Selective Insurance auto insurance

Overview

Selective Insurance Group is a New Jersey-based property and casualty insurer best known for commercial insurance. It ranked #85 among U.S. private passenger auto insurers by 2025 direct premiums written according to NAIC market share data, with $192.5 million in auto premium and a 0.05% national share.

Personal insurance is a small and shrinking slice of the company. Selective's standard personal lines segment, which includes both home and auto, wrote $397.7 million in net premiums in 2025, down 8% from 2024, and represented about 8% of the company's total net premiums written. The rest comes from standard commercial lines and excess and surplus lines; Selective also writes flood insurance as a "Write Your Own" carrier for the National Flood Insurance Program.

Selective is a publicly traded stock company (Nasdaq: SIGI) led by Chairman, President and CEO John J. Marchioni. It sells only through independent agents, and its personal lines are offered in 15 states: Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

History

Selective's founding story starts with a runaway horse. In the 1920s Daniel L.B. Smith ran a small chain of general stores in Sussex County, New Jersey, and sometimes lent a horse and carriage to a friend who was a banker and insurance agent. When the horse ran off and wrecked the carriage, Smith refused payment; when the agent later left the area, he handed Smith policy records for the farms and homes he insured. Smith opened an agency in the front window of his Branchville store.

In 1926 Smith and colleagues invested $20,000 to start Selected Risks Insurance Company. It became a stock company, Selected Risks Indemnity Company, in 1928, and in 1929 Selected Risks Fire Insurance Company was formed to provide auto physical damage and property fire coverage. Smith became president in 1936 and expanded into Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C., followed by Rhode Island, Connecticut and West Virginia in 1944 and 1945.

Selective marked its 100th year in business and 50th year as a public company in 2026. Today it is a holding company for 10 property and casualty insurers, with its insurance administrative office still in Branchville and a corporate office in Short Hills, New Jersey.

Auto insurance coverage

Selective's personal auto policy offers the standard liability, collision, comprehensive, medical payments and personal injury protection coverages, plus an unusually long list of optional enhancements:

• The Selective Edge®, a package that adds roadside assistance, key replacement, pet injury coverage and more.
• Accident forgiveness, which waives the premium increase for one at-fault accident.
• Agreed value, which pays a predetermined amount without depreciation if the car is a total loss (see agreed value).
• OEM coverage, which guarantees original-manufacturer parts in covered repairs (see OEM parts endorsements).
• Newer car replacement, which pays the actual cash value of a car one model year newer with 15,000 fewer miles after a total loss.
• Selective Choice Replacement Cost℠, which pays for the latest model year available, with 2-, 4- or 6-year coverage options.
• Diminishing deductible, an automatic $100 deductible credit plus more for each claim-free year, up to $500 (see vanishing deductible programs).
• Open daily limit transportation expense with $5,000 or $10,000 limits, worldwide coverage for liability, medical payments and physical damage, and an option to add an LLC as an additional insured for vehicles used for business.

Selective also writes specialized coverage for custom, classic and limited-production vehicles. Some enhancements require comprehensive and collision coverage.

Discounts and programs

Selective's discounts reward existing customers and careful buyers: having a Selective home or condo policy, getting a quote at least eight days before your current policy expires (advanced quote), having an insured commercial vehicle in the household, being loss-free, insured drivers up to age 25 who completed driver training and keep good grades, vehicle safety and anti-theft features, and a good payer discount for paying other Selective bills on time.

Selective does not advertise a telematics or usage-based program for personal auto. Policyholders get the MySelective online account and mobile app for bills, documents and claims.

Claims

Personal and commercial claims can be reported 24/7 at 866-455-9969 or through the MySelective account and app. Customers can look up their adjuster by date of loss or policy number, find a body shop, and locate medical providers for auto injury claims. Selective's claims model relies on field-based adjusters, which the company has emphasized since its early years. Flood claims go to a separate line, 877-348-0552.

Ratings and reputation

Selective's 10 insurance companies are rated A+ (Superior) by AM Best, as stated in the company's July 2026 earnings release. See AM Best ratings explained.

Personal lines results have been weak. The segment's combined ratio rose to 103.0% in the fourth quarter of 2025, meaning it paid out more in losses and expenses than it collected, which Selective attributed to higher personal auto liability losses and catastrophe losses. In response it has raised prices sharply (renewal pure price increases of 15.1% in late 2025 and 8.9% in the second quarter of 2026) and pulled back on new business, which fell 36% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, while shifting toward the "mass affluent" market. The second-quarter 2026 combined ratio improved to 95.5%.

Selective is not among the regional leaders named in J.D. Power's 2026 U.S. Auto Insurance Study. Drivers can check its complaint record through the NAIC's consumer insurance search or their state insurance department.

Who it suits

Selective suits homeowners in its 15 states, especially those with newer or higher-value vehicles, who want a highly rated insurer, a deep menu of options such as agreed value, OEM parts and replacement-cost coverage, and an independent agent who can bundle auto with home, umbrella and flood. Budget shoppers and drivers with blemished records are not its target, and its pricing actions mean renewal increases have been steep.

• Strengths: A+ (Superior) AM Best rating; one of the broadest optional coverage menus among regional carriers; diminishing deductible and accident forgiveness; strong flood insurance capability through the same agent.
• Weaknesses: Personal lines are a small, shrinking part of a commercial-focused company; a 15.1% renewal pure price increase in the fourth quarter of 2025; sold in only 15 states; no telematics program.

How to contact Selective Insurance