American Family earned 5 stars out of 5 for overall performance. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account consumer experience, complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and financial strength ratings.
American Family is the nation’s ninth-largest auto insurance seller and has far fewer than the expected number of auto insurance complaints for a company its size.
American Family is a good auto insurer for most customers. The company also offers a wide selection of other insurance products, so if you're looking for a one-stop shop for insurance, American Family might be a good fit for you.
» MORE: Best car insurance companies
Why you can trust NerdWallet: Our writers and editors follow strict editorial guidelines to ensure fairness and accuracy in our writing and data analyses. You can trust the prices we show you because our data analysts take rigorous measures to eliminate outliers and inaccuracies in pricing data, which include rates from every locale in the country where coverage is offered and data is available. When comparing rates for different coverage amounts, ages and backgrounds, we change only one variable at a time, so you can easily see how each factor affects pricing.
How we review auto insurance companies
In our auto insurance reviews, our editorial team considers both the customer and the insurer. These are some of the factors we take into account:
Financial strength. We use A.M. Best ratings to confirm an insurer’s long-term financial stability and ability to pay claims. NerdWallet does not recommend companies with a rating lower than a B.
Complaints. These ratings are based on complaints to state regulators relative to a company’s size, according to three years’ worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The best auto insurance companies have fewer than the expected number of complaints.
Ease of use. This category looks at how easily consumers can interact with an insurer through its mobile app and website. This includes how much coverage information is offered online, whether a user can start and track a claim online and get a quote and mobile app scores based on the Apple and Google Play store ratings.
Discounts. We look at both the kind of discounts a company offers and the total number of discounts available.
Where American Family stands out
Coverage options. American Family offers more auto insurance coverage options than many other insurers, including rideshare insurance, gap insurance and original equipment manufacturer coverage. It also sells multiple life insurance products, including whole life insurance for children and seniors.
Discounts and telematics programs. American Family offers more discounts than most other companies and offers two different programs for drivers that want to participate intelematics programs, which tracks your driving habits. In exchange, you could earn a discount. Teen Safe Driver is offered to drivers 21 or younger, while KnowYourDrive is available for everyone.
Accident forgiveness. You can buy accident forgiveness through American Family if you meet their requirements, which ensures your rates won’t go up if you have an accident. However, what makes the insurer stand out is that you can earn accident forgiveness for free if you switch to American Family after being claim-free for at least five years with your current insurer.
Where American Family falls short
State availability. Not everyone can buy coverage from American Family, as it doesn’t sell policies nationwide.
Compare to other insurers
Current Product
NerdWallet rating 5.0/5 | NerdWallet rating 5.0/5 | NerdWallet rating 5.0/5 |
Complaints to NAIC Far fewer than expected | Complaints to NAIC Fewer than expected | Complaints to NAIC Fewer than expected |
Ease of use Above average | Ease of use Above average | Ease of use Above average |
Discounts Great set of discounts | Discounts Average set of discounts | Discounts Great set of discounts |
Bottom line American Family offers a wide range of coverage, including rideshare and gap insurance, but doesn’t sell policies in all states. | Bottom line State Farm offers numerous discounts and extras including travel expense coverage, making it a good choice for most drivers. | Bottom line Travelers offers a broad range of coverage options and discounts to help you customize your car insurance policy. |
Compare Quotes | Compare Quotes | Compare Quotes |
How much does American Family car insurance cost?
American Family car insurance costs $1,791 per year on average for full coverage insurance. That is almost $200 a year less than the average national annual rate of $1,982. American Family’s annual average rates are cheaper than most other large insurers except for Travelers and USAA, which sells policies only to active and former military members and their families.
Company | Average annual rate with a clean record |
|---|---|
Travelers | $1,681 |
American Family | $1,791 |
Geico | $1,846 |
State Farm | $1,976 |
Allstate | $2,665 |
Progressive | $2,112 |
Nationwide | $2,279 |
Farmers | $3,106 |
USAA* | $1,432 |
*USAA auto insurance is available only to active-duty military members, veterans and their families. | |
These rates are for a 35-year-old driver with a clean driving history and good credit with full coverage insurance. Our full coverage rates include liability, comprehensive, collision and any additional insurance a state requires a driver to have. These rates are averages, and your own price will depend on your driving history, car make and model, location and other factors.
For more information on American Family car insurance rates, including rates after an at-fault accident or DUI, check out the drop down below.
🤓Nerdy Tip
If you’re looking for the cheapest auto insurance rates possible, you may want to buy the minimum car insurance needed to drive in your state. Read our cheap car insurance article to see average minimum car insurance rates by company and state.
