Signing up to one of the best auto insurance companies is essential if you want to keep the cost of motoring low. However, while a cheap car insurance policy has the potential to save you hundreds of dollars a year, the best auto cover will also provide assurances that you are protected should anything untoward happen while you are on the road.
Different types of motorists tend to have different priorities - if you’re a new driver, finding the lowest car insurance premium is likely to be top of your list, while older, more experienced drivers may like the security offered by an all-round auto insurance package that includes breakdown cover, and can save them having to pay separately for the best roadside assistance plans.
Thankfully, we have taken such features into consideration when compiling our rundown of the best auto insurance companies, and more besides. Perhaps you want car insurance that covers the more mundane mishaps, such as locking your keys in the car or running out of gas, or do you want the security of free hire car and a hotel stay if you’re involved in an accident that prevents you from getting home? Maybe you’ve bought your vehicle with one of the best auto loans, and would like gap insurance included in your car insurance policy. For others, customer service will be the decisive factor above all else. Nobody wants a car insurance company that is difficult to get hold of, unhelpful in your hour of need, or reluctant to pay out.
Our conclusion is that the following providers are deserving of a place among the best auto insurance companies for a number of different reasons. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to compare car insurance rates yourself, CarInsurance.net offers the fastest way to access a number of quotes from a wide range of auto insurance companies all at once.
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1. Erie Insurance: Best auto insurance overall
Erie Insurance is one of the best auto insurance companies out there right now, with an ability to straddle the line between great pricing, personal care and huge financial strength. Individual features like Rate Lock to keep prices fixed, diminishing deductible to help good drivers save money, and some of the best customer care in the industry, make this a treat for those people in the 13 states this insurer operates in. It's just a shame Eerie isn't more widely available like some of its rivals.
If you've got pets or like modifying your car, or drive a classic, Erie has special care for you too. You'll even be let off for an accident without it affecting your policy thanks to accident forgiveness. We'd like to see the addition of a mobile app in the future, along with expansion into other states, but aside from that there's little to fault here. The options are huge and varied making this a near perfect auto insurance solution for most people.
- Read our Eerie Auto Insurance review
2. Amica Auto Insurance: Best customer service
Amica Auto Insurance is one of the best companies around when it comes to customer care and, as a result, is one of the best insurers out there period. Ranked as number one by JD Power its features, like the ability to pick a repair shop near you, make this a personalized and freeing option that's hard to find fault with.
That said, there are some reports of rate increases but with such good customer care even that should be easily cleared up with a call or email exchange. Aside from the superb customer care, via an Amica representative, you get features like flexible billing plans, online policy management and lots of discounts to be earned. There's even a mobile app to help you track your policy and make claims too. All that and this is available in 50 states plus Washington, DC.
- Read our Amica Auto Insurance review
3. Auto-Owners Insurance: Best for affordable care
Despite remaining a medium-sized company Auto-Owners is a Forbes 500 firm that offers superb personal customer care backed by strong financial stability. As such it can afford to offer great prices, which undercut the competition while still giving excellent features. It isn't the absolute cheapest, but manages to balance excellent prices with a suite of decent features.
Available in 26 states, Auto-Owners uses a great app to give control to customers, including accessing roadside assistance when needed. You can speak to a local agent for any concerns or to change your policy for features like classic car cover, gap insurance and more. The only real issue is that Auto-Owners doesn't issue quotes online, so you'll need to go through a longer process to get insurance here.
- Read our Auto-Owners Insurance review
4. Geico Auto Insurance: Best for cheap prices
As a huge insurance firm, Geico is able to undercut the competition in most cases meaning you end up with the lowest-price insurance available. While Geico does offer lots of features on its policies, with these low prices be sure to check you're covered for anything specific you're looking for - there are different tiers of service, and while that offers customization, you need to make sure you get everything you need with your policy.
The mobile app is impressive with a built-in personal assistant to help you with anything you might need. Quotes are easily obtained online for free and features are varied including breakdown cover, emergency roadside assistance and express auto repairs, to name but a few. It's ideal for anyone looking to cover multiple vehicles, although premiums can start to get expensive fast if you start adding heaps of extra features.
- Read our Geico Auto Insurance review
5. Allstate Auto Insurance: Best for app support
Allstate is one of the biggest auto insurers in the US meaning it offers solid financial stability and a lot of features. One stand-out feature is the mobile app which allows you to access your policy easily but it also lets you make a claim. So advanced is the app it will allow you to take photos of the car, using the phone, and submit them right there from the accident so the claim process can begin right away.
As such the claims process is a fast one with minimal hassle. While that's going on you can get a rental car with no upper limit and there's also accidental forgiveness so that accident shouldn't even push up your premiums. All that, of course, isn't as cheap as some options out there, and there's no green vehicle benefits, but on the whole this is a really great auto insurance offering.
- Read our Allstate Auto Insurance review
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6. State Farm: Best for bonuses
State Farm is a huge auto insurer and offers a massive amount of benefits to go with that mighty size. Covering 50 states and with over 18,000 local agents, claims are an easier process than with some insurers. But if you're not claiming you'll be rewarded for being a safe driver, with Drive Safe & Save offering savings based on the mileage you drive.
There's also a Steer Clear Driver program which lets you take a refresher course, to make you're a safe driver, and in doing so gets you a reduction on your premium. The car rental cover, should you need it, is also excellent with it paid up as well as any expenses that go with it all, helping make the repair process easier.
- Read our State Farm Auto Insurance review
7. Farmers Auto Insurance: Best for easy claims
Farmers Auto Insurance is one of the most affordable options out there without meaning you have to worry about the claims process, as that works well. Policies are available for as little as less than $100, for the very minimum cover. Spend a bit more and you get lots of features.
The car replacement service means if you total your car, that's newer than two years and has done under 24,000 miles, you'll get a brand-new model to replace it. Also, with accident forgiveness, your premium won't change for an accident in three years of safe driving. You'll even be reimbursed for loss of use while your car isn't with you.
- Read our Farmers Auto Insurance review
8. Travelers Auto Insurance: Best for discounts
Travelers Auto Insurance, as one of the country's oldest, is a great option for those looking to enjoy discounts for a wide selection of personalization options on their policy. These include savings for things like driving a hybrid or electric vehicle, students getting good grades or for having multi-car policies.
Travelers is limited to 43 states but works superbly where it's available, with an A++ Superior rating of financial strength from AM Best. Great features sell this, including gap insurance, new-car replacement and accident forgiveness as easy to access options on a policy.
- Read our Travelers Auto Insurance review
9. American Family Auto Insurance: Best for bundles
American Family Auto Insurance is tenth largest in the US yet manages to have some of the fewest complaints thanks to its friendly local-based service. Since it offers different types of insurance it also gives great incentives for bundle deals which can save you money.
Another great way to save money is to use the KnowYourDrive program which tracks your driving, if you opt-in, and lets you save up to 40 percent if you're a safe driver. Roadside assistance 24/7 and gap coverage are also nice extras but we love the MyAmFam app which is a great way to process payments, download proof of insurance, track claims and even call out roadside assistance if you need it.
10. Progressive Auto Insurance: Good if you've had an accident previously
Progressive is a big scale insurer that can afford to give drivers with a history of accidents another chance. It not only offers cover to those prone to accidents but also offers really low prices and plenty of discount programs to reward safe driving.
Thanks to a direct model, rates can be kept low and you can enjoy more unique features like pet cover and car modification coverage. Other features include gap insurance, roadside assistance and Snapshot which tracks your driving style to potentially save you money.
- Read our Progressive Auto Insurance review