Best Car Insurance Companies for Discounts
Which company has the best car insurance discounts? Find out why Farmers, GEICO, and State Farm topped our list of best companies.
- Sean Canonica
- Updated May 10, 2023
Discounts are a great way to lower your premium. Every insurer has them, but the savings or number each offers differs significantly. We ranked the major providers based on the quality of their discount selections. Based on our research, Farmers is the best car insurance company for discounts.
Even though Farmers is our number one pick, it may not be right for you. This article will help you compare the major companies’ discounts so you can find the car insurance you need. If you’d like more insight into how each provider stacks up, be sure to read our article on the top overall auto insurers.
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Best Car Insurance Company for Discounts: Farmers
We found that Farmers is the best car insurance company for discounts. The insurer offers a total of 23 unique discounts on its website. This is far more than any other company. Many of which are very easy to qualify for. Here’s why we think Farmers is the best:
More Discounts Than Any Other Company
This one is simple. Farmers offers more discounts than anyone else. There are a whopping total of 23 for you to choose from. Many of them are easy to qualify for, including one for paying your premium in full and a passive restraint discount when your car has airbags.
Owning a house gives you even more potential savings. You can qualify for both the homeowner and bundling discounts. Each can help you save plenty of cash on your premium.
Keep in mind that some Farmers’ discounts aren’t available in every state. Be sure to ask your Farmers agent about availability.
Discounts for Young Drivers
Farmers recognizes that new and young drivers pay more for their insurance and make less money. Young drivers can benefit from a few different discounts:
- Distant student. Students can get a discount for living 100 or more miles away from home without their car.
- Good student. Maintaining a 3.0 or higher GPA, being on the honor roll, or scoring in the top 20% on standardized testing can get you a good student discount.
- Youthful driver. Farmers will give you a discount just for being under 25 and on a policy that’s been in force for at least 12 months.
Discounts Yield High Savings
While pretty much every company offers discounts on auto insurance, savings vary. And, let’s face it, many discounts only lower rates incrementally. With Farmers, however, the savings can pile up. Bundling your home and auto with Farmers can save you, on average, 20%. This is more than some other companies.
Farmers’ telematics program, Signal, can also save you up to 15% on your auto coverage. These savings are comparable to most other insurers’ telematics programs.
Final Word on Farmers
Farmers is a great choice if you want to lower your auto premium because its discounts can save you big money. Many are easy to qualify for. If you desire even more savings, the Signal telematics program can help you do just that. Farmers is the best insurance company for discounts. The only downside is that it only operates in 41 states.
Second-Best Insurance Company for Discounts: GEICO
GEICO takes second place for the best insurance company for discounts. It has a total of 16 on its website. Each one comes with sizable savings. GEICO gives military members and government employees an additional bonus. Here’s a full explanation of why this provider’s discounts are so good:
GEICO’s Discounts Come with Huge Savings
GEICO may just offer the best deal per discount than any other insurer. Most of them knock a large chunk off of your premium. After you qualify for a few, the savings add up quickly.
These are some of GEICO’s best discounts:
- Multi-vehicle discount – 25%
- Emergency deployment – 25%
- Anti-theft device discount – 23%
- Good driver – 22%
Great Savings Opportunities for Military and Government Employees
Military members and government employees will find GEICO a solid choice. After all, GEICO stands for Government Employee Insurance Company. It makes sense that the company offers you benefits for serving the country. GEICO offers these affiliation awards for military members and government employees:
- Emergency deployment. If you’re in an emergency deployment to an imminent danger area, you can get a discount of up to 25%.
- Military discount. Being a current or former member of the military, National Guard, or Reserves can give you a military insurance discount of up to 15%.
- Membership and employee. GEICO lowers premiums for members of partner groups.
- Federal employee (eagle discount). Current and retired federal employees qualify. Savings can reach up to 12%.
Rewards for Having a Safe Vehicle
You can get discounts with GEICO if your car has certain safety features. Many of them come with large savings percentages. Here are some of the safety features and how much GEICO rewards you if they’re installed on your vehicle:
- Airbags – 23%
- Anti-theft systems – 23%
- New vehicles – 15%
- Anti-lock brakes discount – 5%
- Daytime running lights discount – 3%
Final Word on GEICO
GEICO has an impressive array of car insurance discounts. Many of which can save you a ton of money. Also, most are fairly simple to obtain. The insurer is also very helpful if you’re a government employee or military member. Overall, GEICO is a good auto insurer if you’re looking for ways to lower your rates.