How American Family's rates compare
Your car insurance rate is determined by a variety of factors, including your driving record and credit history in most states. California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan don’t allow insurers to use credit when determining car insurance rates.
Here are American Family’s average annual auto insurance rates compared to 2024 national averages for full coverage insurance and four driving profiles.
Driving profile | American Family average rate | National average rate |
|---|---|---|
Good driver, good credit | $1,791 | $1,982 |
Recent at-fault accident, good credit | $2,642 | $2,936 |
Recent DUI, good credit | $2,433 | $3,693 |
Good driver, poor credit | $3,076 | $3,222 |
American Family auto insurance coverage
When you're shopping for car insurance coverage, it's important to understand what car insurance coverage you want and what you’re required to buy. For instance, most states require a minimum amount of car insurance to drive a vehicle. Alternatively, if you want extra protection, you may be interested in full coverage insurance. Read about the most common types of car insurance coverage to see how they work.
American Family offers a standard suite of auto insurance coverage types plus a few additional options, including these:
Gap insurance will pay out if your car is totaled and it is leased or has a loan balance. Without this coverage, you would receive only the depreciated value of the car minus any deductible — leaving you to pay off the rest.
Accidental death and dismemberment coverage pays out if a car accident causes death or certain injuries, regardless of who’s at fault.
Ridesharing insurance is available for customers who drive for services such as Uber or Lyft, but not in every state. It can be added to your personal auto policy and fills a coverage gap while you’re waiting for customers, so you’re fully insured the entire time the app is on.
Original equipment manufacturer coverage pays for your vehicle to be repaired with parts made by your car’s manufacturer rather than aftermarket parts.
Accident forgiveness coverage can be purchased to ensure your premium won’t go up if you’re at fault for a wreck. You are eligible to purchase accident forgiveness if you haven’t had an at-fault accident or violation in the past year and you haven’t had more than one at-fault accident in the past three years. (Note that you can earn accident forgiveness for free if you switch to American Family after going five years without a claim.)
» MORE: Compare car insurance rates
Auto insurance discounts
You may be able tosave on your American Family auto policy by:
Bundling policies.
Insuring multiple vehicles.
Meeting American Family’s criteria for a “good driver.”
Switching to American Family from another insurance company.
Getting an American Family quote at least seven days before your policy takes effect, if you’re switching from another insurer.
Owning a vehicle with safety equipment like air bags.
Completing a defensive driving course for drivers 55 and older.
Driving fewer than 7,500 miles per year.
Earning good grades as a student.
Enrolling in a safe driver program as a teen.
Having your car parked at home while going to school at least 100 miles away. You (or the student on your policy) must be under 25 years old to qualify.
Completing 40 hours of volunteer work a year for a nonprofit if you’re under 25 years old.
Becoming an American Family customer as a young driver with a parent who is also an American Family customer.
Going paperless, setting up automatic payments or paying your premium in full, upfront.
🤓Nerdy Tip
First time shopping for auto insurance? Unsure of where to start? Check out our guide on how to shop for car insurance.
Pricing based on tracked driving habits
If you’re willing to let American Family track your driving behavior, you could save up to 20% on your auto policy. The KnowYourDrive app monitors actions like speeding, hard braking and distracted driving (such as sending a text). Your rate won’t go up for unsafe driving.
Another app, Teen Safe Driver, is designed specifically for young drivers up to age 21. It tracks distracted driving and other unsafe behaviors to encourage better habits. You can get a discount up to 10% once you participate for at least 3,000 miles or you are enrolled for at least one year.
American Family life insurance
American Family offers a variety of term and whole life insurance choices, including:
Simplified term: The application doesn’t require a medical exam, and a term life insurance policy can be issued in 10 business days.
Coverage ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 is available in the following terms:
10 years.
15 years.
20 years.
30 years.
Term: This policy offers more coverage, though you may need to take a medical exam. These policies are also available in 10-, 15-, 20- and 30-year terms, and in some cases can be converted into permanent insurance at the end of the term.
DreamSecure 15 Pay Whole Life: This type of permanent life insurance is fully paid after 15 years but offers coverage throughout your life.
DreamSecure Whole Life: This policy features level premiums until age 100 and builds cash value you can borrow against or leave to your heirs.
Whole life for seniors: Available if you’re between the ages of 50 and 80, this policy doesn’t require a medical exam and comes in two coverage amounts, $10,000 and $15,000, depending on your needs. It may be a good option if you want to make sure your funeral expenses are covered.
