Best Auto Insurance for Families

State Farm distinguishes itself from the competition with good rates and a strong history of customer satisfaction. It’s the largest auto insurer in the U.S. and our top pick for families.

Extensive Discounts

In addition to baseline low rates, State Farm has a number of discounts that can help you save on auto insurance. This includes discounts for teen drivers, which families can benefit from in particular.

• Steer Clear: Drivers under age 25 get a discount of up to 15 percent for completing an app-based driver training program (you need a clean record for the past three years to qualify).
• Drive Safe & Save: All drivers get a discount up to 30 percent for tracking good driving habits with State Farm’s mobile app.
• Good student: Students save up to 25 percent for good grades. The discount lasts until age 25.
• Driver training: Get a discount if everyone under age 21 who uses a car completes an approved driver education course.
• Student away at school: Drivers under the age of 25 who go to school more than 100 miles away and leave their cars at home get a discount.
• Accident free: Drivers of any age get a discount for maintaining an accident-free record for at least three years.
• Defensive driver: Taking a driver safety course can earn you discounts.
• Clean record: New customers with no moving violations or at-fault accidents in the past three years get a discount.
• Vehicle: Driving a car with safety features, passive restraints, and anti-theft technology doesn’t just keep your family safe; it earns you discounts as well.

Save by Insuring Multiple Vehicles

If your family has multiple cars, you can save money by insuring all of them on one State Farm policy. In most states, you can insure up to four cars on the same policy.

Did You Know? Around 58 percent of households in the U.S. own two or more vehicles.²

To qualify for a multi-vehicle discount, you must live in the same household and meet one of the following criteria:

• Be related by marriage, blood, or adoption
• Jointly own the vehicles and have both of your names on the insurance policy

Coverage for Rideshare Drivers

Many rideshare drivers support families with their earnings. More than half of drivers are married or in a domestic partnership, and over 60 percent have children.³ State Farm offers important protection for rideshare drivers.

Companies like Lyft and Uber offer liability coverage, but only once you’ve matched with a rider. So, if you’re in an accident while the app is on but before you’ve matched with a rider, you’re not covered. Your personal policy won’t kick in either, because it doesn’t apply to commercial driving. Even in a covered accident, limits may vary and you won’t get money for damage to your own car.

State Farm’s rideshare coverage extends all of the coverages on your personal policy — including collision, comprehensive, rental reimbursement, and emergency roadside assistance — to the times when you’re driving for a rideshare company. If you have to file a claim, you will work with a State Farm representative, not a partner company. Rideshare coverage doesn’t raise your deductible, but your premium will go up by 15 to 20 percent.

Allstate is another good choice for families, especially those with students behind the wheel. Additionally, if an RV is your family’s vacation mode of choice, Allstate offers excellent coverage options.

Multiple Discounts for Young Drivers

Often, one of the biggest auto-related expenses for families is the high cost of insuring teen drivers. Allstate offers multiple ways for young drivers to earn a 20 percent student discount. Young drivers can apply this discount if they’re under age 25, unmarried, and meet any one of the following criteria:

1. Complete the TeenSMART driver education program
2. Go to school full-time with at least a B-minus average or a minimum GPA of 2.7
3. Attend school at least 100 miles away from where the car is garaged

For students away at school, the vehicle must be jointly titled or titled in a parent’s name. If only the young driver’s name is on the title, they’ll need to purchase their own insurance policy.

RV Coverage

RV ownership is on the rise in the U.S., and more than 11 million households own some type of recreational vehicle. Many RV owners are families who enjoy outdoor activities and see RVs as a cheaper and more convenient way to travel.⁴

Allstate offers insurance for both towable and motorized RVs. You can purchase the following coverages:

Accident Forgiveness

At-fault accidents can happen to anyone, but younger and more inexperienced drivers are especially prone.

STAT: According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 are four times more likely to get into a car accident than drivers aged 20 and older.⁵

After an accident, your insurance premium may rise by 50 percent or more. But if you purchase accident forgiveness coverage, Allstate won’t raise rates after an accident, even if your teen is at fault. Expect this coverage to add 3 to 9 percent to your premium. For example, if you pay $140 each month for auto insurance, adding accident forgiveness coverage will add about $4 to $12 to your monthly premium, or $48 to $144 each year. So, even with the added cost, the coverage will pay for itself in the event of an accident.

