The top car insurers rank high on customer satisfaction surveys, offer multiple ways to buy and manage policies, are financially sound and boast low National Association of Insurance Commissioners complaint volumes while offering affordable rates to young drivers or those with poor driving records.
Geico, Progressive and Allstate are among the largest insurers. However, larger doesn’t always translate to lower rates.
1. Geico
Geico is well known for offering some of the lowest rates on the market combined with convenient online access and excellent customer service. Their mobile app enables drivers to file claims, manage policies and discover discounts. Furthermore, GEICO provides mechanical breakdown insurance that will cover repair costs after manufacturer warranties have expired.
Sample annual rates for full coverage with this company are lower than industry standards, and eligible drivers can save by bundling auto and home policies to achieve savings. Furthermore, accident forgiveness and free roadside assistance programs are provided.
2. State Farm
State Farm may not be the cheapest major car insurer, but their user-friendly interface and vast array of coverage options make them one of the easiest insurance providers to use. State Farm also strongly promotes road safety through advocating for seatbelt laws and offering policy incentives around driving best practices.
Additionally, State Farm earned high marks in the J.D. Power 2023 auto claims satisfaction survey, which measures customer satisfaction with the overall claims experience. Furthermore, it offers personal umbrella policies, flood and earthquake coverage – these can either be purchased separately or combined with home and auto policies – in order to further ensure customer satisfaction.
3. Progressive
Progressive is known for being reliable and cost-effective; making them an excellent choice for drivers with clean driving records who seek lower average rates than Geico. They also provide access to discounts and useful tools, like Name Your Price tool.
Accident Forgiveness, one of the company’s signature programs, can assist drivers with less-than-ideal driving records in avoiding sharp rate increases after an accident. Furthermore, State Farm scored above average in J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study for auto insurance; its consumer complaint index fell below the national median level.
4. Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual stands out as a notable car insurer with widespread brand recognition and an impressive market share, earning excellent reviews from third parties for customer service and affordable rates.
On its website and app, Policyholders have easy access to managing their policies and ID cards, though J.D. Power’s insurance shopping and claims satisfaction study for 2024 gave it lower-than-average scores.
Due to its smaller national reach, coverage options may be limited in certain regions. Discounts offered for alternative energy cars and paperless billing make this car insurer competitive among others in its field.
5. American Family
American Family offers policyholders many advantages, from its user-friendly website and local agents, to near-top customer satisfaction ratings (with few complaints against it and excellent financial strength ratings from AM Best).
American Family offers a comprehensive array of coverage options, such as usage-based telematics programs such as KnowYourDrive and Diminishing Deductibles. Furthermore, its customers give it high marks for customer service and indicate strong intent to renew their policies; all signs point towards American Family as an ideal option for most drivers.
6. Travelers
Travelers isn’t the cheapest auto insurer, but has excellent customer reviews and policy offerings – such as accident forgiveness and discounts for hybrid vehicles.
AM Best has given it high financial stability ratings, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has shown no complaints against it.
Travelers rates differ by state, but drivers with outstanding credit should generally experience lower premiums than Safeco in most. Bundling can also be seamless at Travelers; however, its online service experience lags behind competitors; customer reviews of this provider on Google and Reddit tend to be mixed.
7. Nationwide
Nationwide offers an impressive variety of insurance offerings and has an easy-to-use online quote tool, as well as having few complaints filed with state regulators and providing generous extras such as minor accident forgiveness and pet injury coverage for loyal customers.
However, Nationwide rates continue to be more expensive than competitors’ for drivers under 30 and it lags behind other insurers in customer satisfaction and claims service ratings; reviews on Trustpilot and WalletHub tend to be mixed; its small market share could limit local support options as well.
8. Auto-Owners
Auto-Owners is an outstanding regional car insurer with affordable rates and plenty of coverage options, plus an outstanding claims experience and low customer complaints.
Pricing may differ based on driver age, driving record, ZIP code and more. At The Zebra we use Quadrant Information Services’ ZIP code-level rate filings as an estimate for our rate estimation for every company.
Car insurance providers typically offer drivers many discounts that may apply to your situation and compare customized quotes to see how much money can be saved.
9. Safeco
Safeco is part of the Liberty Mutual Group and offers customized coverage matched with independent agents’ expertise. They consistently receive high third-party ratings for financial strength and claims satisfaction.
Safeco offers standard state minimum auto insurance policies, such as liability, personal injury protection and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. They also feature several policy features like a diminishing deductible that reduces by $100 every year you go without making claims.
AM Best has awarded them with an “A+” rating and their easy mobile app makes paying your bill, reporting a claim or accessing policy documents and ID cards quick and straightforward.
10. Auto-Risk
Auto-Risk offers nonstandard auto insurance policies designed specifically for drivers with multiple at-fault accidents, DUI convictions or gaps in coverage. These policies typically feature similar protection as their standard counterparts but may have higher premiums.
Many factors influence car insurance rates, such as age, credit score and location. Other non-driving related considerations may also impact rates – gender or age being two examples. Not all insurers evaluate these aspects equally, making comparison shopping important; NerdWallet ratings take these elements into account alongside pricing/discounts/ease of filing a claim/customer service factors when rating car insurers.
