Finding the right car insurance coverage at the right price can take lots of time and comparison shopping. Auto insurance isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of purchase. For some, price is a big factor. After all, car insurance for young drivers , especially those under age 25, typically costs more than it does for older drivers. For others, paying a bit more to have excellent customer service to rely on may be most important. Deciding which insurance company is the best fit is even more difficult when you don’t exactly know what you’re looking for or where to begin.

Find the best auto insurance offers for you
Compare Quotes

To help you find the best car insurance companies for your needs, Insure.com’s team of insurance experts and data analysts surveyed 1,231 millennial drivers to get their views on their insurer’s claims process, pricing, customer service and digital customer experience. We also asked them a range of questions, among them:

  • How much they spend on auto insurance
  • Why they purchased a policy from their insurer over other companies
  • How much they would need to save to switch insurers

Using all this data, here’s an overview of the best car insurance companies for millennials and what this group had to say about their insurers. All scores are out of 100.

 

    Top 20 Car Insurance Companies for Millennials

 

Overall Ranking Auto Insurance Company Millennial Score
1 CSAA Insurance Group 89.85
2 The Auto Club Group (ACG) – AAA 88.63
3 USAA 87.58
4 Auto Club of Southern California (Auto Club Enterprise Insurance Group) 87.45
5 Erie 87.23
6 American Family 86.92
7 Hartford 86.64
8 Mercury 85.10
9 Geico 84.53
10 State Farm 84.17
11 Safeco 84.11
12 Nationwide 83.73
13 Metlife 83.22
14 The General 83.19
15 Esurance 82.41
16 Liberty Mutual 82.27
17 Travelers 81.35
18 Allstate 81.02
19 Farmers 80.05
20 Progressive 77.59

 

Millennials and car insurance: How they buy it, what they spend, savings to switch

Millennials aren’t a monolithic group. This demographic interacts with car insurance companies in different ways and has varied priorities and diverse preferences.

The majority of millennials policyholders (38%) prefer to deal with their insurer and policy over the phone. Nearly 23% prefer to interact in-person, while 20% prefer their insurer’s website. Email and their insurer’s mobile app were the preferred channels for 9% and 10% of millennials, respectively.

As far as price, nearly 57% of millennials spend between $500 and $1,499 annually. Most millennials — 18% — spend at the higher end of this range, with annual car insurance costs between $1,000 – $1,249. Most millennials (63%) spend this amount for coverage on just one car, while 29% spent this much for two cars.

Price also was a major driver of customer retention. About 30% of millennials said they would switch insurers if another company offered them coverage for $250 less a year. Nearly 26% of millennials said they’d switch if their insurance costs would decrease by $100 annually. 

Compare Auto Insurance Policies in San Mateo
Age                                                  16 - 20                                                   21 - 24                                                   25 - 34                                                   35 - 44                                                   45 - 54                                                   55 - 64                                                   65+                                              
Currently Insured
Homeowner
Good Drivericon
Multiple Vehicles?
*Sponsored
Ultimate Insurance
Ultimate Insurance
  • Save Time & Money With Free Quotes From Top Carriers
  • Get Savings in Minutes
  • Easy, Fast & 100% Free. Click Here to Start Saving!
 Get a Quote
*Sponsored

Top three auto insurance companies for millennials

For the top-ranked car insurance companies — CSAA Insurance Group, the auto club group and USAA — between 24-25% of millennials said they initially decided to do business with these companies because of the recommendation of a friend or family member. Almost 18% of millennials said they chose CSAA because of price, while nearly 15% of millennials chose The Auto Club Group for this reason. Price was the driving factor for 12% of millennials who chose USAA. 

Reputation also was an important factor for some millennials. About 28% of these consumers said they chose USAA because of the company’s reputation. Only 3% and 12% of millennials, respectively, chose The Auto Club Group and CSAA for this reason.

The level of satisfaction with each of these companies’ digital experience also varied among millennials. Between 39% and 44% of millennials said they were completely satisfied with CSAA’s, The Auto Group Club’s and USAA’s websites and mobile apps, with USAA receiving the highest percentage of completely satisfied customers among the three insurers. Between 44% and 49% of millennials said they were satisfied with the digital experience the three companies offered. In total, a majority of millennials were content with these companies’ websites and apps.

 

auto-insurance

QuickTake

Car Insurance Companies
Elephant Car Insurance
2020: Best car insurance companies for baby boomers
The largest auto insurance companies by market share
Titan Car Insurance
21st Century Car Insurance
See more >

How top carriers ranked on price, claims, customer service and digital experience

In the tables below, you’ll see how current policyholders weighed in on their insurance companies on four metrics. All scores are out of 100.

Best car insurance companies based on price

Choosing a car insurance company requires you to do your research and get quotes. You shouldn’t base your entire auto insurance decisions on the company that offers the lowest rates, but it is important. Here’s where millennial respondents rated their car insurer’s rates. 

