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Last updated: March 9, 2023

Erie Car Insurance Pricing

Everything you need to know about Erie Insurance’s rates, discounts, features, and more.

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Erie Insurance is a Pennsylvania-based insurance provider. The company got its start selling auto insurance policies before branching out into other states and types of insurance policies. While policies aren’t available to drivers in every state, Erie customers enjoy competitive rates and unique savings opportunities. Keep reading to learn more about Erie Insurance and what it has to offer.

Erie Car Insurance Rates

Erie Insurance offers some of the most competitive auto insurance rates in the country. The average annual insurance premium with Erie is just $1,084, compared to the national average of $2,071. It’s worth noting that many factors can affect your insurance rates. The quote you receive from Erie may be higher or lower than its average premium.

Here are a few factors that may affect your insurance rates:

  • Minimum vs. full coverage: Minimum coverage, meaning the minimum amount of insurance your state requires, is the cheapest coverage available. If you decide to upgrade to full coverage, which includes comprehensive, collision, and uninsured motorist coverage, your rates will increase.
  • Age: Insurance rates tend to decrease as you get older — up to a point. While a 16-year-old driver could easily pay upwards of $4,000 per year for insurance, someone in their 40s or 50s will enjoy some of the lowest insurance rates. However, premiums tend to start rising again for drivers in their 70s and 80s.
  • Gender: Generally speaking, men pay more for car insurance because they are more likely to cause and die in accidents than women. However, in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, it’s illegal for auto insurance providers to discriminate based on gender. In other words, they can’t charge you more simply because you’re a man or woman.
  • Marital status: You might be surprised to learn that tying the knot can help you save money on insurance. While the difference isn’t significant, married individuals generally pay a bit less for auto insurance.
  • Driving record: Your driving record is one of the most important factors impacting your insurance premium. If you have a clean record, you’ll have access to the best insurance rates, while having an at-fault accident, speeding ticket, or other violation on your record can increase your rates.
  • Credit score: Insurance providers use credit scores as a measure of risk when setting insurance premiums. Drivers with good credit may get rates well below the average, while drivers with bad credit usually have considerably higher premiums. However, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Utah, and Washington all ban insurance companies from using your credit score as a factor in insurance pricing.
  • Location: Auto insurance rates vary by state. Some states may have higher average rates due to more uninsured drivers, more accidents, a greater chance of inclement weather, and more. Louisiana drivers have the nation’s highest average premiums, while Maine drivers have the lowest premiums.1

Erie Discounts

Discount type Qualifications
Safe driving Erie offers a claim/violation-free discount that allows you to save if you have a good driving record and no prior claims.
Multiple policies You can save between 16 and 25 percent when you bundle your Erie car insurance policy with another policy from the company. Erie’s other policies include motorcycle, boat, home, renters, life, and business insurance.
Multiple vehicles You’ll qualify for a discount if you have two or more cars on the same policy.
Reduced usage Erie offers a discount if you plan to store your vehicle for at least 90 consecutive days. This discount isn’t available in Kentucky, however.
Car safety equipment Having certain vehicle safety features on your car, including airbags, anti-theft devices, and antilock brakes, can save you money. This discount isn’t available for passive restraint systems in North Carolina or Kentucky, or for anti-theft devices in North Carolina.
Annual payment Erie gives you a discount when you pay your annual premium upfront rather than monthly.
Youthful driver Unmarried drivers under the age of 21 may get discounts for living with their parents, having a certain number of years on their parents’ policies, or taking an accredited driver training course.
College student Families can save money when a college student goes away to school and doesn’t bring a car with them.

Favorite Features

Erie Insurance has several features that help it to stand out from its competitors. Some of these features may be available from a few other competitors, while others are entirely unique to Erie.

ERIE Rate Lock

ERIE Rate Lock is the company’s signature program. It helps you avoid rate increases. With ERIE Rate Lock, you won’t see your rate increase just for filing a claim. On the contrary, your rates won’t increase until you make certain changes to your policy, including adding or removing a driver or vehicle or changing your primary residence. Not available in all states, ERIE Rate Lock is limited to three years for drivers in Virginia.

Diminishing Deductible

For each policy year that you don’t file a claim, your deductible will decrease by $100, up to a maximum decrease of $500. This means that if you have a $500 deductible, it could eventually go down to $0.

NOTE

If you live in New York, your comprehensive deductible can’t go lower than $50 and your collision deductible can’t go lower than $100.

