Erie Auto Insurance Review 2026

You may not have heard of Erie because, unlike the major providers, the company doesn’t spend a ton on advertising. Erie’s goal is to attract drivers with a clean record — who are considered less risky to insure — which is part of how it keeps premiums low. While drivers with good credit and a clean record will see the lowest prices, drivers with at-fault accidents and DUIs may also find cheaper rates compared to the competition.

If you live in one of the states where Erie sells auto insurance, I recommend getting a quote. Here’s where it’s available:

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

I learned about Erie when I first moved to North Carolina and my rates with my then-provider increased. I got quotes from a few different providers, and Erie was the cheapest — about half the price of my existing policy for the same coverage.

Erie Pricing by Customer Profile

Erie’s average premiums are $1,833 annually ($153 monthly) for full coverage and $565 annually ($47 monthly) for minimum coverage. Both rates are about 22 percent below the national average for their respective coverage types.

Among the insurers we analyzed, only USAA (which is available only to military and their families) was cheaper than Erie for both full and minimum coverage, while GEICO was cheaper for just minimum coverage.

Rates change based on factors like location, vehicle, and driving history, so your quote may differ depending on your circumstances.

When I was an Erie customer in 2023, I paid $984 annually ($82 monthly) for full coverage, which was about 40 percent less than the average cost of full coverage in North Carolina at that time. That’s significant savings, which is why I bought a policy and recommend getting a quote if Erie is available where you live.

In addition to sharing my personal experience with Erie, our team analyzed real-life customer feedback and review patterns on Erie auto insurance to understand what other drivers think. By analyzing over 1,000 customer reviews from major platforms like Reddit, BBB, Yelp, and more, we identified common themes in customer satisfaction, complaints, and overall experience. Here’s what we found:

Erie advertises the following discounts and ways to save on its website:

• Multi-Policy: You can earn a 15 to 25 percent discount for bundling your auto policy with other policy types, like life or home insurance
• First Accident Forgiveness: If you’ve been with Erie for at least three years, you can have your first at-fault accident on your policy forgiven to avoid a premium hike
• Vehicle Storage: Offers a reduced usage discount if you store your vehicle for 90 days or more (Kentucky excluded)
• Payment Perks: Get a discount for paying your entire premium upfront
• Youthful Driver: Save if you’re under age 21, unmarried, and living at home
• Youthful Driver Longevity: Offers a credit for unmarried young drivers who are insured for consecutive years under a guardian’s or parent’s Erie policy, and are transitioning onto their own policy
• Driving Training: Get a discount if you complete a driver education course and you’re 21 years old or younger (Kentucky and North Carolina excluded)
• College Student: Offers savings if you’re attending college full time away from home without access to a car
• teenSMART: Provides up to 20 percent off for young drivers who complete the teenSMART driver safety program
• YourTurn: Erie’s telematics program offering rewards for safe driving (more below)

Note that savings opportunities vary by state. When you get a quote, your agent can give you a full picture of what you may be eligible for.

Featured Discount: YourTurn

YourTurn is a safe driving telematics program available in all Erie-serviced regions except Kentucky, Washington, D.C., New York, and North Carolina. It tracks driving habits like braking, acceleration, cornering, speed, and phone use and offers feedback for improvement.

YourTurn doesn’t apply a discount to your premium for safe driving, as comparable programs do. Instead, drivers earn rewards in the form of gift cards and charitable donations. Drivers aged 16 to 23 can earn up to $10 in rewards every two weeks, while drivers aged 24 and up can earn up to $5. In comparison, telematics discounts from major insurers often average 15 to 30 percent, so YourTurn’s savings aren’t huge.

I wasn’t able to enroll in YourTurn due to being in North Carolina, but I did find my rates with Erie were still cheaper than the competition regardless.

As previously stated, I was an Erie policyholder during my time living in North Carolina. After I moved to Pennsylvania, I needed a new insurance policy.