Price Ranking Auto Insurance Company Millennial Score
1 Hartford 93.33
2 CSAA Insurance Group 90.20
3 The Auto Club Group (ACG) – AAA 88.24
4 USAA 84.85
5 American Family 84.29
6 The General 84.15
7 Auto Club of Southern California (Auto Club Enterprise Insurance Group) 82.92
8 Erie 82.58
9 Geico 82.31
10 Mercury 82.05
11 Liberty Mutual 81.29
12 Metlife 80.85
13 State Farm 80
14 Travelers 79.05
15 Nationwide 78.67
16 Esurance 78.15
17 Safeco 77.39
18 Allstate 75.65
19 Farmers 74.19
20 Progressive 71.11

 

 

Car insurance companies with the best claims process

One of the last things you want to think about when buying car insurance is a future accident. However, a company’s claims handling should be a vital factor in deciding which company to choose. You’ll see that millennials ranked five companies with the highest grade for claims processing.

Claims Ranking Auto Insurance Company Millennial Score
1 Auto Club of Southern California (Auto Club Enterprise Insurance Group) 95.00
2 Safeco 92.86
3 CSAA Insurance Group 92.5
4 American Family 91.43
5 Erie 91.11
6 The Auto Club Group (ACG) – AAA 90
6 Mercury 90
7 State Farm 89.73
7 USAA 88.33
10 Travelers 88
11 Metlife 87.62
12 Farmers 87.14
13 Geico 86.67
14 Hartford 85
15 Nationwide 84.8
16 Allstate 84.44
16 Esurance 83.75
18 The General 83.53
19 Liberty Mutual 83.08
20 Progressive 81.82

 

 

Car insurance companies with the best customer service

Customer service once focused mainly on a car insurance company’s call center. Now, customer service involves multiple communication avenues, including apps, texts, email and social media. Here’s how millennials ranked auto insurance companies for customer service.

Customer Service Ranking Auto Insurance Company Millennial Score
1 Hartford 91.11
2 USAA 90
3 Erie 89.68
4 CSAA Insurance Group 89.02
5 Nationwide 88
6 The Auto Club Group (ACG) – AAA 87.65
7 Auto Club of Southern California (Auto Club Enterprise Insurance Group) 87.50
8 American Family 87.14
8 Geico 86.92
10 Safeco 86.09
11 Mercury 85.13
12 State Farm 85.06
13 Esurance 84.81
14 Travelers 83.81
15 Liberty Mutual 83.23
16 Metlife 82.55
17 The General 82.26
18 Farmers 81.29
19 Allstate 80.87
20 Progressive 78.52

 

Car insurance companies with the best website & apps

You lead a busy life. You don’t want to be limited to making phone calls when a call center is open. Car insurance companies understand this and have improved their websites and apps, so you can get your questions answered at any time. This is how millennials rated their auto insurance companies. 

Website/app Ranking Auto Insurance Company Millennial Score
1 USAA 87.94
2 The Auto Club Group (ACG) – AAA 87.74
3 Auto Club of Southern California (Auto Club Enterprise Insurance Group) 85.53
4 Esurance 85.28
5 Allstate 84.76
5 Erie 84.62
7 American Family 84.55
  CSAA Insurance Group 84.31
9 Progressive 83.70
10 Mercury 83.08
11 Safeco 82.73
12 The General 82.35
13 State Farm 82.15
14 Geico 81.54
15 Farmers 81.33
16 Nationwide 80.86
17 Liberty Mutual 80.74
18 Metlife 77.83
19 Travelers 72.22`
20 Hartford 67.50

 

5 tips for comparing car insurance companies

 

 

If you’re in the market for car insurance, you can use this data as your guide to identify potential companies for car insurance. Here are some other ways to comparison shop: 

 

 

  • Identify your needs: Learn how the different types of car insurance work to protect you, then decide how much car insurance you need. Insure.com Senior Consumer Analyst Penny Gusner recommends buying more liability insurance than what your state requires to drive legally to ensure you are sufficiently covered. You also need to know whether you need comprehensive or collision coverage. It’s wise to buy these optional coverages unless your car is worth less than $3,000 and you have no assets or savings.
  • Check company performance and complaints: The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and your state’s department of insurance both track company performance, which includes details on an insurer’s financial rating and complaint ratios. Pay close attention to each insurer’s complaint ratio. You can see the complaint ratio of companies you are considering by visiting the NAIC website, and eliminate the companies that don’t have a good reputation.
  • Do your digital due diligence: Customer experience is a top priority for many millennials, so visit the websites of some of the companies you’re considering to see if they offer a user-friendly and seamless digital experience. If their website and apps are easy to use, it might be a good indication of the quality of customer service you’ll receive as a policyholder.
  • Research discounts for which you qualify: Check each company’s website for information on discount programs. Discounts that are a good fit for millennial drivers include “good student” discounts, if you’re still in college or grad school, discounts found through affiliate programs such as your alma mater or professional group and low-mileage discounts if you have a short commute or use public transportation and don’t drive much. There are also many discounts for electronic billing and buying a policy online. And, you can save on your policy if you buy your auto insurance and renters insurance or home insurance from the same company.
  • Compare car insurance quotes: Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, compare car insurance rates from each of your top companies. You should compare quotes from at least three companies. Car insurance companies each use their own unique formula to set rates, so the price of a policy can vary significantly among carriers, which is why comparing costs is one of the most effective ways to save money.