Whole life for children: Permanent life insurance is available for your child in $25,000, $50,000 or $75,000 amounts. You’ll pay off the policy in either 10 or 20 years depending on your plan’s premiums, but your child will remain covered for life.
Complaints and customer satisfaction
American Family had far fewer than the expected number of complaints for auto insurance to state regulators for a company of its size, according to three years’ worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
American Family received an overall satisfaction score of 80 out of 100 by a pool of its customers in a NerdWallet survey conducted online in June and July 2023. To put that in perspective, the average score among eleven insurers was 78, and the highest was 82.
Customer satisfaction ratings for American Family’s auto insurance are better than average, according to J.D. Power .
2023 J.D. Power study | American Family ranking |
|---|---|
Auto insurance shopping | No. 4 out of 10 companies. |
Auto insurance claims satisfaction | No. 9 out of 24 companies. |
More about American Family insurance
Website: On the American Family website, you can find an agent, get a quote, pay your bill and report a claim.
Apps: MyAmFam, American Family’s mobile app, lets you manage claims, pay bills, contact your agent, view policy documents, download proof of insurance, get roadside assistance and find an auto or glass repair shop.
American Family also has two apps to monitor driving habits: KnowYourDrive and Teen Safe Driver. These programs allow you to earn discounts on your insurance premiums.
Home and renters insurance from American Family
American Family also offers home and renters insurance. To learn more about the coverage options available, read our American Family homeowners insurance review and American Family renters insurance review.
Other insurance from American Family
American Family sells several types of insurance in addition to auto, home and life insurance, including:
Motorcycle.
ATV.
Umbrella.
RV.
Boat.
Business.
Condo.
Ranch and farm.
Manufactured home.
Snowmobile.
Classic car.
American Family also offers the following types of insurance through third parties:
Travel insurance.
Pet insurance.
Flood insurance.
Methodology
2024 auto insurance survey methodology
The opt-in survey of 7,514 adults age 18 and older was conducted online by Russell Research on behalf of NerdWallet in June and July 2023. Respondents were asked to rate one auto insurance brand they obtained or renewed a policy with within the past 12 months. These brands were rated on overall satisfaction, overall value, online experience, trustworthiness, mobile app experience, claims experience and customer support on a scale of 1-100.
Only brands with 100 or more qualifying respondents are reported. Of those respondents: 301 were State Farm customers, 300 were Progressive customers, 300 were Allstate customers, 300 were Geico customers, 140 were USAA customers, 125 were AAA customers, 105 were Liberty Mutual customers, 103 were American Family customers, 104 were Farmers customers, 104 were Travelers customers and 104 were Nationwide customers.
Insurer complaints methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2020-2022. To assess how insurers compare to one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsem*nt of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
Auto insurance ratings methodology
NerdWallet’s auto insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, consumer complaints and discounts. Our “ease of use” category looks at factors such as website transparency and how easy it is to file a claim. Using our editorial discretion, we also consider customer satisfaction surveys. These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines and full ratings methodology for auto insurance.
Average rates methodology
NerdWallet averaged rates based on public filings obtained by pricing analytics company Quadrant Information Services. We examined rates for men and women for all ZIP codes in any of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Although it’s one of the largest insurers in the country, Liberty Mutual is not included in our rates analysis due to a lack of publicly available information.
In our analysis, “good drivers” had no moving violations on record; a “good driving” discount was included for this profile. Our “good” and “poor” credit rates are based on credit score approximations and do not account for proprietary scoring criteria used by insurance providers.
These are average rates, and your rate will vary based on your personal details, state and insurance provider.
Sample drivers had the following coverage limits:
-$100,000 bodily injury liability coverage per person.
-$300,000 bodily injury liability coverage per crash.
-$50,000 property damage liability coverage per crash.
-$100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per person.
-$300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per crash.
-Collision coverage with $1,000 deductible.
-Comprehensive coverage with $1,000 deductible.
We used the same assumptions for all other driver profiles, with the following exceptions:
-We changed the credit tier from “good” to “poor” as reported to the insurer to see rates for drivers with poor credit. In states where credit isn’t taken into account, we only used rates for “good credit.”
-For drivers with one at-fault crash, we added a single at-fault crash costing $10,000 in property damage.
-For drivers with a DUI, we added a single drunken-driving violation.
We used a 2020 Toyota Camry L in all cases and assumed 12,000 annual miles driven. We analyzed rates for drivers of the following ages: 20, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60 and 70.