USAA offers financial services to military members, veterans, and their families. It has a history of good rates, strong customer satisfaction, and financial solidity. If you qualify, we recommend USAA for your family’s auto insurance needs.

Great Rates and Bundling Options

USAA offers some of the cheapest auto insurance rates. On average, you’ll pay about $1,150 each year for USAA auto insurance, or $95 monthly. In addition, families can take advantage of USAA’s bundling options. You can save up to 10 percent if you bundle auto and property insurance, regardless of whether your family rents or owns (including condos).

Strong Roadside Assistance

With roadside assistance, you have peace of mind that if something goes wrong on the road, the people you care for are covered. With USAA, you get the following services:

Roadside assistance is available 24/7, including holidays. According to USAA, a service provider will arrive within 60 to 90 minutes in most cases. Your family can call for help anywhere in the U.S., as well as in the following areas:

• Canada
• England
• Germany
• Italy
• Puerto Rico
• U.S. Virgin Islands

This is a standout offering, as most insurance provider’s roadside services are only available in the U.S. and Canada.

Typically, adding roadside assistance coverage to your USAA policy will increase your premium by only a dollar or two each month. However, even if you don’t have roadside coverage, you can still call USAA for assistance. Because USAA negotiates special rates with its services, you’ll pay less than if you called a towing or roadside assistance company directly.

Different Options for Young Drivers

USAA offers a couple discounts that benefit families with young drivers in particular:

• Good student: Young drivers qualify for this discount if they’re under 25 years old and meet one of the following requirements:
  • Maintain at least a B average or 3.0 GPA
  • Rank in the top 20 percent of their class
  • Make the honor roll or dean’s list
• Driver training: Teens who complete a driver training course receive a discount.

Finally, part of growing up is transitioning from the family auto insurance policy. When young drivers move, start a new job, or experience another big life change, it might be time for them to purchase their own policy. USAA has a loyalty discount that saves young drivers 10 percent on their first policy. To be eligible, young drivers must:

• Be under 25 years old
• Have been previously on parents’ or guardians’ policy for at least three years
• Have a clean driving record

Holding 5 percent of the private auto insurance market share, Liberty Mutual is the sixth-largest insurer in the nation.⁷ It’s known for its range of coverage options, including some you won’t find at every auto insurance company.

Above-and-Beyond Coverage Options

Liberty Mutual offers all of the standard auto insurance coverages as well as a number of add-ons. Your family can choose from the following options:

• Deductible fund: You add $30 to your annual premium ($2.50 each month), and Liberty Mutual will reduce your deductible by $100 each year.
• Lifetime repair guarantee: When you bring your vehicle to an in-network shop for a covered claim, Liberty Mutual will pay the shop directly and guarantee the repairs.
• Rental reimbursement: When using an in-network repair shop, Liberty Mutual arranges for a rental and covers the rental costs for as long as the repairs take.
• Roadside assistance: Get 24-hour assistance, including towing, jump-starts, fuel delivery, flat-tire changes, and lockout service.
• Original parts replacement: If your vehicle needs repair, Liberty Mutual pays for the cost of the manufacturer’s original parts — a good option for families who own Teslas or other vehicles with expensive parts.
• Mexico car insurance: Temporarily add coverage from MexPro, Liberty Mutual’s authorized partner in Mexico, when you cross the border.

Protection for New and Leased Cars

New and leased vehicles account for over a quarter of vehicle sales in the U.S. each year, with many more drivers behind the wheel of vehicles that are only a few years old.⁸ Liberty Mutual has additional coverage options that benefit drivers with newer vehicles that you won’t find with every insurer.

FYI: You could be “underwater” on your loan if you put down less than 20 percent, financed for five years (60 months) or more, or bought a vehicle that depreciates quickly.

