Our analysis finds that Nationwide, USAA, Traveler and Erie are the best car companies, all receiving over 4.5 stars (out of 5) in our ratings.
The best car insurance companies for you will depend on your driving record, state and other individual factors. We recommend shopping around to compare car insurance quotes, as the company with the lowest rates will depend on your specific profile.
Best Overall: Nationwide
Nationwide is the best overall car insurance company thanks to its great rates for a variety of driving records and driver ages, its wide range of coverage options and its low level of complaints.
Nationwide’s average rate for good drivers is 29% lower than the national average. It has the cheapest rates for drivers with poor credit, parents adding a teen driver and drivers age 65 to 80, among companies we evaluated.
| Company | Average cost per year for good drivers |
|---|---|
USAA* | $1,364 |
Nationwide | $1,436 |
Travelers | $1,521 |
Geico | $1,597 |
Erie | $1,642 |
Progressive | $1,826 |
Auto-Owners | $1,855 |
Westfield | $1,984 |
National average | $2,026 |
*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
Best for Military Members: USAA
USAA is the best car insurance option for military members year after year with its consistently cheap rates and variety of coverage options. USAA sells exclusively to military members, veterans and their family members. It offers a discount of up to 60% if you store your car while you’re deployed and up to 15% for drivers who garage their cars on a base.
USAA’s average rate for good drivers is 33% below the national average. Costs for those with a speeding ticket are 34% lower and 35% lower for drivers who caused an accident with injuries.
USAA Average Annual Car Insurance Costs
| Driving record | Cost per year | National average |
|---|---|---|
Good drivers | $1,364 | $2,026 |
Drivers with a speeding ticket | $1,661 | $2,533 |
Drivers with a DUI conviction | $2,604 | $3,363 |
Drivers who caused an accident with injury | $1,958 | $3,009 |
Drivers with poor credit | $2,450 | $3,847 |
Great for Drivers With a Speeding Ticket: Travelers
Travelers offers low-cost insurance for drivers with a speeding ticket. While its rates aren’t the cheapest, they are 19% lower than the national average for drivers with a speeding violation. We found that Travelers’ average cost for insurance after a speeding ticket is lower than many of its competitors.
| Company | Average cost per year for drivers with a speeding ticket |
|---|---|
USAA* | $1,661 |
Nationwide | $1,878 |
Erie | $1,899 |
Travelers | $2,062 |
Geico | $2,150 |
Westfield | $2,335 |
Progressive | $2,350 |
Auto-Owners | $2,457 |
National average | $2,533 |
*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
Best for Drivers Who Caused an Accident: Erie
Erie has the best rates for drivers who caused an accident with injuries or property damage. USAA is a bit cheaper for both but its policies are only available to military members, veterans and their families.
Causing an accident leads to an average of 49% increase if there are injuries and 48% increase if there is property damage. Erie’s costs only go up 35% if you cause an accident with injuries and just 29% if you cause property damage.
| Company | Average cost per year after an accident with injuries | Average cost per year after an accident with property damage |
|---|---|---|
USAA* | $1,958 | $2,021 |
Erie | $2,224 | $2,125 |
Travelers | $2,293 | $2,215 |
Nationwide | $2,337 | $2,298 |
Auto-Owners | $2,539 | $2,539 |
Geico | $2,748 | $2,718 |
Progressive | $2,770 | $2,818 |
Westfield | $2,901 | $2,901 |
National average | $3,009 | $2,994 |
*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
Best for Drivers With a DUI: Progressive
Progressive offers the cheapest rates for drivers with a DUI among the companies we analyzed. A DUI is considered a major offense so it can really hike up your insurance. Our analysis found rates go up by 71% on average for drivers with a DUI, but Progressive’s rates only increase 26%.
| Company | Average cost per year for a driver with one DUI |
|---|---|
Progressive | $2,307 |
USAA* | $2,604 |
Travelers | $2,610 |
Erie | $2,665 |
Nationwide | $3,083 |
Auto-Owners | $3,578 |
Geico | $3,723 |
Westfield | $4,577 |
National average | $3,363 |
*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
Great for Drivers With Poor Credit: Geico
Geico offers lower rates to drivers with poor credit compared to other top insurers. Its rates are also 36% cheaper than the national average.
| Company | Average cost per year for drivers with poor credit |
|---|---|
Nationwide | $2,051 |
USAA* | $2,450 |
Geico | $2,482 |
Travelers | $2,699 |
Progressive | $3,221 |
Westfield | $3,403 |
Erie | $3,701 |
Auto-Owners | $5,407 |
National average | $3,847 |
*USAA is available only to the military, veterans and their families.
Best for Family Discounts: Westfield
Compared to other top-rated companies, Westfield has an excellent variety of discounts so family members can save on car insurance. It offers a family discount, next generation discount and companion car insurance discount.
 | Family discount. A discount for teen drivers 18 or younger who are added to a parent's auto policy that has been in effect for at least the last three years. |
 | Next generation discount. For young adults age 22 to 29 and are coming off a parent’s Westfield car insurance policy to buy their own policy. |
 | Companion discount. For drivers who buy car insurance and who have someone in their households who already has an auto policy with Westfield. |
Best for New Cars: Auto-Owners
Auto-Owners offers new-vehicle owners exceptional coverage options. It has two types of new car replacement coverage and gap insurance. If your new car is totaled or stolen, gap insurance pays the difference between your insurance payout and the amount still owed on a lease or loan. Also:
- Auto-Owners’ “purchase price guarantee” pays you the original purchase price if your car is totaled within the first two years and you’re the original car owner.
