Thomas Ward Insurance

My experience was poor and I had to pull my business and go elsewhere. They have great reviews so I must be the one with the bad luck, no business has 100% satisfaction. Sales side was fine, although they appeared to me to favor one insurance company. But when a claim arose I was very disappointed with how I was treated.

Ask for Erin, and you’ll be satisfied. Professional, always available, kind and polite. And of course, amazing rates and opportunity will be provided.
My situation was very specific, but they found for me an incredibly advantageous offer… which I’ve underwrite immediately.
100% recommended! Amazing job, that’s the way to do business

Total fan of Mike Rice and the great service we receive for our home and auto. All of the staff are nice and helpful. But the best thing is how low the prices are. I received a list of quotes and was mislead by another company and when I called they were way off. I recommend that anyone get a quote and you will be amazed.

I have used TWI since 2005 (?) and have had nothing but good experiences with the agency. I am sorry to read about the bad experiences that others have had, but there will always be folks who can not be satisfied. Tom is a personable individual and has always worked diligently at finding the most affordable and appropriate policy for my business and building. I am not a cookie cutter client and he has never shied away from solving my unusual circumstances. His agency values customer service, as do I, and as such I am comfortable bringing issues and problems to them knowing that some one will either get back to me or resolve the problem.

Call Thomas Ward Insurance and ask for Erin. By calling Thomas Ward Insurance you will say good bye to the crappy insurance customer service you had to listen to for your entire life. I am not Just impressed by Erin’s customer service, I am blown away. She took the time to listen to all my concerns. I had my policy quote within less than an hour. She went through literally everything with me, there was not a single question she didn’t have an answer for. She was kind, professional, knowledgeable, polite, you name it… Communication was a breeze !
I was sold on their customer service and was ready to pay as much as they ask. Guess what, I ended up paying 40% less than what I was paying. I ended up buying renters and auto insurance and it is the first time in my life were I feel that I haven’t been ripped off by an insurance agent.
I’ve been in the service industry for years and I am a very particular customer. I like to get what I pay for. I emailed all my contacts in Chicago and asked them to switch to Thomas Ward Insurance. That’s how good those people are.
Thank you Erin

I was very pleased with the advice and counsel I received from Tom Ward while researching changing my auto policy from personal to commercial so that I could drive for Über. Tom assigned me to a pleasant, competent colleague in his office, Erin Ellenbolt, who took me through the application and payment process. Much to my surprise, I found that the commercial policy was less expensive than my personal policy with substantially higher coverage. Ellen went on to ask me about about my renter’s policy. By switching to the new company for both policies, I was able to save even more.
I’m a believer!

The bad news: MAJOR water damage to my (formerly finished) basement, thanks to a faulty toilet burning out my ejector pump.
MUCH better news: Thomas Ward Insurance – specifically Stacey – has been behind me every step of the way, helping me to navigate interaction with my insurance company, giving me the heads up on what to expect, feeling my pain.
The TW team is very responsive, dedicated and communicative. They’ve helped me assess my insurance options for more than 15 years now, and I feel safe when they make a recommendation.
I’ve had other wonderful interactions with TW folks as well, including Erin, Mike, and Tom himself. All in all, a valuable resource for home and insurance support.

Every time I call Thomas Ward, I am greeted with a personable representative who is able to quickly help me decide on what my best options are and what my situation calls for. They are very knowledgeable and do their jobs very well. I have yet to work with a better insurance group.

I was directed to Thomas Ward by a Progressive representative who was having a technical problem processing my auto insurance application. In addition to offering me a better quote than I’d found on the Progressive website, Erin submitted my application for me and was able to take care of an unexpected issue that arose.

I was literally on the phone with an agent while I considered what things I was going to say on Unilocal!I spoke with Erin and adored her immediately. I am new to Chicago and the insurance world is way over my head. She was patient and sincere and emailed me a few different options immediately.
I am not even technically signed up with Thomas Ward yet, but I couldn’t wait to post!