ERIE Auto Plus

ERIE Auto Plus is optional protection that you can add to your car insurance policy for $35 or less per year. This program enhances your coverage and includes the following:

  • Diminishing deductible
  • $10,000 death benefit
  • Additional days of transportation expense coverage (not available in Kentucky)
  • Waived deductibles in select situations, such as if an incident involves both your covered vehicle and covered home
  • Increased coverage limits for locksmiths, stolen personal items, sound equipment, and non-owned trailers

First Accident Forgiveness

With its First Accident Forgiveness program, Erie won’t increase your premium after your first accident as long as you’ve been a customer for at least three years. And unlike some insurance providers, Erie doesn’t charge extra for this perk.

New Car Protection and Better Car Protection

You can find yourself in a difficult situation if you total your car and your insurance company doesn’t provide enough coverage to replace it. To help you avoid that situation, Erie offers New Car Protection and Better Car Protection.

With New Car Protection, if your car is fewer than 24 months old, Erie will help you replace it with the latest model of the same vehicle. And if your car is more than 24 months old, Erie’s Better Car Protection will help you replace it with a vehicle that’s two years newer.

Unfortunately, neither of these coverages is available to customers in North Carolina or New York.

Where Is Erie Available?

Erie Insurance has a relatively limited coverage area compared to many of its competitors. Right now, Erie offers car insurance policies in 12 states and Washington, D.C. Here are all of the locations where Erie auto insurance is available:

  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Kentucky
  • Maryland
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Tennessee
  • Virginia
  • Washington, D.C.
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin

While Erie is available in all of the states mentioned above, coverage and discount options aren’t identical everywhere.

Erie Cancellation Policy

You can cancel your auto insurance policy at any time without paying a cancellation fee. Unfortunately, Erie doesn’t allow you to cancel a policy online. Instead, you can cancel either over the phone or via mail.

How to contact Erie Insurance Contact information
Phone 800-458-0811
Mail Erie Insurance Group

100 Erie Insurance Place

Erie, PA 16530

PRO TIP

In addition to canceling your Erie insurance by calling the company or sending your request via mail, you can contact your local agent directly.

Company Background

Erie Insurance has nearly a century of business under its belt. Henry Orth Hirt and Oliver Grover Crawford founded the company in 1925 after working together at the Pennsylvania Indemnity Exchange. Their goal was to create an insurance company that emphasized customer service.

After its founding, it took less than a decade for Erie Insurance to venture outside of Pennsylvania. It started offering policies in Maryland in 1953 and soon expanded into other states.

Originally, Erie specialized in auto insurance, but in 1961, it introduced its first homeowners insurance policy. By 1967, the company was also offering life insurance policies. The company continued expanding regionally until 2014, when it expanded into its most recent state, Kentucky.

In the nearly 100 years since Hirt and Crawford founded it, Erie Insurance has gone from a small Pennsylvania insurance provider to a Fortune 500 company with more than 6,000 employees and 6 million policies in effect.

Erie Contact Information

Contact reason Online Phone Mail
24/7 emergency roadside assistance Visit Erie’s website and identify the specific problem you are experiencing. ​​https://erie.rsahelp.com/ Call 800-367-3743 (choose option 2). N/A
Speak to Erie customer care Visit Erie’s website to send an email, or use online chat from your account: https://www.erieinsurance.com/contact-erie/customer-care. Call 800-458-0811 (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET). Erie Insurance Group

100 Erie Insurance Place

Erie, PA 16530

Start a claim N/A Call 800-367-3743 or your local agent.

For windshield and glass claims, call 800-552-3743.

N/A

You can contact Erie Insurance using any of the contact methods listed in the table above. However, you always have the option of reaching out to your local agent directly. Contacting your local agent may result in faster service since you already have a relationship with that individual.

Conclusion

Erie Insurance isn’t available in every state, but it has plenty of perks for customers in the 13 locations where it offers policies. Some of the benefits policyholders can enjoy include below-average premiums and unique coverage options. Keep reading and you’ll find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Erie Insurance.

Frequently Asked Questions

How highly is Erie Insurance rated?

Erie is one of the top-rated insurance companies for customer satisfaction. The company scored 901 out of 1,000 in the 2021 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Claims Satisfaction Study, behind only The Hartford and USAA. Additionally, Erie has an excellent financial strength rating, earning an A+ from AM Best.

How long do I have to get car insurance for a new car with Erie?

Erie offers a grace period when you buy a new car. You’ll have until the end of your policy period or 60 days (whichever comes first) to let the company know about your new car for liability coverage. For comprehensive and collision coverage, you’ll have to let the company know within seven days of getting your new car.

Does Erie Insurance cover car rental when my car breaks down?

Erie Insurance offers transportation expense and rental car coverage if you have comprehensive coverage. You won’t have to pay extra for this coverage, and it will kick in when your car is in the shop due to a covered incident.

Citations

  1. Facts + Statistics: Auto insurance. III. (2022).
    https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-auto-insurance