- “Total loss to a new automobile” coverage pays to replace your car with a new one of equal value or pays out your original purchase price if your car is totaled within 90 days of purchase.
Not all top-rated companies offer new car replacement coverage and the ones that do usually offer just one type.
| Company | Offers gap insurance | Offers new car replacement |
|---|---|---|
Auto-Owners | Yes | Yes, two types |
Erie | Yes | Yes |
Geico | No | No |
Nationwide | Yes | Yes |
Progressive | Yes | No |
Travelers | Yes | Yes |
USAA* | No | Yes |
Westfield | Yes | Yes |
Best Digital Experience: Geico
Are car insurance companies keeping up with increasing consumer demands for a delightful digital experience? We found out by analyzing mobile app ratings and website functionality. We discovered that Geico currently has the overall best digital experience among the companies that otherwise scored well in our analysis of the best auto insurers.
| Company | Forbes Advisor rating for digital experience | Our expert take |
|---|---|---|
Geico |
5.0 stars | Geico leaves its competitors in the dust thanks to the live chat on its website, high user ratings for its mobile apps (4.7 out of 5) and online quotes. It also has a Spanish website version. |
Progressive |
4.0 stars | Progressive scored well for its mobile app ratings (4.7 out of 5), helpful site search and online quotes. But there’s no Spanish version of its site or live chat. |
Nationwide |
3.9 stars | Nationwide’s app has a good user rating (4.6 out of 5), a helpful site search and online quotes. It lacks a live chat and Spanish version. |
USAA |
3.7 stars | USAA’s mobile app has decent user ratings (4.4 out of 5), online quotes and a good site search. But it comes up with no Spanish version and its live chat leaves a lot to be desired: There are only five pre-set questions, none of which could answer our test question about how to get policy documents. |
Travelers |
3.4 stars | Travelers’ average mobile app rating (4.1 out of 5) is OK, and it has online quotes and a good site search. But like many others in our analysis, it lacks a Spanish version and online chat. |
Erie |
2.2 stars | Erie’s mobile app fails to impress, with a low user rating (2.9 out of 5). It does have online quotes and a good site search, but it lacks online chat and a Spanish version. |
Auto-Owners | No stars | Auto-Owners failed to earn any stars in our analysis mainly due to its lack of online quotes, a site search that is not helpful and no online chat. |
Westfield | No stars | Westfield lacks basic digital features: No mobile app, no online quotes, no online chat and a site search that delivers poor results. |
Ask an expert
Tips for Finding the Best Car Insurance
Marty Ellingsworth
Forbes Advisor Insurance Advisory Board Member
Penny Gusner
Forbes Advisor Senior Writer
Amy Danise
Forbes Advisor Editor
Les Masterson
Forbes Advisor Editor
Jason Metz
Forbes Advisor Editor
Shop around frequently
When it comes to auto insurance shopping advice, early, often and regularly are the three watchwords to remember. I recommend making insurance shopping a regular exercise and not once a decade one, when you trade in a vehicle or only when rates go up. Take advantage of all your resources—call your company to ask for discounts, use the internet to get multiple quotes, ask a local agent to describe options, and don’t forget to ask your family and neighbors.
Marty Ellingsworth
Forbes Advisor Insurance Advisory Board Member
Don’t overlook small insurers
I recommend looking at companies of all sizes when searching for the best insurance company. If you count out small insurers, you may miss out on a company that offers good coverage perks and superb rates.
Penny Gusner
Forbes Advisor Senior Writer
Be cautious about usage-based insurance
Your car insurance company might suggest you become part of a telematics program, aka usage-based auto insurance. If you like your privacy, I’d say this isn’t a good option for you. Your data could be shared with other insurers and even affect future car insurance quotes from other companies. Also, most people in usage-based programs do not drive well enough to get a discount.
Amy Danise
Forbes Advisor Editor
Confirm there’s a mobile app
If digital experience is important to you, make sure the insurer you’re considering has a mobile app. Believe it or not, not all insurers do! I like to have the ability to show my insurance ID card from my phone, for example.
Michelle Megna
Forbes Advisor Editor
Don’t skimp on liability insurance
With an increasingly litigious society, I think it’s very important to make sure you have generous liability insurance. If you haven’t paid much attention to this line item on your declarations page, I recommend taking a look. You want enough liability insurance to equal your net worth, which is essentially what you can be sued for. Buy umbrella insurance for extra liability insurance at a good price.
Les Masterson
Forbes Advisor Editor
Consider rental reimbursem*nt insurance
I think rental reimbursem*nt insurance is an underappreciated coverage. Car repair times have been going up. Your vehicle could easily be in the shop for a collision repair for three weeks or more, waiting to get worked on and waiting for parts. This coverage can help pay for a rental, so you’re not footing the whole bill yourself.
Jason Metz
Forbes Advisor Editor
