M. Best with a stable outlook

Cons of Estrella Auto Insurance

• Relatively unknown insurance company
• Negative reviews of Star Casualty/Estrella

Website

The Estrella website is available in both English and Spanish and has some details on the insurance products offered. Interested customers can get a free quote directly from the website. Customers can make a payment from the website and also retrieve policy information. The website has information on starting an Estrella franchise and it lists that the company was ranked one of the Top 25 Franchises for Hispanics by Poder Magazine. Star Casualty also has a website with more information on state specific coverage and general details about the company’s vision.

Types of Insurance Offered

Estrella mentions only brief information about the types of coverage that it offers, but from its website it offers auto, commercial, homeowners, boat, and motorcycle insurance. Estrella offers the following types of insurance as listed in its Disclaimer:

• Liability coverage for bodily injury or property damage, as required by Florida law
• Personal injury protection (PIP) to cover bodily injuries for the driver and his or her family members in auto accidents. PIP includes a medical, loss of income, replacement household services and death benefit. This coverage is also required by Florida law.
• Medical payment coverage reimburses medical costs that exceed the amounts allowed by PIP coverage.
• Collision covers damages to a vehicle that result from an impact with another vehicle, and comprehensive coverage reimburses other damages.
• Other coverage is available such as towing and labor.

Estrella notes in its website disclaimer that its policies cannot be cancelled within the first 60 days unless a vehicle is declared a total loss or if another insurance policy is purchased on the vehicle. It also gives a disclaimer that if the company is required to cancel insurance due to non-payment that it must give a 10 day notice, and for other cancellations it must give a 45 day notice.

Customer Reviews

The few customer reviews of Star Casualty/Estrella are mostly negative but there are not that many reviews of the companies compared to other providers. The negative reviews described trouble with claims processing, customer support delays, and a few other problems. Star Casualty is most likely too small to be studied by J.D. Power so it has not received a rating from them.

Recommendations

Estrella offers affordable insurance coverage options for both high risk and normal risk drivers in South Florida, but there are many other competitors that are better known and that may be able to equal Estrella’s prices. Without much information about Estrella’s business practices it is unclear whether or not they are a good choice for drivers in South Florida compared to other providers. The best way to tell is by getting a quote from multiple providers and seeing which provider offers you the best coverage at the lowest rate. To get auto insurance quotes now just enter your zip code on this page.

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