Third-Best Insurance Company Discount Selection: State Farm
State Farm, the nation’s largest auto insurance provider, is third in our list of the top companies for discounts . It offers a total of 12 discounts on its website. And, depending on your state, you could be eligible for many more. The company offers famously cheap rates and large savings with certain discounts. Here’s why we chose State Farm as number three:
Best Insurance Bundle
Insurance bundling is one of the most common and useful discounts. Most companies will give you a nice discount for buying both your home (or any other valid type of coverage) and auto insurance from them.
State Farm is our pick for the best car and home insurance bundle. You can save up to 20% by bundling with the insurer. In 2021, State Farm customers saved an average of $1,127 by bundling their home and auto.
Excellent Telematics Program
Most insurers have a telematics program to help drivers save money. Telematics devices track your driving habits via an app on your phone and reward you for being safe. The State Farm Drive Safe & Save program can save safe drivers up to 30% on auto insurance.
Defensive Driving Discounts for Senior Drivers
If you’re an older driver looking for a way to lower your rates, State Farm’s defensive driving course discount can help you. State Farm rewards drivers over 55 who complete a defensive driving course. The savings can range from 5 to 15%.
Final Word on State Farm
State Farm is an overall good choice if you’re looking for discounts. The company has the best auto and home insurance bundle. You can also find a useful telematics program that rewards you for keeping yourself and others safe. Finally, State Farm is second to none in overall customer satisfaction ratings and has some of the cheapest rates in the nation.
Compare Quotes From the Best Companies for Discounts
The companies above have the best car insurance discounts. Now, it’s up to you to compare quotes and find the company that’ll give you the best rates.
Honorable Mentions
Farmers, GEICO, and State Farm make up our top three for best car insurance discounts, but other insurers have good selections as well. Below are four honorable mentions:
American Family
American Family (AmFam) has a great selection of discounts. With 18 in all, you stand to save a lot of money. AmFam is especially great for young drivers, as there is a whole category of discounts just for them. These include:
- Good student
- TeenSafeDriver
- Away at school discount
- Young volunteer
- Generational
You can also expect to save quite a bit per discount with AmFam. Bundling your auto with other policies can save you up to 23%. AmFam’s telematics program can lower your premium by an additional 20%.
Travelers
Travelers offers 14 different car insurance discounts, including IntelliDrive, a safe driving telematics program. But be aware that this program can also raise your rates if you drive unsafely. Travelers also has bundling, which can save you up to 13% on your policy.
Travelers’ discounts are fairly easy to qualify for. For example, you can save money just by setting up automatic payments each month. You’ll also receive lower rates if you drive a hybrid or electric car. Students will find the student away and good student helpful as well.
Progressive
Progressive offers a total of 16 insurance discounts. However, despite the large number available, the savings aren’t as rich as those offered by our top winners. However, many of them are very easy to qualify for. In addition, you can easily stack discounts for maximum savings!
Progressive offers some discounts that are almost impossible not to qualify for. These include:
- Online quote. Getting an online insurance quote with Progressive can save an average of 7% off of your rates.
- Sign online. Choosing to sign your documents online can get you a discount.
- Paperless. If you opt to receive your insurance documents and bills electronically, you’ll get a paperless billing discount. You’ll help the environment, too!
- Multi-policy. To get this discount, all you have to do is bundle your policies with Progressive.
Progressive is also helpful if you have a young driver on your policy. You can get a discount just for having a driver under the age of 18 on your policy. There are also the good student and distant student discounts, which can save you additional money each month.
USAA
USAA is a great insurer for members of the military. Many of this provider’s discounts are tailored for military families and the situations they deal with. For example, you can get a discount of up to 60% if you need to garage your car at a military base. This is extremely helpful during deployment.
Like many other insurers, USAA has a telematics program to help you save money. Enrolling in the SafePilot program and driving safely can get you a discount of up to 30%. USAA also has insurance bundling, which can save you up to 10% on your homeowners or renters policy.
How We Chose Our Winners
Our decision for the best insurance company for discounts is based on several factors. The first is simply how many a company provides its policyholders. The second, and possibly the most important, is how much each discount saves you. We also considered how easy it is to qualify for certain discounts. Finally, we assessed an insurer’s overall quality and customer satisfaction ratings.