Liability Coverage That Exceeds the State Minimum

Nearly every state requires drivers to hold minimum liability coverage, which pays for the other party’s injuries and damages in the event of an accident. With the costs of medical care and vehicles rising, minimum required limits may not be sufficient in an accident. If it fits your budget, I always recommend raising your liability limits above the state minimum.

Here’s how much it cost to increase liability limits above the minimum in my Pennsylvania quote:

* Sample quote for a 30-year-old driver in Pennsylvania (me), where the bodily injury liability limits are $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident and the property damage liability limit is $5,000 per accident.

Standard Coverage Types From Erie

Erie offers the standard coverages, including liability, medical payments, uninsured/underinsured motorist, collision and comprehensive, towing and labor (roadside assistance), and rental reimbursement.

Here’s a breakdown of the coverages I chose when I had a policy in North Carolina; note that North Carolina is a cheap state for auto insurance, and average costs have increased significantly in the past several years.

In addition to the standard coverages above, Erie offers coverages such as:

Extra Features in Common Erie Policies

The following “Xtra Protection Features” are built into many Erie policies (note that most require either comprehensive or collision coverage):

• Travel expenses to cover meals and lodging if your trip is disrupted and it’s covered under your comprehensive or collision coverage
• Pet injury coverage that reimburses up to $500 for vet bills if your pet is injured in your car (up to two pets covered)
• Locksmith services up to $75 if you’re locked out of your car and you have comprehensive coverage
• Reimbursement for personal items in your vehicle that are damaged in an accident if you have collision coverage (up to $350 limit)
• Windshield repair deductible waived if your windshield needs to be fixed and you have comprehensive coverage
• Deductible waived if you and another Erie customer are involved in an accident

Featured Add-on: RateLock

Many drivers in the U.S. are facing rising costs for car insurance, with rates jumping significantly since 2020.

For those looking to avoid price hikes, Erie offers a unique feature called RateLock. (It’s known as RateProtect in New York and Select Auto in Maryland.) If you add this feature to your policy, Erie will not raise your rates — even if you file a claim — unless you add or remove drivers or vehicles from the policy or you move.

RateLock is not available in all states — I did not have the option to add it to my policy in North Carolina — and is limited to three years in Virginia. Keep in mind that RateLock doesn’t guarantee coverage, meaning Erie can still cancel your policy after a serious violation, like a DUI.

Featured Add-on: Auto Plus

For a few dollars extra per month, Erie offers a package called Auto Plus, which includes:

• Diminishing deductible: Reduces your deductible by $100 every year you go without a claim (up to $500 total savings)
• Transportation expenses: Pays for additional days of a rental car after settlement if your car is totaled (Kentucky excluded)
• Increased coverage limits: Helps pay for emergency travel costs, personal items, locksmith costs, and non-owned trailers
• Waived deductible in certain situations
• Death benefit: Provides $10,000 if you or a relative dies in an car accident

While I was an Erie customer, I was involved in an accident and had to file a claim. In my experience, Erie helped me navigate a stressful situation as smoothly as possible.

I initiated the claim by phone and spoke to an agent (Erie’s agents are available 24/7). Erie also lets you start a claim on its mobile app, though that option wasn’t available to me at the time. Within 24 hours, a claims handler reached out to me to review accident details, my coverage, and repair options. Erie also reserved a rental car for me, and I had the option to choose which company to rent from.

For repairs, Erie gave me the choice between working with one of its in-network shops or my preferred shop. I chose my own shop, and Erie paid the shop directly. I did not have any issues with adjustment. When I told the repair shop manager that I had Erie for insurance, he said that he consistently finds that company easy to work with. Overall, I was satisfied with my claims experience and found the claims process to be straightforward and easy.

Overall, I was satisfied with Erie, and according to the data, other customers are too.

Claims

Every year, the independent publication CRASH Network conducts a survey of collision repair shops. It asks a single question: “How well does this company’s claims handling policies, attitude and payment practices ensure quality repairs and customer service for motorists?”

