Auto-Owners Car Insurance: 2024 Review
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Auto-Owners
Discounts
Ease of use
NAIC complaints
Auto-Owners
Discounts
Ease of use
NAIC complaints
Key insights 💡
Auto-Owners can be a good option for those looking to bundle different insurance policies. This company boasts few personal complaints and a variety of coverage options.
However, Auto-Owners is only available in 26 states, and it does not offer quotes online.
Auto-Owners' average cost of full coverage is $1,685 per year, compared to the national annual average of $2,165.
Auto-Owners earned 5 stars out of 5 for overall performance in our Auto-Owners car insurance review. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account consumer experience, complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and financial strength ratings.
Auto-Owners Insurance Company serves a lot more than just owners of automobiles. The company offers over two dozen types of insurance through independent agents in 26 states. People who need several insurance policies may benefit from the convenience and discounts of bundling them with Auto-Owners, which has many coverage options.
» MORE: Best Car Insurance Companies
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Where Auto-Owners car insurance stands out
Deductible benefits. If you have both home and auto insurance through Auto-Owners and need to make a claim due to the same covered loss, Auto-Owners will either reduce your auto insurance deductible or waive it completely, depending on how much your homeowners deductible is. Your collision deductible is also waived if you get into a crash with another Auto-Owners customer.
Rental car coverage. If you’re renting a car, Auto-Owners will pay any fees the rental car company may charge you if you have an accident. Like most other insurers, it will extend your personal auto insurance coverage to a car you rent.
Where Auto-Owners car insurance falls short
No online quotes available. Users who prefer to do everything online may find it frustrating that there are no online quotes available through Auto-Owners. Instead, you need to contact an independent agent to get a quote.
State availability. Although Auto-Owners is a great choice for many drivers, it's offered in only 26 states throughout the country.
Compare to other insurers
Current Product
|  |  |
|---|---|---|
NerdWallet rating 5.0 /5 | NerdWallet rating 5.0 /5 | NerdWallet rating 5.0 /5 |
Complaints to NAIC Far fewer than expected | Complaints to NAIC Far fewer than expected | Complaints to NAIC Fewer than expected |
Ease of use Above average | Ease of use Above average | Ease of use Above average |
Discounts Great set of discounts | Discounts Great set of discounts | Discounts Average set of discounts |
Bottom line People who need several insurance policies may benefit from the convenience and discounts of bundling them with Auto-Owners, which has many coverage options and few customer complaints. | Bottom line American Family offers a wide range of coverage, including rideshare and gap insurance, but doesn’t sell policies in all states. | Bottom line With generous coverage and discounts for good driving habits, State Farm is a popular insurer with fewer complaints compared to other large competitors. |
How much does Auto-Owners car insurance cost?
Auto-Owners car insurance costs an average of $1,685 per year for full coverage insurance based on NerdWallet’s October 2024 analysis.
Here are Auto-Owners’ average annual rates for different coverage types and driving histories compared to national averages, according to NerdWallet’s latest analysis. Rates are for full coverage car insurance unless otherwise specified.
| Driver profile | Company average rate | National average rate |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum coverage | $438 | $596 |
| Full coverage | $1,685 | $2,165 |
| One speeding ticket, good credit | $2,268 | $2,724 |
| One at-fault crash, good credit | $2,273 | $3,195 |
| One DUI, good credit | $3,389 | $3,977 |
| Clean driving record, poor credit | $4,824 | $3,551 |
Your car insurance rate is determined by a variety of factors, including your age, driving record and address.
If you’re looking for the cheapest auto insurance rates possible, you may want to buy the minimum car insurance needed to drive in your state. Read our cheap car insurance article to see average minimum car insurance rates by company and state.
Here is the average cost of Auto-Owners full coverage by age compared to 2024 national averages.
| Age | Auto-Owners median annual rate | National median annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | $3,483 | $4,403 |
| 30 | $1,723 | $2,228 |
| 35 | $1,685 | $2,165 |
| 40 | $1,671 | $2,100 |
| 50 | $1,565 | $1,955 |
| 60 | $1,497 | $1,885 |
| 70 | $1,670 | $2,015 |
» MORE: Why is my car insurance so high?
