Sentry Auto Insurance Review (2024)

This Sentry auto insurance review looks at the Wisconsin-based company.

Sentry Insurance, of Stevens Point, WI, is a mutual insurance company originally founded in 1904 by members of the Wisconsin Retail Hardware Association.

Their purpose was to provide business insurance coverage for all the members of their retail trade association.

The company’s original name was Hardware Mutual. Since then Sentry has expanded to include a long list of insurance products including home, life, and various business lines.

Sentry Insurance is made up of a group of no less than 17 insurance companies around the country.

Beyond the Sentry name, the company’s products are also sold under the brands Dairyland, Middlesex, Patriot General, Parker, Peak, and Viking.

Sentry’s well-known Minuteman logo is based on the famous sculpture by Capt. John Parker, a farmer who commanded the Lexington Militia in the Battle of Lexington in 1775.

Sentry now claims at least several million insurance policies currently in force across all lines of business.

Company financials reveal that Sentry ended the 2010 fiscal year with more than $11 billion in total assets and policy surplus of $3.3 billion.

The company consistently enjoys very high ratings from such well-respected financial rating companies like A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings, among others.

Enter your ZIP code right now to see the best auto insurance rates in your area!

What You Should Know About Sentry Insurance a Mutual Company

Although Sentry Insurance does use a limited number of agents around the country, the availability of such agents in your state is heavily dependent on the types of insurance provided.

For example, Sentry only provides motorcycle, property, and life insurance in New York State.

The limited coverage means upstate New Yorkers have access to only one agent, located in Syracuse.

If Sentry offers car insurance in your state, yet there is no local agent nearby, you can always purchase your policy directly from the auto insurance company.

Sentry Insurance Locations

Sentry’s corporate headquarters are located in the central Wisconsin city of Point Stevens. Contact information for the corporate office is as follows:

Sentry Insurance
1800 North Point Drive
Stevens Point, WI 54481
1-800-373-6879

In addition, the company maintains three divisional offices within its corporate headquarters which handle specific needs.

The individual offices and their phone numbers are:

Auto/Homeowners (1-800-227-0201)
Dairyland Cycle (1-800-526-4252)
Life/Annuity/Retirement (1-800-533-7827)

All divisional offices maintain standard business hours beginning at 7 AM Central Standard Time (CST).

For claims service, Sentry provides 24-hour claim reporting through a series of call centers.

By visiting the company website and clicking on the claims link, consumers can choose their state from a drop-down menu and get a list of telephone numbers they can call to make a claim.

Sentry is committed to processing auto insurance claims in a quick and efficient manner, through professional and knowledgeable claims adjusters, and in a manner that keeps costs as low as possible for both the customer and themselves.

Sentry Insurance Careers

Sentry offers a variety of career choices including sales agents, human resources, accounting, actuarial, IT, underwriting, support services, and loss prevention.

Their corporate website lists the various categories of employment and all the current job openings within each category.

Interested applicants are urged to browse the listings and follow the instructions to submit a resume. In addition, they do hold open recruiting events in major cities from time to time.

Sentry is committed to hiring the best people possible and rewards them with salary and comprehensive list of benefits.

Some of the benefits include health and dental insurance, a vision plan, group life insurance, student loan program, credit union, and a discount on all Sentry insurance products.

The company also has a program offering year-round, paid internships. Internships are offered on a limited basis depending on need.

More information can be found by visiting the careers section of their website.

Sentry Reviews

Like most insurance companies, a random selection of customer reviews finds a pretty even split between the satisfied and unsatisfied.

When it comes to auto insurance, most unsatisfied customers level complaints regarding rude or unresponsive claims adjusters, a reluctance by the company to pay as high a claim as would be expected, and general difficulty in accident investigation and liability assessment.

On the other hand, most of the satisfied customer reviews give Sentry kudos for their prompt and friendly customer service, good premium rates, and satisfactory claims service.

It’s interesting to note that very few customer reviews are available for the company’s home, life, and business insurance products.

It seems as though their automobile and motorcycle policies are the only ones currently garnering enough interest to solicit reviews.

This isn’t to say that their other products are not good, but rather that the state of the industry encourages auto insurance reviews more than anything else.

Century Insurance publishes an official code of ethics for all its employees which they make available on their website.

This code of ethics instructs employees of the company’s commitment to maintaining the highest level of integrity in all areas of business.

In theory, this code of ethics would translate into quality customer service on a regular basis. The code does provide for termination for any employees who violate it.

Sentry Insurance a Mutual Company Insurance Coverage Options

For the individual consumer, Sentry provides three different types of auto insurance policies: auto insurance with cash rewards, high-risk driver auto insurance, and preferred auto insurance for safe drivers.

All of their auto policies provide everything from basic state minimums to full comprehensive coverage.

Getting a quote on a Sentry insurance product is as easy as visiting the company website or calling an agent in your area.

Sentry also offers coverage for boats, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles.

They offer homeowners insurance as well as policies designed for renters and condo owners, and of course, life insurance and personal umbrella liability coverage.

Information about all their different insurance products for individual consumers is really available on the company website.

Where business customers are concerned, Sentry also offers a full line of policies to cover a variety of needs, including some niche products that may be hard to come by. That information is also on the website.