The best car insurance companies of 2026

The top-rated car insurance companies of 2026

Travelers is the best auto insurance company for 2026, thanks to low rates and high customer service ratings. GEICO and Nationwide round out the top three.

Companies were ranked on survey responses regarding their insurance experience, as well as rates, complaints recorded by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and AM Best financial ratings.

Some big companies were not ranked because they do not provide rate information to our data partner, Quadrant. USAA was also not included in the rankings because it limits eligibility to military families.

2026 Rank	2025 Rank	Company	Overall rating	Customer satisfaction rating
2026 Rank: 1	2025 Rank: 1	Company name: Travelers	Overall rating: 4.55	Customer satisfaction rating: 4.37
2026 Rank: 2	2025 Rank: 3	Company name: GEICO	Overall rating: 4.50	Customer satisfaction rating: 4.27
2026 Rank: 3	2025 Rank: 2	Company name: Nationwide	Overall rating: 4.19	Customer satisfaction rating: 4.41
2026 Rank: 4	2025 Rank: 5	Company name: Progressive	Overall rating: 4.05	Customer satisfaction rating: 4.15
2026 Rank: 5	2025 Rank: 6	Company name: Amica	Overall rating: 4.02	Customer satisfaction rating: 4.19
2026 Rank: 6	2025 Rank: 4	Company name: State Farm	Overall rating: 3.91	Customer satisfaction rating: 4.38
2026 Rank: 7	2025 Rank: 8	Company name: Allstate	Overall rating: 3.57	Customer satisfaction rating: 4.35
2025 Rank: 8	2024 Rank: 7	Company name: Farmers	Overall rating: 3.52	Customer satisfaction rating: 4.30
2026 Rank: NR	2025 Rank: NR	Company name: USAA*	Overall rating: 4.53	Customer satisfaction rating: 4.55

Travelers: 4.55

Travelers took first place for 2026, with a score of 4.55 overall, staying at the top again this year with low rates and a top score for customer satisfaction. It ranked best among all carriers for policy offerings (tied with Erie), and was the best national carrierAn insurance carrier is the company that provides your car insurance policy and pays claims. for claims handling and digital experience.

An AM Best rating of A++ means Travelers is financially stable, and the company also boasts a low complaint ratio.

Read more about Travelers auto insurance

GEICO: 4.50

GEICO, one of the largest car insurance companies in the U.S., scored exactly 4.5 overall in our ranking, landing in second place for 2026. Known for its low rates, GEICO was the second-cheapest national carrier in our ranking.

GEICO tied for the top score among national carriers at 90%, and 89% of customers plan to renew.

Read more about GEICO auto insurance

Nationwide: 4.19

Nationwide earned the third-place spot for 2026, with top scores for trust and customers who plan to renew at 94%, the best scores among all national carriers.

Nationwide’s rates are below average and the carrier scored well across all of the categories in our survey, keeping it in the top three for another year.

Read more about Nationwide auto insurance

Progressive: 4.05

Progressive ranked at No. 4 for 2026 with solid scores across our survey, a low complaint ratio and an A+ rating from AM Best for financial stability. Rates are a little above average, but 92% of customer say they plan to renew with Progressive.

Read more about Progressive auto insurance

Amica: 4.02

Amica finished fifth for 2025, with a score of 4.02. Amica consistently ranks at the top on J.D. Power’s rankings and has an excellent AM Best score of A+, making the company a solid pick for car insurance. It took first place for home insurance this year, and 92% of customers plan to renew.

Read more about Amica auto insurance

State Farm: 3.91

Higher-than-average rates and a dip in the company’s AM Best rating lowered State Farm from fourth to sixth place for 2026. Among national carriers, it tied with Allstate as the auto insurance company most recommended by current customers, and 93% plan to renew.

Read more about State Farm auto insurance

Allstate: 3.57

Allstate scored 3.57 out of 5 stars overall and is No. 7 among the best auto insurers. Above average rates and a complaint volume with the NAIC that’s a litter higher than expected impacted its ranking. Still, it tied as the No. 1 company for ease of service and for customer recommendations in our survey.

Read more about Allstate auto insurance

Farmers: 3.52

Farmers earned the eighth-place spot among the best car insurance companies in 2026. Among customers surveyed, 94% said they plan to renew, tied for first place among national carriers with Nationwide. Although rates are above average, Farmers’ customers appear to be loyal.

Read more about Farmers auto insurance

The best regional car insurance companies

Auto-Owners is the top-rated regional car insurance company for 2026, thanks to its below-average rates, very low complaint ratio and solid scores across our survey.

Our ranking included only national carriers to ensure a fair ranking of companies that compete with each other in the largest market. However, we did rate regional companies so that you can compare them against the larger options if they operate in your area. These regional insurers performed very well.

