Encova Insurance auto insurance

Overview

Encova Insurance is a policyholder-owned mutual insurance group headquartered in downtown Columbus, Ohio. It was created when Motorists Insurance Group, a Columbus auto insurer founded in 1928, affiliated with BrickStreet Insurance, a West Virginia workers' compensation insurer, and the two adopted the Encova name in 2019. The Encova Mutual Insurance Group ranked #99 among U.S. private passenger auto insurers by 2025 direct premiums written, with $145.1 million and a 0.04% market share, according to NAIC market share data.

Personal auto is a modest part of a much larger business. AM Best describes Encova as a predominantly commercial lines writer whose largest line is workers' compensation, concentrated in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In 2025 the group reported $1.42 billion in net earned premium, $5.6 billion in assets, $2.38 billion in policyholder surplus and a 98.5% combined ratio. It sells through more than 2,000 independent agencies across 27 states and Washington, D.C., but its personal lines (auto, home, umbrella, recreational vehicles and identity theft coverage) are sold in only 10 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Besides Columbus it has offices in Charleston, West Virginia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Naperville, Illinois.

History

Motorists Mutual was founded in Columbus in 1928, in the early boom years of the automobile. Carl Crispin saw the need for an auto insurer that could offer prompt, fair claims service at a low premium and took the idea to Ohio Governor Vic Donahey. Together with four other businessmen they started the company with $15,000, and Donahey served as its first president. Over the decades Motorists Insurance Group added affiliated regional mutuals, among them Iowa Mutual of De Witt, Iowa, Wilson Mutual of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and Phenix Mutual Fire of Concord, New Hampshire, along with Consumers Insurance USA of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

On October 28, 2016, Motorists and BrickStreet Mutual of Charleston, West Virginia, announced an affiliation that merged their senior management; regulators approved it in 2017. That June AM Best downgraded the Motorists pool to A- (Excellent), citing underwriting results that included adverse development in auto lines. In July 2019 the combined organization rebranded as Encova Mutual Insurance Group and launched encova.com. In 2025 Encova finished a 10-year project to move all operations off legacy systems onto modern policy, billing and claims platforms. Matt Wilcox, who leads personal lines as executive vice president and chief operating officer, plans to retire at the end of 2027, and Encova hired Dan McCabe in July 2026 to prepare as his successor.

Auto insurance coverage

An Encova auto policy covers private passenger cars, pickups, vans and SUVs. Coverage includes:

• Liability for injuries and damage you cause to others
• Personal injury coverage for medical bills and lost wages after an accident
• Medical payments, regardless of fault
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, including hit-and-run accidents
• Collision and comprehensive, including vandalism, weather and animal strikes
• Towing and labor reimbursement

Encova markets its upgraded personal lines package as Encova Exceed, which adds broader protection and customizable options; availability varies by state, so ask an agent whether Exceed is offered where you live. Encova also writes homeowners, umbrella and recreational vehicle policies, so you can place your home and auto together.

Discounts and programs

Encova lists auto discounts for paying by electronic funds transfer (EFT), bundling with other Encova policies (a multi-policy discount), good students, completing driver training and anti-theft devices. It does not advertise a telematics or usage-based insurance program. In 2025 its personal lines unit added do-it-yourself, self-service inspections to give policyholders more flexibility, along with a new inspection-company partnership.

Claims

To file a personal insurance claim, call the Encova Claim Center at 844-362-6821 or contact your independent agent; agents have a separate line. Customer service, including questions about an existing claim, is available Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET and Friday until 3:45 p.m. ET. Policyholders can manage accounts and pay bills through the online policyholder portal.

Ratings and reputation

On September 15, 2022, AM Best upgraded the financial strength rating of Encova Mutual Insurance Group's members to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent), citing sustained improvement in underwriting after outsized losses in 2017 and a balance sheet it assessed as strongest. Encova's 2025 annual report says AM Best reaffirmed the A rating in 2025. Encova is not among the insurers ranked in J.D. Power's 2026 U.S. Auto Insurance Study for the North Central, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast or Central regions that include its personal lines states.

Who it suits

Encova suits drivers in its 10 personal lines states who want a financially strong mutual, prefer an independent agent, and may also want business or workers' compensation coverage from the same company. Its auto product is straightforward rather than feature-heavy, with a short discount list and no telematics option. Drivers outside those states cannot buy Encova personal auto even if Encova writes their employer's commercial policy.

• Strengths: A (Excellent) AM Best rating and $2.4 billion of surplus behind a relatively small auto book; nearly a century of auto insurance roots through Motorists; large independent agency network; home, auto and business coverage from one group.
• Weaknesses: Personal lines in only 10 states; short published discount list and no telematics; no 24-hour claims line is published, and customer service closes at 3:45 p.m. ET on Fridays; auto is a small, secondary business for a commercial-focused group.

How to contact Encova Insurance