Extensive Discount List

While Liberty Mutual does not always offer the lowest baseline rates, families can find the best deal by taking advantage of an array of discounts:

• Online purchase: Complete your auto policy purchase online and save 12 percent.
• Paperless: Get a discount for receiving your bills and paperwork online rather than by mail.
• Preferred payment: Earn a discount by enrolling in automatic payment or by paying for your policy in one or two installments.
• Early shopper: You save if you get a quote from Liberty Mutual before your current policy expires.
• Multi-policy: Liberty Mutual claims that customers save almost $950 when they bundle auto and property insurance, which applies to homeowners, renters, and condo owners alike.
• Multi-vehicle: Like many companies, Liberty Mutual offers a discount for insuring all of your family’s vehicles together.
• Safety features: Save money if your vehicle has features that keep your family safe, like antilock brakes, electronic stability control, and anti-theft devices.
• Hybrid or electric: Get a discount for driving a vehicle that uses an alternate form of propulsion.
• RightTrack: Save up to 30 percent for good driving behavior; the Liberty Mutual app will track your braking, acceleration, total miles driven, and nighttime driving.
• Good record: You get a discount if you don’t have any at-fault accidents or moving violations.
• Homeowner: Save money if you own your home, even if you don’t insure it with Liberty Mutual.
• Military: U.S. Armed Forces members who are retired or on active or reserve duty get a discount as thanks for their service.
• New teen driver discount: When adding a driver under the age of 21 to your policy, you get a discount for the first year.
• Good student: Students who maintain a B average or higher get a discount.
• Student away at school: You can save if a student on your policy lives at school and only occasionally drives the family car.
• Affiliation groups: Liberty Mutual partners with a number of employers, credit unions, and alumni organizations to offer discounts.
• Teachers: While teachers don’t receive a discount per se, they get a $0 deductible for vandalism and collision incidents that happen at school, plus free property coverage for school materials.

Acceptance specializes in selling auto insurance policies to high-risk drivers whom standard insurers may turn away. High-risk drivers include senior and teen drivers, who, statistically, tend to drive less safely. If a member of your family is considered high-risk, Acceptance may be the right option.

Special Policies for High-Risk Drivers

Insurance providers may consider you high-risk if you have a history of DUIs, serious moving violations, or at-fault accidents. Even your age, driving experience, credit, and history of insurance coverage (or lack thereof) can make you high-risk. In some cases, companies may refuse to sell your family auto insurance.

Acceptance specializes in selling nonstandard insurance to drivers who might not be able to find coverage otherwise. While Acceptance does not have all the bells and whistles that some other providers do (e.g., OEM coverage, new car replacement, deductible fund), it still offers all of the essentials, including the following:

If someone in your family drives a motorcycle or needs a non-owner insurance policy, Acceptance has them covered. It can also handle filing an SR-22.

Good for Bad Credit

In every state except Massacushetts, Hawaii, Michigan, and California, insurance providers can take your credit score into account when determining how much you’ll pay for auto insurance. In most cases, insurance companies can also deny coverage or cancel your coverage based on your credit score.

Acceptance provides auto insurance to drivers with a low credit score. While you should expect to pay more than you would with a high credit score, Acceptance offers a number of discounts that can help lower your auto insurance costs. Acceptance’s discounts include the following:

• Clean driving record
• Good student
• Claim-free
• Defensive driver course
• Paperless billing
• Multi-policy
• Multi-vehicle
• Low mileage

Ticket Reimbursement and Roadside Assistance

High-risk drivers tend to pay more for auto insurance than drivers with a clean record. If your family is already paying higher premiums, the last thing your budget needs is a traffic ticket.

Acceptance Insurance’s roadside assistance plans include a unique offering for traffic ticket reimbursement. Coverage extends to anyone you list who drives your car. Even if you choose not to purchase ticket reimbursement coverage, roadside assistance offers assurance that your family members are taken care of in the event of a breakdown.

Acceptance insurance does not raise car insurance rates for roadside assistance service claims (however, keep in mind that offenses like DUIs and serious moving violations can raise your rates). With Towbusters Plus, you receive a range of partner discounts, including 10 percent off at major auto service and maintenance chains.