The Best Auto Insurance for Montana

For more than 100 years, USAA has been serving the military community with auto and other insurance. In fact, in 2023, we designated USAA as the best auto insurance for military and veterans. USAA offers its members a wide range of car insurance, including usage-based insurance.

Usage-Based Insurance

USAA has usage-based insurance (UBI), which can provide significant savings to those who drive less. Military service members who are deployed overseas or those who don’t drive much stateside will see lower premiums. USAA allows drivers with UBI to pay for coverage by the month, rather than every six or 12 months, giving them flexibility to adjust insurance rates depending on the number of miles driven with the current policy period.

USAA also offers safe driving discounts through its telematics program, SafePilot. You could realize up to 30 percent off your auto insurance premium by participating in the program, including a 10 percent discount when you enroll.

Like similar telematics programs, the SafePilot app tracks your driving and logs your trips automatically, with USAA providing a new insurance rate whenever your policy renews. With each renewal, your driving score with SafePilot resets.

In addition, you can see savings when you maintain a good driving record for more than five years. If you successfully complete an approved basic driver training or defensive driving course, you could get a discount as well.

Customer Satisfaction

USAA ranks high on customer satisfaction ratings from third-party companies. For example, while J.D. Power doesn’t rank the company because it offers policies to military families only, J.D. Power observed the insurance carrier outranks every other insurance company in every region, with an average customer satisfaction rating of 884.¹

On financial strength, AM Best gave USAA an A++ rating,² which means the company has superior creditworthiness. The Better Business Bureau also does not accredit USAA, but it does provide a customer satisfaction rating of 1.2 out of 5 stars.³ Many of the complaints refer to other services USAA provides, such as homeowners insurance and credit cards, and the auto insurance-related complaints centered on delayed processing of claims.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) assigned USAA a rating of AA+, the second-highest rating available.⁴ This score shows S&P views USAA with high confidence and that the company will be able to repay its debts with a low default risk.

International Insurance

For members of the military, having access to insurance when stationed or deployed overseas is extremely important. USAA offers insurance policies designed to make deployment or international moves as seamless as possible, such as liability coverage, vehicle storage, and personal injury coverage.

The company provides car insurance all across the United States and U.S. territories, as well as the following international locations:

• Azores
• Belgium
• Cuba
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Guam
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Portugal
• Puerto Rico
• South Korea
• Spain
• United Kingdom

AAA has been helping drivers with roadside assistance since 1902. The company now has a plethora of services for auto owners through its 32 motor clubs. You must be a member of a AAA club in order to purchase car insurance. AAA MountainWest covers insurance for Montana, as well as Alaska and Wyoming.

Roadside Assistance

In Montana, with 95 percent of its more than 1,200 miles of interstate highways in rural areas, having reliable roadside assistance is a must. AAA roadside assistance is included in its baseline AAA auto insurance.

AAA roadside assistance is available to assist you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Your basic AAA membership allows you to utilize four service calls annually. However, you may upgrade to a higher membership tier for more service calls, plus additional services and higher coverage limits for lodging and meals.

AAA roadside assistance covers the following services:

• Car battery jumps
• Flat-tire changes
• Fuel delivery
• Locksmith services
• Mechanical first aid
• Towing
• Winching

Bundling discounts

AAA gives policyholders discounts when they bundle their auto and home insurance, which translates into up to 15 percent off your auto insurance premium and 20 percent off home insurance. If you own a condo, you could save up to 10 percent on auto insurance and 20 percent on condo insurance through combining the policies. If you rent, you could realize up to an 8 percent discount on auto insurance and 20 percent on your renters insurance premium by bundling.

In addition, AAA has a multi-vehicle discount of up to 20 percent on certain coverage. Plus, you can save even more by adding other insurance options to your AAA car insurance policy:

• Boat and RV insurance
• Business owners’ policy insurance
• Collector car insurance
• Commercial auto insurance
• Cyber liability insurance
• Dental insurance
• General liability insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Motorcycle insurance
• Professional liability insurance
• Umbrella insurance
• Workers’ compensation insurance

Customer Satisfaction

AAA consistently receives high ratings from third-party companies, attesting to its financial solvency and customer service. For example, AM Best gave AAA an A+ rating, which shows AAA’s strong financials.⁵ Since 1937, AAA has received an A rating or higher from AM Best, demonstrating the company’s ability to withstand catastrophic claims.

Allstate provides ways for policyholders to bundle their renters or homeowners insurance with their car insurance to save on their premiums. If you add more policies, you can save even more. The company lives up to its tagline, “You’re in good hands with Allstate,” through its wide range of policies and discounts.

Bundling Options

Allstate gives policyholders up to a 25 percent discount when bundling car and home, renters, or condo insurance. If you add additional policies, you could save even more. Your local Allstate agent can help identify even more ways bundling could reduce your premium.

Here’s what else Allstate covers:

• Boat
• Business
• Classic car
• Condo
• Homeowners
• Identity protection
• Landlord
• Life
• Motorcycle
• Off-road vehicle
• Pet
• Phone protection
• Renters
• RV
• Special event
• Voluntary employee and supplemental

Teen Drivers

Insuring teenagers is usually more costly than older adults because young drivers’ lack of experience can lead to more accidents. When the student driver has a learner’s permit, they are covered by their parents’ policy as a member of the household. Once the driver has a license, then they would need to be listed as an operator on the policy.