Buyer beware! I have written 3 other Unilocal ratings, all of them solid 5-​stars. Largely because of this agency’s negligence, my wife and I and our young children drove WITH NO AUTO INSURANCE from Jan. through June, 2013. I am a hard-​working, successful professional. My credit rating is always in the 750 – 800 range. I always pay all of my bills on time. I began with TWI in June, 2012 thinking I would get better personal service than the large company that service my professional organization. Although there were some initial problems with professionalism with the agent (Mike) I first dealt with regarding small price surprises, returning phone calls, etc., I then began to deal with Stacey. Having been set up online and with active email, I assumed I would be appropriately alerted to payment dates. I have malpractice, medical, life, disability, liability, and office insurance, along with the home and auto policies I purchased from Ward. Payment schedules include monthly, bi-​monthly, quarterly, semi-​annually, and annually payments I received no notification in any form – email, voice mail, snail mail, etc. – that my auto policy had lapsed in Jan., ’13.
But let’s even assume for the moment that I did receive some kind of notification and it slipped past me. Again, there is no record anywhere that this had happened, but why was I not contacted directly by Stacey or the agency, alerting me to the urgency of the lapsed coverage. On exactly June 18 of this year, on a Tuesday morning, I received a general e-​blast from the agency soliciting my business for auto insurance. Although I assumed this was clearly a mistake because I already had coverage, I called back immediately, got a voice machine, and left a question for Stacey inquiring about what I was confident had been a mistake. Again, this was a Tuesday morning. Not until Friday at 3:30 did I receive a call-​back message from Stacey indicating that my policy had indeed lapsed in January. After appointments, I retrieved this message, to my horror, and immediately called just after 5:00, only to learn that the office had just closed for the weekend. I left voice messages for Ward, Stacey, and even Mike. Nowhere could I find any emergency or weekend number on the website or the answering system. I imagine Ward will come back and say there is an emergency number, but there was none to be found.
Genuinely alarmed and shaken, I then called the hotline Friday at 9 PM of the auto insurance company and in an hour’s time, was able to secure immediate coverage. I need not detail the absolute catastrophe this could have been to my family and finances had there been an accident.
On Monday, I had to call Ward myself. Not one word of accountability. Not a shred of an apology. Had he merely indicated that he was genuinely sorry for my experience, would speak with his staff, and would personally oversee the account going forward to ensure nothing like that would ever happen again, I might well still be his customer. Because no catastrophe had occurred, there were no grounds for legal action that would require defensiveness on his part. Nevertheless, he immediately went into CYA, circle-​the-​wagons, defensive mode with lame comments about communications regarding lapsing policies not being something they get into, that I must have been informed by the company directly, that his staff always met the highest level of competence, etc. A stonewall.
I found his competition slightly further north. where I have received better coverage from the same insurance companies for hundreds less. No exaggeration.
I believe everything will be fine with TWI as long as nothing goes wrong. You unknowingly may be paying higher premiums, but it will only be when an emergency arises, or there is a lapsed policy, that you may be subjected to the same potentially catastrophic negligence that I was. If Unilocal would allow this, I’d be happy to fill anyone in on further details, dated copies of emails, etc.

Best in the city! Great service, competitive quotes and quick response time. What else can I ask for?

I’ve been working with Michael Rice on setting up a new insurance plan, and he has been fantastically accommodating. He got me a very reasonable plan, explained in detail all the nuances, was flexible with making a number of changes, and has been super responsive over email. I haven’t had to put any claims through yet, but as for service so far: I’d definitely recommend TW Insurance and Michael!

We have been with this company and specifically MIKE RICE for more than 10 years. Every time you talk to him you feel like you are talking to an old freind. Mike has helped us with our car, home and life insurance. He (and I think by extension the company) is trustworthy, reliable, honest and dependable. I have NEVER tried to reach him that I haven’t had some response within hours if not minutes. The insurance rates seem low, but even if they weren’t the service would be worth it.

As a California transplant and non automobile owner, I was anxious about obtaining an affordable policy that would suffice the Illinois law that requires a driver to have coverage in order to get a license. Through prompt and informed correspondence, Mike Rice of Thomas Ward insurance Group eliminated my negative pretenses.
I initially submitted inquires to multiple agents and brokers for a non-owner’s auto policy at around 7:00 Sunday evening. After only ONE hour, I received a response from Mike Rice letting me know that he could provide the policy I was looking for at an affordable quote. Just a few days later, I comfortably made my first payment for my policy and this was entirely due to Mike’s responsiveness and tact.
Whether you are seasoned business owner who understands liability as a means of financial planning or if you are like me and know nothing about insurance, I highly recommend Mike Rice for all of your coverage needs.

Okay, okay… it’s a little early to give 5 stars to them, as I just signed up last week– BUT I was very very apprehensive about getting a quote for my auto and renters from a broker instead of going straight to
(or any other large insurance co website). I assumed small brokers would be 1. more expensive and 2. lack service.
I WAS WRONG!
I’m glad I did call them. I’m working with a girl named Emily– she calls back when she says, she isn’t pushy and responds to emails fast. My rates are inexpensive and she explained some insurance stuff that I wasn’t so sure of.
I still have the simple online convenience that I like, can still do auto payments and receive and reply to information online, but I have a PERSON that I talk to– not a call center.
I’m happy so far.

After my bad experience with Rob, Mike took over the relationship and all has been well. He’s responsive and easy to work with.
I worked with Mike to get a house insurance policy, condo insurance policy and I have my condo association master policy through the agency.
I’ve never made a claim so I don’t know how that process is and hopefully won’t find out.

I’ve been a customer for almost 8 years for car and renter’s/condo insurance. Originally, I was very pleased with the service. In the past three years, however, my phone calls haven’t been returned and I speak with a different person every time I call. When I do eventually get a person, odds are that the person is unable to help me, rude or both. My premiums have increased dramatically despite the fact that I have never filed a claim. I have requested, but never received, explanations of why the premiums were increasing so rapidly. The one time I considered filing a claim, I was aggressively advised not to. As of today, I have cancelled my policies.

Can I give them 6 stars? They are wonderful and extremely professional.
We have our homeowners through them and when our mortgage lender totally messed up our escrow insurance payment, the folks at Thomas Ward responded quickly and got everything straightened out.
Top marks in customer service!

I found Twin Insurance after a recommendation from a friend and have been a client for the last four plus years. I have found every member of staff provides an excellent personal service. They were able to quote us a much more competitive price for our car insurance (half that of Geico) and we have been using them ever since. We also use them for home insurance as well. If there is ever a change to make to our policyes they are very responsive and always get back to me same day with an answer to my questions. I love being able to email them and having access to my policy on my email has been helpful when I need the details quickly. I would highly recommend this company for very competitive quotes.
Alas they dont quote for Pet Insurance or we would have gone through them for that too.