Is Overstock.com a good insurance company?

Overstock.com is an online retailer that sells name brand and handmade fair trade products and connects consumers with helpful information guides and local farmer's markets, pet adoption agencies and new and used car dealers. In 2014, Overstock.com began offering free insurance comparisons and plans under the Overstock.com Insurance" name.

As with all other Overstock.com ventures, the main headquarters for the company is in Utah. Overstock.com created a private label arrangement with Insuritas - a company that sets up plans through national insurance carrier partners. Overstock.com Insurance offers a wide variety of plans via Insuritas. For vehicles, customers can get quotes on auto, boat, motorcycle, ATV, RV, snowmobile and trailer coverage options. With residences, they can find home, renters, condo and mobile home plans. Business owners can purchase liability, commercial auto, property and workers compensation plans.

The site offers is user-friendly. With auto quotes, for example, a users enters a ZIP code in the "ZIP Code" field and/or clicks the "Get Free Quote" button. The site then walks the user through several screens that ask for basic details like the person's name, address, birthday, email address, phone number, home status and vehicle information. Overstock.com then provides from Insuritas for partnered major insurance carriers in the specific geographic area. If a customer decides to purchase insurance, he/she does so directly through his/her Overstock.com account. The entire process is painless except for a glitch that causes the quote form to automatically switch back to the insurance home page if the user doesn't type in the information fast enough.

At this point, it's difficult to say whether Overstock.com is a "good" insurance company as there aren't any reviews about the quality of the actual insurance plans available through typical insurance review sites. Additionally, Patrick Byrne revealed to "The New York Times" in January 2015 that Overstock.com has only sold a few thousand policies since last year. Overstock.com's research indicates that users are hesitating for some reason with both the online form and making insurance purchases. Those who did purchase might also be submitting their online reviews and complaints under the partner carrier names instead of Overstock.com. Out of 275 complaints about Overstock.com through the Better Business Bureau from the last three years, most have been about merchandise and delivery issues. The BBB gives Overstock.com an A+ rating based on its overall online performance and commitment to meeting the BBB standards over a 15-year accreditation period. The best thing a person can do before purchasing is check out the reviews for carriers that Overstock.com quotes through Insuritas.""