In CRASH Network’s 2026 Insurer Report Card, Erie made the “honor roll,” ranking number 4 out of 91 insurers nationally. This indicates that collision repair shops find Erie easy to work with. Erie will prioritize paying for quality repairs over saving money during the claims process. This aligns with my own claims experience.

Erie also ranked highly — No. 1 overall — in J.D. Power’s 2025 Claims Satisfaction Study, further reflecting its strong claims process.

Financial Strength

AM Best gives Erie an A (Excellent) for financial strength, which means the company can reliably pay for claims.

Shopping Experience

Erie also received above-average scores in J.D. Power’s 2025 Insurance Shopping Study, ranking No. 1 among all insurers evaluated. This study analyzes agent interaction, quote process, coverage offerings, and price. This aligns with my own positive experience with Erie’s pricing and ease of obtaining a quote.

Customer Satisfaction Summary

Finally, Erie scored above average in J.D. Power’s 2026 Auto Insurance Study — which measures overall customer satisfaction — in all the regions where it received a score.⁵

Erie offers two apps, the Erie Insurance app and the YourTurn app.

The Erie Insurance app allows you to view policy documents (i.e. your ID card and declarations page), pay your bills, file a claim, and request roadside assistance. The app received mixed reviews, so customers may find it easier to manage their policy on Erie’s website or by phone. It’s worth noting the Android app’s rating decreased from 4.0 to 2.2 stars in the past few years.

On the other hand, Erie’s YourTurn app, which helps customers improve their driving habits and earn rewards, received more positive reviews.

Personally, I did not use Erie’s app, so I can’t speak to its functionality. I managed my policy online and by phone, which I found intuitive and user-friendly.

I got excellent service at a great price point when I had an Erie policy in North Carolina. But did I buy another policy with Erie when I moved to Pennsylvania?

It was a tough decision, but in the end, I got a policy with State Farm. The decision came down to price, as the State Farm quote was about 14 percent lower than the Erie quote. I can’t know for sure, but I suspect my claim increased the Erie quote. Like I mentioned, the company tends to be best for drivers with a claims-free history.

That said, I recommend getting a quote with Erie if you are shopping for auto insurance. Based on my industry research and expertise, and my personal experience as a customer, Erie offers high-quality auto insurance at a good value.

Our auto insurance evaluation process aims to provide consumers with insights backed both by research and customer experience. We employ the following methodology to assess companies:

• Cost (40 percent): We review average premium rates for both full and minimum coverage across a range of driver profiles, including those with clean records, as well as drivers with DUI offenses, at-fault accidents, or low credit scores. We also factor in the availability of discounts. Full coverage averages are based on the following limits:
  • Bodily injury liability: $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident
  • Property damage liability: $50,000 per accident
  • Uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury: $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident
  • Comprehensive and collision coverage: $500 deductible
• Claims Service (25 percent): We analyze how effectively insurers handle claims, focusing on responsiveness, clarity of communication, fairness in damage assessment, and the speed of resolution. Our evaluation references industry standards like the CRASH Network Insurer Report Card and the J.D. Power Claims Satisfaction Study. Financial stability ratings from agencies such as AM Best and S&P are considered to ensure companies are able to fulfill their claims obligations. When available, customer experiences are also included.
• Customer Satisfaction (25 percent): We review the overall customer experience from the initial quote through ongoing policy management. This includes how easy it is to get a quote, make policy adjustments, and access important documents. We also assess customer interactions with online tools and availability of local agents. Data sources for this evaluation include J.D. Power studies, the NAIC complaint index, BBB ratings, and mobile app reviews. Finally, we include our own experiences in order to provide readers with firsthand insights.
• Coverage Options (10 percent): We examine the breadth of coverage choices each insurer offers, paying special attention to options that go beyond basic legal requirements. We give higher marks to companies offering valuable add-ons like accident forgiveness, diminishing deductibles, gap coverage, and rideshare protection.

Learn more about our methodology and ratings.