Auto-Owners: 4.55

Auto-Owners earned the best overall score of all companies, landing in first place for regional carriers and tying with Travelers among all carriers. It doesn’t offer online quoting and is dedicated to selling policies through independent agents, which may be a con for those who prefer to shop for insurance online.

Read more about Auto-Owners auto insurance

Erie: 4.50

Erie isn’t available in all states, but that didn’t stop it from earning top scores for customer satisfaction, policy offerings and fair rate increases. It tied for the lowest average rates at $159 a month with American Family (only USAA, not ranked, had lower rates).

American Family: 4.44

American Family is the third-place regional carrier for 2026, tied with Erie for the lowest rates. It has a below-average complaint volume and solid scores across our survey.

Read more about American Family auto insurance

Auto Club Group: 4.30

Auto Club Group, new to the ranking for 2026, is one of three AAA carriers among the ranked regional companies this year. Of the three, it has the lowest NAIC complaint ratio and the lowest rates at $171 a month, lower than any national carrier.

Auto Club Enterprises: 3.76

Auto Club Enterprises is the Southern California branch of the AAA insurance program, but operates in other states as well. At 87%, it was the top-rated company for claims handling (tied with USAA).

CSAA: 3.68

CSAA serves Northern California and several other states. It was top-ranked in several categories: customer satisfaction, digital experience and for college students; it also had the top rating for renewals, with 96% of customers planning to renew.

Mercury: 3.56

Higher-than-average rates put Mercury further down our list, but the company was top-ranked for ease of service and 100% of customers surveyed said they trust the company.

Best car insurance companies in each category

To rate the best in each category, we included all companies, even those not ranked due to a lack of rates or eligibility requirements. Here are the winners:

Category	Company
Best for cheap rates	USAA
Best for customer satisfaction	Erie, CSAA
Best for ease of service	Mercury
Best for policy offerings	Travelers, Erie
Best for claims handling	USAA, Auto Club Enterprises
Best digital experience	CSAA
Best for discounts	Liberty Mutual
Best for auto and home bundling	Auto Club Group
Most likely to be recommended to others	Erie

Data updated in 2025

Read our methodology

How to choose a car insurance company

The right car insurance company for your needs won’t always be the same as the company someone else chooses. Rates and coverage options can differ, and even within one company, depending on factors like driving history and location.

To find the right car insurance company for your needs, take a few simple steps.

Decide how much coverage you need. Start with what you have right now, and then consider what options you might want to add or remove and what coverage limits you need to fit your current situation.
Request quotes. Make sure that all of your quotes are for the same coverage levels and have the same deductibles for a fair comparison.
Compare companies. Look at more than the price. Make sure you look at the company’s reputation and also pay attention to any extras that the policy might include, like accident forgiveness, that can add value.

Once you have narrowed down your choices to the best and the cheapest, you might also want to look at bundling options before you buy.

Methodology

70+

Carriers reviewed

1,750

Consumers surveyed

60+

Insurance metrics examined

34,600

ZIP codes examined

In the fall of 2025, Insure.com surveyed 2,000 insurance customers. Online market research company Dynata conducted the survey.

Respondents were asked to name their auto insurer and then grade it in the following categories:

Customer satisfaction
Ease of service
Policy offerings
Claims satisfaction
Digital experience (website/app)
Discounts offered
Fair rate increases over time
Insurance for young drivers/teenagers
Insurance for college students
Insurance for senior drivers
Insurance for drivers with tickets or accidents
Auto and home bundling

The percentage of respondents who said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their insurer is presented in the results.

We then asked respondents to provide a yes or no response to indicate their agreement with the following statements:

I plan to renew with my current auto insurance company
I would recommend my auto insurance company to others
I trust my auto insurance company

The percentage of respondents who said yes is presented in the results.The editors compiled the survey results and then selected – based on the number of survey responses – the top companies for further evaluation.

They then collected AM Best data, which measure financial strength, and National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint data, which ranks a company by the number of customer complaints it receives. The Insure.com team identified the NAIC codes of each underwriting company for each carrier and calculated a weighted average complaint index, weighted by the annual written premiumThe payment required for an insurance policy to remain in force. Auto insurance premiums are quoted for either 6-month or annual policy periods.. The associated NAIC complaint index score was used in the calculations.

They also collected insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services.

With the help of Prof. David Marlett, Ph.D., Managing Director of the Brantley Risk and Insurance Center at Appalachian State University, the editors created a rating system to determine which insurance companies were best in each sector. For auto insurers, we took the following and gave each a weight.

Survey: 40% of the total score (10% customer satisfaction, 10% recommended, 10% renewal rate and 10% claims handling)
AM Best: 25% of total score
Annual premium: 20% of total score
NAIC: 15% of total score

Each insurer was awarded between half a star and 5 stars. No company in the ranking received less than half a star in any category, and 5 stars was the most any insurer could receive.

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