Auto-Owners car insurance coverage
When you're shopping for car insurance, it's important to understand what car insurance coverage you want and what you’re required to buy. For instance, most states require a minimum amount of car insurance to drive a vehicle. Alternatively, if you want extra protection, you may be interested in full coverage insurance. Read about the most common types of car insurance coverage to see how they work.
Auto-Owners offers all the usual coverage types, including liability, other state-required coverage, roadside assistance and comprehensive and collision. The company also offers several add-on coverage types and options:
Gap coverage can come in handy if you have a loan or lease balance and your car is totaled or stolen. Comprehensive and collision coverages pay out only up to the value of your car, which might be less than you owe on a loan or lease. Gap insurance pays the difference.
Diminished value coverage is similar to gap insurance, but for less extreme situations. If your car is damaged (rather than stolen or totaled), this add-on will compensate you for the reduced value of your car.
Additional expenses insurance goes further than traditional rental car coverage. In addition to paying for a rental car if your car is in the shop for a covered claim, this optional coverage also pays for food, lodging and other incidentals if you’re stranded.
The Personal Automobile Plus package has more than 10 perks and coverages, including identity theft coverage, cell phone insurance and coverage for replacing lost or stolen keys. This package is available in select states. However, Auto Owners is in the process of eliminating this package and replacing it with a different offering that includes many of the same perks.
Accident forgiveness. Forgives your first at-fault accident, which means your rates won’t go up after a crash. Available only to drivers with no at-fault claims or major traffic violations in the past 36 months.
Auto-Owners also may include a few benefits in its auto policies that other major insurers don’t.
Common loss deductible. This benefit applies if you have your home insurance through Auto-Owners in addition to an auto policy with comprehensive coverage. If you need to make a claim to both policies for the same event — such as a bad storm or a tree falling on both your house and car — the company will reduce your auto deductible by the amount of your property deductible. If your homeowners deductible is higher, the company will waive your auto deductible.
Collision coverage advantage. If you’re in a collision with another customer of the company, your collision deductible will be waived.
Rental car insurance. When you rent a car, your Auto-Owners policy covers as much as it does for your personal car, as well as any fees from the rental company associated with an accident. Some auto policies have lower coverage limits when you rent a car and don’t pay those fees.
Do you know the different types of car insurance? Reading Auto-Owners insurance reviews won’t be much help if you’re not familiar with the types of car insurance and the coverage you need. Use the tool below to clear up any doubts.
» MORE: Compare car insurance rates
See what you could save on car insurance
Easily compare personalized rates to see how much switching car insurance could save you.Auto insurance discounts
You may be able to save on your auto insurance policy by:
Buying multiple insurance products from Auto-Owners.
Paying premiums on time for a 36-month period.
Paying your premium in full, upfront.
Opting for paperless billing and online payments.
Insuring more than one vehicle.
Owning a vehicle with safety features like anti-lock brakes and airbags.
Having few or favorable (not-at-fault) claims.
Being a new customer and getting a quote at least one day before starting a policy.
Maintaining good grades as a student.
Being a student and leaving your car at home while attending school more than 100 miles away.
Monitoring teen drivers with GPS.
First time shopping for auto insurance? Unsure of where to start? Check out our guide on how to shop for car insurance.
Auto-Owners life insurance
You can get term, universal and whole life insurance policies from Auto-Owners Insurance.
For most families, term life insurance is the best mix of price and protection. From Auto-Owners, term life insurance comes in 10-, 20- or 30-year terms and can be extended to age 95.
Consult a financial advisor if you’re considering permanent life insurance.
Is Auto-Owners insurance good?
