Shopping for car insurance can be overwhelming. It’s often hard to know where to start when there are so many companies you could buy coverage from. And, on the surface, they may all seem quite similar. But there are countless factors in play. For example, some insurers could be better for you because you can save money on more of their discounts. At the same time, others may be better for filing claims or coverage options.

You might end up working with the same carrier for years. So, you must find the right car insurance company for you. One of the smartest ways you can do that is by comparing leading providers side-by-side. This will give you a stronger idea of which provider fits your needs and situation the best.

We’ve ranked the best auto insurers in the nation in several key areas. This includes claims handling, customer satisfaction, discounts, coverage options, and a lot more. According to our thorough research, State Farm is the best car insurance company in 2024. This article will cover the top three providers overall. It’ll also go over which are the best in specific categories.

Best Car Insurance Company Overall: State Farm

Our pick for the best car insurance company is State Farm, with excellent overall ratings. This includes an A++ from A.M. Best and a score of 885 out of 1,000 for customer service from J.D. Power. The score State Farm received from J.D. Power is higher than any other large provider, including GEICO, Farmers, Progressive, and others.

State Farm is the largest auto insurer in the country. It has a large network of agents and serves more than 80 million people across the many types of coverage it sells. State Farm also has competitive rates. If combined with the huge number of discounts it offers, customers could slash their rates by a ton.

Per our studies, State Farm has the best home and auto bundle with potential savings of up to 20% off your rates. The company is also the gold standard for claims handling. State Farm has a below-average number of customer complaints, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

How We Rank State Farm

• Best car and home bundle
• Best for filing claims
• Second-best for bad drivers
• Third-best for discounts

Runner-Up for Best Auto Insurer: Farmers

Farmers comes in a close second on our list of the best auto insurance companies. Farmers received an A from A.M. Best and a customer satisfaction rating of 862 from J.D. Power, just behind State Farm. Farmers also has very few customer complaints, per the NAIC Complaint Index.

Farmers’ biggest claim to fame is the wide number of discounts it offers. Farmers offers 23 discounts, and a lot of them are easy for most people to get. It also has tons of coverage options, far exceeding what most other insurers offer.

In our shopping studies, we ranked Farmers as a top company for new drivers and filing claims. The glaring pitfall for Farmers is that it only sells auto coverage in 41 states.

How We Rank Farmers

• Best for discounts
• Second-best for coverage
• Second-best for filing claims
• Third-best for new drivers

Third-Best Provider: USAA

Our research shows that USAA is the third-best car insurance company. USAA boasts exemplary customer satisfaction and exceptional financial strength ratings from both A.M. Best and S&P Global. However, USAA doesn’t qualify to be in J.D. Power’s rankings (likely because of its military exclusivity). Even so, USAA is still in the study, and its scores are far more impressive than any other provider.

As mentioned, USAA is only available to military members and their families. This disqualifies most people from acquiring coverage from this popular insurer. But it also allows USAA to offer some of the best rates in the nation to those eligible, including several other unique benefits for service members. For this reason and more, USAA is the top company for members of the armed forces.

USAA has everything you could want in an insurer, with every type of coverage most people need. It also features a fair number of discounts that lower rates even further. For instance, USAA’s telematics program, SafePilot, can help you save up to 30% on your premium. That’s one of the factors that made us rank USAA as the company with the third-best telematics program.

How We Rank USAA

• Best for military members
• Third-best telematics program

Best Car and Home Insurance Bundle

State Farm has the best car and home bundle among all other insurers. You can save up to 20% if you bundle the two types of coverage with State Farm. On top of State Farm’s favorable rates, you could save a lot of money on your auto premium each month by bundling.

Allstate has the second-best home and auto bundle, with potential savings of up to 25%. Nationwide offers the third-best bundle with a possible discount of 20%.

Best for Bad Driving Records

Progressive is the number one car company for people with bad driving records. It automatically gives its customers accident forgiveness when their policy starts. Progressive also covers high-risk drivers, even to those with a DUI.

State Farm is the next best choice for bad drivers. This includes people with an SR-22 requirement from a DUI or another severe violation. Its status as the best overall auto insurer gives it a slight edge over other companies.

GEICO is the third-best choice for people with poor driving records. This is mainly because of its low rates, easily obtainable accident forgiveness, and willingness to serve high-risk drivers.

Best for New Drivers

American Family (AmFam) is the best car insurer for new drivers. Since most new drivers are under the age of 25, they must find a company that offers lots of discounts and low rates. AmFam does just that. It has a nice selection of savings for young drivers, as well as plenty of other ones that aren’t too hard to get.

We picked Progressive as the second-best company for new drivers. It also has discounts that new and/or young drivers can get, as well as a base version of accident forgiveness.

Farmers is the third-best choice for new drivers. It offers a few helpful student discounts for young people. Or, if you’re starting to drive later in life, it has a defensive driving course discount for people 55 and older.

Best for Military Members and Veterans

As mentioned earlier in the article, USAA is the best provider for military members. It has several specific discounts and perks for service members, as well as some of the lowest rates you can find.

USAA isn’t the only choice for current or former military, however. GEICO was our selection for the second-best insurer for members of the military. It offers highly competitive rates and has more than one military-specific discount.

Armed Forces Insurance (AFI) is the third-best company for military members. Like USAA, it’s only for eligible members of US military branches. While no discounts are widely known, AFI does have a solid amount of coverage and is a good company.

Best for Roadside Assistance

Travelers leads the pack when it comes to best insurers for roadside assistance. This is due to its Premier package, which has a lot more to offer than what you’d typically expect from many other companies. This includes two types of extra coverages. Travelers’ standard package has all of what you’d want out of a roadside assistance plan.

The next best insurance company for roadside protection is Nationwide, which also has two high-quality packages. The third-best insurer for this coverage is Progressive. Its roadside assistance plan, which is available for cars, RVs, and motorcycles, includes lots of services you’d need if your vehicle broke down. This includes gas delivery, flat tire changes, winching, and more.

Best for Filing Claims

State Farm is the top company for claims handling and filing. Its top-rated mobile app and easy-to-use website allow quick avenues for reporting and tracking claims. As was touched upon earlier, State Farm also has a low customer complaint number.

Farmers and American Family are the second and third best providers for filing claims, respectively. Both companies offer simple ways to file claims and, like State Farm, have fewer than average customer complaints.

Best Telematics Program

Allstate tops our list of the best best companies for telematics. Its Drivewise program allows you to save up to 40% on your premium if you can practice safe driving habits. Allstate even gives you a discount just for signing up. The detail that gives Allstate’s telematics the edge is that it only lowers your rates. Unlike other providers, Drivewise won’t raise your rates if you drive poorly.

Nationwide is the second-best company for telematics because of the discounts you can get from both its SmartRide and SmartMiles programs. SmartRide can save you up to 40%, while SmartMiles only costs you money for the miles you drive.

The third-best company for telematics is USAA. It’s safe driving program, SafePilot, can save you around 30% on your premium. USAA’s Pay as You Drive program can also save you money because it only charges you when you drive.

Best Discount Selection

Farmers is the best insurer for discounts because of its wide selection. Since the provider already has competitive rates, anyone can lower their rates with Farmers’ 23 discounts.

The second and third best insurance companies in terms of discounts are GEICO and State Farm. Both offer a wide variety of unique policyholder benefits. For example, GEICO has several vehicle safety discounts and affiliation discounts. State Farm, on the other hand, has the best bundling package, rewards for safe drivers, and almost every discount you’d expect from any insurer.

Best for Coverage Options

Liberty Mutual is the best company for you if you want the most coverage. Liberty Mutual offers 19 car insurance options, including full coverage. It also provides extras like guaranteed asset protection (Gap), better car replacement, and others.

Farmers and Travelers are the second and third-best auto insurers for coverage. Farmers has several extra options, such as spare parts and loss of use. Travelers has all the main coverage options but have some others, including gap and rideshare.

How We Chose Our Winners

The companies that top our list of the best auto insurers in America, excel in a number of categories including:

• Availability
• Rates
• Customer satisfaction and financial strength ratings
• Number of coverages
• Number of discounts and percentage of savings
• Claims handling and ease of filing for customers

After we did our research regarding each company with the above factors in mind, we objectively decided which providers fit into our top three. To determine the order of the three best insurance providers, we considered aspects such as total availability and overall corporate ratings.