The top-rated car insurance companies of 2024
For 2024, Erie Insurance, a smaller company up against giants like State Farm, came out on top. Companies were ranked on survey responses regarding customer service to policy options, 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.
| Rank | Company | Overall rating | Customer satisfaction rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1. Erie | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 2 | 2. Auto-Owners | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 3 | 3. Travelers | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 4 | 4. Nationwide | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 5 | 5. Auto Club Group (AAA) | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 6 | 6. State Farm | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 7 | 7. Geico | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 8 | 8. Progressive | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 9 | 9. American Family | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 10 | 10. Amica | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 11 | 11. Allstate | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 12 | 12. Farmers | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 13 | 13. Mercury | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 14 | 14. CSAA Insurance Group | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
| 15 | 15. Auto Club of Southern California | Overall rating: | Customer satisfaction rating: |
10 Best car insurance companies of 2024
Based on our analysis of rates, third-party ratings, and a customer survey, these are the ten best auto insurance companies in 2024.
Erie:4.7
Erie is a smaller insurance company, but with a score of 4.7 (4.67 to be exact), it edged out Auto-Owners and landed the top spot this year ahead of much larger companies. Erie also came in tops in the best home insurance companies ranking.
Erie isn’t available in all states, but that didn’t stop it from earning top scores for customer satisfaction, ease of service and policy offerings. It’s also the cheapest among the ranked companies for 2024.
Read more about Erie auto insurance
Auto-Owners:4.7
At 4.7 out of 5, rounded up from 4.65, Auto-Owners is a very close second to Erie. Low rates, the second-cheapest among ranked companies, helped propel this company to the No. 2 spot for 2024.
Auto-Owners boasts the highest possible AM Best grade of A++ and has a low complaint ratio. 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.
Travelers:4.6
Travelers was a close third for 2024, with a score of 4.6, or 4.62 before rounding down. The company’s car insurance rates are the fourth-cheapest among ranked companies, and it scored highly for ease of service.
An AM Best rating of A++ means Travelers is financially stable, and the company also boasts a low complaint ratio. It’s the only company in the top three available nationwide.
Read more about Travelers auto insurance
Nationwide:4.3
Nationwide earned the fourth place spot for 2024, with rates just as cheap as second-place company Auto-Owners and solid rankings in most categories.
Nationwide’s customers were pleased with the digital experiences offered by the company, and it has a below-average complaints ratio. That all adds up to an overall good pick for car insurance.
Read more about Nationwide auto insurance
Auto Club Group (AAA):4.3
This branch of AAA’s insurance division came in a few points behind Nationwide for a fifth place ranking, at 4.29 before we rounded up. Auto Club Group offers low rates and scored well for claims handling with current customers, 91% of whom would recommend the company for auto insurance.
Read more about Auto Club Group (AAA) auto insurance
State Farm:4.3
State Farm’s score was 4.27 overall, just behind Auto Club Group for a sixth place ranking. State Farm is the largest auto insurance company in the nation, has a solid financial foundation, and offers affordable rates. That makes it a top pick for auto insurance every year, and again in 2024.
Geico:4.2
Geico, one of the largest car insurance companies in the U.S., scored exactly 4.2 overall in our ranking, landing among the top ten car insurance companies at No. 7. Known for low rates, Geico scored well for having low average premiums and had solid scores across the survey, including for claims handling.
Read more about Geico auto insurance
Progressive:4.1
Progressive is among the biggest car insurance companies in the nation and lands among the top ten for 2024 in eighth place. The company offers affordable rates and scored well across the survey, with 92% of customers planning to renew their auto insurance policies.
Read more about Progressive auto insurance
American Family:4.0
American Family came in just a hair above 4 out of 5, at 4.01. That landed the company in ninth place for 2024. Car insurance rates are low, below many competitors, and the company scored well for customer satisfaction, with 89% of customers reporting they’re satisfied.
Read more about American Family auto insurance reviews
Amica:3.9
Amica rounds out the top ten for car insurance, with a score of 3.93 out of 5, rounded to 3.9. Amica consistently lands 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.
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 | Erie |
| Best for customer satisfaction | Erie |
| Best for ease of service | USAA |
| Best for policy offerings | The Hartford |
| Best for claims handling | USAA |
| Best digital experience | Geico |
| Best for discounts | The Hartford |
| Best for auto and home bundling | Erie |
| Most likely to be recommended to others | Erie |
| Most trustworthy | Erie |
| Best for renewals | Erie |
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
Insurance.com’s sister site, Insure.com, in the fall of 2023, surveyed more than 1,750 insurance consumers (1,459 people with auto insurance). Online market research company Slice MR conducted the survey. Respondents were asked to name their auto insurer and then grade it in the following categories – customer satisfaction, ease of service and policy offerings. The percentage of respondents who said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their insurer is presented in the results.
Respondents were then asked to pick their insurer’s top three attributes out of more than a dozen presented – trustworthiness, claims satisfaction, digital experience, discounts and best for auto/home bundling. The responses for each attribute were totaled and then divided by the number of each company’s customers who responded to that survey question to create a percentage.
Respondents were then asked if they would recommend their auto insurer to someone else and whether they would renew with their company. The percentage who said yes is presented in the results.
Finally, respondents were given the statement “I trust my insurance company” and asked if they strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement. The percentage of those who said they agreed or strongly agreed 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 company code or codes that were the primary underwriting companies for each carrier and line of business using total annual premiums. The associated NAIC complaint index score was used in the calculations. If more than one underwriting company was identified for a line, the editors used a weighted average of the NAIC complaint index scores.
The editors 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)
- Annual premium: 20% of total score
- AM Best: 25% of total score
- NAIC: 15% of total score
Each insurer was awarded from half a star to 5 stars. No insurer in our star ranking received less than half a star and 5 stars was the most any insurer could receive.
On company review pages, the editors compared the profiled insurers in various categories against the leaders in that category or against other top insurers that match up well against the profiled company in terms of size and/or coverage area.