Auto-Owners had far fewer than the expected number of complaints about auto insurance to state regulators relative to its size, according to three years’ worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
J.D. Power study | Auto-Owners ranking |
|---|---|
Auto insurance shopping (2024) | No. 8 out of 17 companies. |
Auto insurance claims satisfaction (2024) | No. 13 out of 21 companies. |
More about Auto-owners insurance
Website: Auto-Owners has a user-friendly website with information on policy options and discounts. Policyowners can log in to view policy information, select paperless billing, make payments and more.
Mobile app: Android and Apple users can download the Auto-Owners app and track claims, pay bills and view documents and insurance ID cards.
Auto-Owners insurance reviews: Homeowners and renters insurance
Auto-Owners offers all the standard homeowners coverage, plus add-ons you can choose. To learn more, read our Auto-Owners home insurance review.
Auto-Owners also offers renters insurance through independent agents. To read about this coverage, see NerdWallet’s Auto-Owners renters insurance review.
Other insurance from Auto-Owners
Other types of insurance from Auto-Owners include:
Condo insurance.
Motorcycle insurance.
Motor home and RV insurance.
Business insurance.
Boat insurance.
Farm insurance.
ATV and off-road vehicle insurance.
Flood insurance.
Commercial auto insurance.
Umbrella insurance.
Mobile home insurance.
Auto-Owners can also provide pet insurance through a partnership with Figo.
Car insurance quick-start guide
Read more car insurance guides from NerdWallet to find the best car insurance for you.
Methodology
Insurer complaints methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2021-2023. To assess how insurers compare to one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
Auto insurance ratings methodology
NerdWallet’s auto insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, consumer complaints and discounts. Our “ease of use” category looks at factors such as website transparency and how easy it is to file a claim. Using our editorial discretion, we also consider customer satisfaction surveys. These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines and full ratings methodology for auto insurance.
Average rates methodology
NerdWallet averaged rates based on public filings obtained by pricing analytics company Quadrant Information Services. We examined rates for men and women for all ZIP codes in any of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Although it’s one of the largest insurers in the country, Liberty Mutual is not included in our rates analysis due to a lack of publicly available information.
In our analysis, “good drivers” had no moving violations on record; a “good driving” discount was included for this profile. Our “good” and “poor” credit rates are based on credit score approximations and do not account for proprietary scoring criteria used by insurance providers.
These are average rates, and your rate will vary based on your personal details, state and insurance provider.
Sample drivers had the following coverage limits:
$100,000 bodily injury liability coverage per person.
$300,000 bodily injury liability coverage per crash.
$50,000 property damage liability coverage per crash.
$100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per person.
$300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per crash.
Collision coverage with $1,000 deductible.
Comprehensive coverage with $1,000 deductible.
We used the same assumptions for all other driver profiles, with the following exceptions:
We changed the credit tier from “good” to “poor” as reported to the insurer to see rates for drivers with poor credit. In states where credit isn’t taken into account, we only used rates for “good credit.”
For drivers with one at-fault crash, we added a single at-fault crash costing $10,000 in property damage.
For drivers with a DUI, we added a single drunken-driving violation.
We used a 2021 Toyota Camry LE in all cases and assumed 12,000 annual miles driven. We analyzed rates for drivers of the following ages: 20, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60 and 70.
2025 auto insurance survey methodology
The opt-in survey of 7,503 U.S. adults ages 18 and older was conducted online by Russell Research on behalf of NerdWallet in June and July 2024. Respondents were asked to rate one auto insurance brand they obtained or renewed a policy within the past 12 months, with at least some changes to the original policy. These brands were rated on overall satisfaction, overall value, online experience, trustworthiness, mobile app experience, claims experience and customer support on a scale of 1-100.
Only brands with 100 or more qualifying respondents are reported. Of those respondents: 300 were State Farm customers, 300 were Progressive customers, 300 were Allstate customers, 300 were Geico customers, 100 were USAA customers, 157 were AAA customers, 100 were Liberty Mutual customers, 100 were American Family customers, 100 were Farmers customers, 100 were Travelers customers and 101 were Nationwide customers.
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