Nationally, the average annual cost to insure a driver age 17 or younger is $7,024. Fortunately, Allstate offers a smart student discount for parents to save when adding a teen driver to their auto policy. To qualify, the young driver must be unmarried, under the age of 25, and:

• Attend school full-time and achieve a grade average of B- or above or a GPA of 2.7 or above
• Successfully finish the teenSMART® driver education program

In addition, students under the age of 21 who attend school at least 100 miles from where their vehicle is garaged would qualify for a discount.

Allstate also recommends student drivers sign up for Diverwise® to help parents coach their new driver. Drivewise provides personalized feedback on driving habits, which can translate into lower premiums for safe driving.

Extended Vehicle Care

One add-on feature Allstate provides its policyholders is extended vehicle care, which kicks in to protect you from the cost of repairs when the manufacturer’s warranty concludes. Manufacturer’s warranties generally cover your vehicle for three years and 36,000 miles, whichever you arrive at first. Allstate’s extended car warranty coverage would extend the warranty to seven years and 100,000 miles.

Allstate’s extended vehicle car provides:

• Mechanic choice: You get to pick the repair shop for the work. The coverage pays for the mechanic’s labor as well as rental car costs while your car is in the shop.
• Price transparency: You will receive fair and clear pricing. Plus, you can cancel anytime.
• Repair cost coverage: Allstate will foot the bill on 100 percent of parts and labor costs after a $50 deductible. This covers your engine as well as electrical repairs.
• Repair resolution for you: Once you’ve decided on a mechanic, Allstate will step in to work with the mechanic on the repairs.

The extended care coverage also includes alternative transportation, such as a rental car or rideshare trips, while your vehicle is being repaired. You’ll also receive roadside assistance 24/7 to tow your car or change a flat tire. In addition, you could get reimbursed up to $500 for meals and lodging if your travel plans are interrupted because of a covered claim while you’re away from home.

Montana allows insurance companies to consider credit score⁶ when crafting policies. If your credit history has some dings, Nationwide offers competitive rates for drivers with poor credit. You can talk to local Nationwide agents throughout the state to customize your auto insurance, as well as utilize its website and mobile app to buy coverage, file claims, and make payments.

Poor Credit

Like other insurance companies, Nationwide applies a credit-based insurance score to come up with premium costs when crafting auto insurance policies for Montana drivers. By considering credit score, insurance companies can better predict insurance losses. Nationwide looks at the following factors when determining the credit portion of your insurance score:

• Length of credit history
• Payment history, which includes delinquencies or late payments
• What kinds of credit, such as loans or credit cards

On average, drivers with bad credit pay $2,771 per year through Nationwide.

The insurer also allows customers to apply for a reconsideration of their premium if their credit takes a hit because of an extraordinary life circumstance. Nationwide defines that as:

• Any federal or state government-declared catastrophic event
• Death of a spouse, parent, or child
• Divorce or dissolution of marriage
• Overseas military deployment
• Serious injury or illness to you or an immediate family member
• Temporary loss of employment due to involuntary unemployment that lasts three or more months
• Total or other loss that makes your home uninhabitable

According to Experian, there are ways you can improve your credit score.⁷ Here’s what you can do:

• Maintain low balances on your credit cards.
• Open accounts for cards that report to the credit bureaus.
• Pay your bills on time.
• Limit how often you apply for new accounts.

Once your credit score is in the good range again, you should see your car insurance premium decrease.

Local Agents

Montana has more than 100 local Nationwide agents available to assist you with your insurance needs. The company has agents on the ground in nearly 40 cities around the state. Here are the cities Nationwide has at least one agent in:

• Anaconda
• Baker
• Belgrade
• Bigfork
• Billings
• Bozeman
• Butte
• Choteau
• Columbus
• Conrad
• Cut Bank
• Deer Lodge
• Dillon
• Ennis
• Fort Benton
• Glasgow
• Glendive
• Great Falls
• Hamilton
• Harlem
• Havre
• Helena
• Hobson
• Joplin
• Kalispell
• Lewistown
• Livingston
• Malta
• Miles City
• Missoula
• Plentywood
• Polson
• Ronan
• Roundup
• Scobey
• Sidney
• Superior
• Three Forks
• Whitefish

Loyalty Rewards Program

Nationwide runs a loyalty reward program designed to give customers extra benefits, such as car key replacement, minor-accident forgiveness, and pet injury coverage, at no additional cost to them.

• Auto shopping service: Nationwide helps you save on new cars, plus shows you dealer-guaranteed sticker costs on used cars prior to your visit to the showroom.
• Car key replacement: You must have comprehensive insurance to take advantage of Nationwide’s car key replacement benefit. This benefit will pay up to $400 if your key is lost.
• Fender-bender forgiveness: This coverage helps you avoid a rate bump if you have a minor accident, provided you file a property damage or collision claim payout amount under the accident threshold, even if the accident was your fault. You would still need to meet your deductible and could use this feature numerous times.
• Guaranteed repairs for life: If you choose a repair shop in Nationwide’s auto shop network, your car repairs are guaranteed for the lifetime of your vehicle.
• Pet protection: With this coverage, you could be reimbursed up to $1,000 for the injury or loss of your or a family member’s cat or dog. Pet protection applies to reasonable and necessary vet medications and expenses. If your pet dies in a covered car accident, Nationwide would pay for the cost of replacing your pet with a similar cat or dog. No deductible will apply to this coverage.
• Waived auto and home deductible: If a covered loss affects your house and car, your deductible will be waived, or you’ll receive reimbursement for your lowest deductible.