The Big 5 Auto Insurance Companies In The United States: State Farm vs Farmers vs Geico vs Progressive vs Allstate. Which Company Is The Best One For You?
State Farm, Farmers, Geico, Progressive, and Allstate are the biggest names in the auto insurance business right now. If you’re in the market for new car insurance, or it’s time to renew and you just want to see what other options might be out there, the odds are you’ll find yourself looking at these names. To help make your search a little easier, we’ve compiled just about everything you need to know before you start looking at quotes. We’ve listed all of their available discounts, coverage options, customer service reviews, and what they might cost you.
If you’re ready to take a drive with us, buckle up as we help you navigate through the auto insurance industry, use our free quote tool, and peruse the best premiums and coverage out there today.
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Coverage
The Basics
Before we can get into the nuts and bolts of the auto providers, let's lay some groundwork for the terms and types of coverage you’ll need to know about.
- Liability Coverage: Unlike many of the other types of coverage we’ll go over, liability is the only one that’s legally required by almost every state. This type of insurance is all about protecting the other driver in the event of a car accident, including their vehicle and any medical bills that might have been incurred as a result of the accident. (all five)
- Collision Coverage: Collision is designed to protect your vehicle in the event of an accident. From repair costs to paying out if it’s been totaled, collision is required if you’re still making payments on your vehicle, or if it’s been leased. Otherwise, you might want to consider your car's overall value to see if collision coverage is right for you. (all five)
- Medical or Personal Injury Protection: Where collision is designed to protect your car after an accident, personal injury protection (or PIP, for short) makes sure you're covered for any medical expenses that may arise after an accident. You may want to take your personal health insurance plan into consideration when determining if PIP coverage is right for you. (all five)
- Comprehensive Coverage: If you’ve ever wondered what happens when your car is damaged by something other than an accident, that’s where comprehensive steps in. From floods, fires, theft, and animals, damage caused to your vehicle by these types of events and situations can be covered under comprehensive. Like collision, you should consider the overall value of your car when deciding if comprehensive is right for you. (all five)
- Uninsured Motorist Protection: Driving with insurance is the law. Unfortunately, not everyone abides by the law, and uninsured motorist coverage can step in for you after a hit-and-run or if you’ve been involved in an accident where the other driver isn’t covered. (all five)
- Gap Insurance: As the name suggests, gap coverage covers the difference in the amount your car is valued at after an accident and the amount you still owe on it. When you drive your car off the lot, it immediately depreciates, so even if you got into an accident a month after you bought a car, its “value” might not be enough to cover what you still owe. Gap covers the rest. (Progressive, Allstate)
- No-Fault Insurance: Currently, you can get no-fault insurance in only 12 states, but it’s designed to cover property damage and medical expenses, regardless of who’s at fault. You may want to consider the cost of this type of coverage compared to collision and PIP combined to determine what the best deal might be for you. (Geico, Progressive, State Farm)
While these aren’t the only types of coverage you might have to consider, they are the main options. Keep each of these in mind as we break down the providers and the types of coverage they offer to help find the company that can best meet your needs.
| Liability Coverage | Collision Coverage | Medical or Personal Injury | Comprehensive Coverage | Uninsured Motorist Protection | Gap Insurance | No-Fault Insurance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Farm | |||||||
| Farmers | |||||||
| Geico | |||||||
| Progressive | |||||||
| Allstate |
| State Farm | Farmers | Geico | Progressive | Allstate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liability Coverage | |||||
| Collision Coverage | |||||
| Medical or Personal Injury | |||||
| Comprehensive Coverage | |||||
| Uninsured Motorist Protection | |||||
| Gap Insurance | |||||
| No-Fault Insurance |
Allstate |
Allstate offers all seven of the major car insurance coverages, except for no-fault. They also offer property coverages in addition to pet insurance, retirement and investments, landlord coverage, and health insurance. They also offer traditional add-ons like rental reimbursement, sound system coverage for costly upgrades, towing and labor coverage as well as their Claims Satisfaction Guarantee. |
Geico |
Geico also offers all of the seven major types of car insurance in addition to the option to insure collectible vehicles. They also offer the standard property insurance options plus bundling solutions and discounts, as we’ll describe below. Geico also offers add-ons to your auto premium like roadside assistance, rental reimbursement, and mechanical breakdown for after your vehicle’s warranty has expired. |
State Farm |
State Farm offers all of the major seven types of car insurance coverage, in addition to the ability to bundle in either your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. They also offer unique solutions like financial services, including banking, checking, credit, and loans that most of the other companies don’t offer. |
Progressive |
Progressive offers all of the seven types of auto insurance, except for no-fault coverage. They also offer classic auto insurance if you own a collectible car, as well as unique options like pet insurance, health insurance, and even event and wedding coverage. They also offer property coverage and add-ons such as roadside assistance, rental reimbursement, pet injury coverage. Their Custom Parts and Equipment Coverage in case of an accident in a car you’ve added upgrades to is available as well. |
Farmers |
Farmers also offers all seven of the major types of auto insurance, in addition to auto premium upgrades such as glass repair services, towing and roadside assistance, rental reimbursement, and ride-share coverage for drivers who work for ride-sharing companies like Uber or Lyft. They also offer property coverage, business insurance, pet coverage, and motorcycle coverage. |
| The Best: | Farmers, Geico, State Farm |
Discounts
| Student | Homeowners | Senior | Bundle / Multi-Car | Car Features / Type | Driver Training | Good Driving | Military / Government | Online and Payment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Farm | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | ||||
| Farmers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Geico | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Progressive | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |||
| Allstate | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| State Farm | Farmers | Geico | Progressive | Allstate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Homeowners | 1 | 1 | |||
| Senior | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Bundle / Multi-Car | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Car Features / Type | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | |
| Driver Training | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Good Driving | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Military / Government | 3 | ||||
| Online and Payment | 5 | 5 |
Number of Discounts, per Category
Allstate |
Allstate has an extensive list of discount options, including those for students and people over 55. In addition to good and out-of-state student discounts, they also offer a TeenSMART Drivers Education Program that can help you save on pricey teens. Get a Pay Discount if you opt to pay in full as well as one for early signing and bundled premiums. Because of their additional services, they might be worth considering over their competitors if you’re also going to be insuring a young driver. |
Geico |
Geico is one of a few of the Big 5 insurance companies to offer a military discount, in addition to emergency deployment discounts if you’re ever mobilized as a member of the armed forces. They also offer discounts for government employees and corporate partnership depending on who you work for, giving Geico a wide range of discounts you might be able to qualify for. They also offer the traditional safe car and safe driver options, including their Five-Year Accident-Free program. |
State Farm |
State Farm doesn’t offer all of their discounts in every state, but they make it easy to see what you might be able to qualify for based on location on their website, which is refreshing. While they offer standard good driving discounts and loyalty discounts if you have multiple lines of insurance with them (like bundling your car insurance and your home insurance), they seem to have the most to offer students. Insuring teenagers and young drivers can be pricey, and State Farm offers a discount for taking a driver training course, being a good student, and if your student is away for school and leaving their car at home. They also offer a discount for drivers over 55 for taking an additional defensive driving course which can help keep higher premiums as you get old as low as possible. |
Progressive |
Progressive has a somewhat different take on insurance discounts, though other companies are starting to catch on. They offer standard options but include some other easy to acquire discounts like signing your documents online, getting an online quote, and paying your premium in full rather than making monthly installment payments. They also offer their Snapshot program that monitors the way you drive and may qualify you for additional discounts. Of course, the program has its critics, and may or may not earn you a discount, but if you’re a safe driver, it might be worth a shot. |
Farmers |
Farmers Insurance has the shortest list of published discounts of all the companies here. They only mention the standard offerings and nothing really outside of the box. If you’re not going to bundle your services with them, or you don’t have a teenage or over-55 driver, Farmers may not have much for you by way of discount options. |
| The Best: | Allstate |
Customer Service
| BBB Rating Star | BBB Rating Grade | |
|---|---|---|
| State Farm | 2.85 / 5 | B |
| Farmers | 3.98 / 5 | A+ |
| Geico | 3.48 / 5 | A |
| Progressive | 3.74 / 5 | A+ |
| Allstate | 3.3 / 5 | A- |
Allstate |
Allstate customers mention the quality of bundling Allstate services like auto and home insurance premiums, and the quality of their customer service when communication with agents over the phone. They also mention raising their rates, and that that it can be difficult to file a claim with Allstate. While some say that agents over the phone can be courteous, others identify that actually getting an agent on the phone can be very difficult. Customers also mention that getting Allstate to pay for repairs after an accident can be more difficult than usual. |
Geico |
Geico has one of the highest ratings according to the BBB, and customers generally comment that getting in touch with a Geico agents can be easy and that their mobile app is friendly and easy to use. Some customers do mention their premiums increasing, and that payouts from Geico after an accident can take a longer time to receive than normal. They may also add additional fees to your premium outside of a quoted rate according to some reviews. |
State Farm |
State Farm has the lowest BBB rating of all five companies. Common customer complaints list slow turnaround time with claims service, and that it may be difficult to cancel their service if you ever decide to move on. A few customers also cite being dropped by State Farm for either their auto or home insurance unknowingly for filing too many claims. While few customers complain about pricing, and many note that they’ve been with State Farm for years, some also suggest that rate premiums tend to increase over the years. |
Progressive |
Progressive also has a high BBB rating, and positive reviews mention that their website is easy to use and agents are friendly. They also mention that a Progressive agent will check on the quality of repairs completed by a shop after an accident has occurred. Negative reviews suggest, like other companies, that Progressive can be hard to cancel and that claims service can take longer than quoted. Customers report that filing any sort of claim with Progressive can cause your rate to go up, and some customers have noticed increases in their rate regardless of claims history. |
Farmers |
Farmers Insurance has the highest Better Business Bureau rating out of all five companies. Positive reviews mention quality customer service from their agents, as well as being well informed and quick to respond to roadside assistance claims. Reviews state that they can be difficult to cancel at times, but don’t mention bad pricing or rate hikes. They do say that Farmers can be slow to process claims and that a single accident may involve multiple claims or deductibles, depending on the damage. |
| The Best: | Farmers |
Financial Strength
A.M. Best |
Standard and Poor’s |
Moody’s |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| State Farm | A++ | AA | |
| Farmers | A | A2 | |
| Geico | A++ | AA | Aa1 |
| Progressive | A+ | AA | Aa2 |
| Allstate | A+ | AA- | Aa3 |
| The Best: | Geico |
Expert Reviews
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Compare Customized Quotes
Now that you have the info you need to pick the right insurance for you, there’s one final essential step: Comparing quotes. That’s where our quote comparison tool comes in handy. In just under a minute, get dozens of personalized quotes from the Big 5 and other companies. It’s that easy, and it’s right here: