American Family Car Insurance Review: Costs and Ratings (2023)

American Family Insurance isn’t as widely available as some of its larger competitors, but the company stands out for its customer service and flexible coverage options. If rock-bottom prices aren’t your top priority, American Family is a good option to consider — provided it’s available in your state. 

Here’s an American Family Insurance overview, including its coverage options, average cost, and customer ratings.

What is American Family car insurance?

American Family Insurance launched as a car insurance company in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1927. Since then it’s branched out, now offering more than a dozen different insurance types in 18 states throughout the midwestern and western United States. 

Despite its humble origins and relatively small footprint, American Family Insurance is surprisingly innovative. It invests in new technology like AI-powered claims processing and has won awards for its good customer experiences. 

How does American Family auto insurance work?

American Family Insurance owns several other insurance companies such as The General, and its newly purchased addition CONNECT (formerly known as Ameriprise). It uses these various companies to underwrite the policies it offers. 

American Family Insurance partners with insurance agency owners who work with customers on finding the right coverage options, purchasing a policy, and processing claims.  

See More: The 10 Best Car Insurance Companies

American Family car insurance coverage

American Family offers several types of coverage options, including the most common:

Collision

This can help pay for repairs to your own car if it’s involved in a collision, regardless of who was at fault.

Comprehensive

If something non-collision-related happens, like if your car is stolen, a flood damages your vehicle, or you hit an animal, this will pay to repair your car after you meet your deductible.

Property damage liability

If you damage someone else’s car or other property, this coverage helps pay for the damage. It’s mandatory in most states. 

Bodily injury liability

Similarly, most states require this coverage and it pays for any medical bills for people you injure (not including those in your own car).

Medical expense/personal injury protection

This pays the medical bills for you and anyone in your car. Personal injury protection may also pay for lost wages, funeral expenses, and the cost of hiring temporary help while you recover.

Underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage

If a driver with not enough or no insurance hits you, this coverage will kick in and help pay for injuries and repairs.

Additionally, American Family offers some less common optional coverages, including:

• Gap coverage: If your car is totaled in an accident and the insurance payout doesn’t cover the remainder of your loan balance, gap insurance will cover that shortfall.

• Rental reimbursement coverage: File a claim to get your money back if you need to pay to rent a vehicle while your car is repaired.

• Roadside assistance: If you need a tow or jumpstart, this can help cover the services cost and give you peace of mind. 

• Accidental death and dismemberment coverage: If you lose a limb or die in an accident, this will help pay for those expenses.

• Rideshare coverage: Rideshare apps typically cover you when someone’s in your car, but not when you’re waiting to accept a passenger. This insurance provides coverage during the gaps in which the rideshare company does not.

How to get an American Family car insurance quote

You can get a quote from American Family in a few different ways:

Online

Fill out a quick form to get a custom quote and to get connected with a local agent who can serve as your point of contact for your policy. 

By phone

You can call 1-800-692-6326 to talk to someone over the phone and get a quote. 

Local agent

You can also search American Family’s website to find a local agent who you can visit. 

You can also submit a quote request for auto insurance through Insurify. If American Family is available in your state, you’ll have the advantage of seeing what it can offer compared to its competitors. That can help speed up your shopping and decision-making process. 

American Family car insurance cost by state

The cost of an American Family Insurance car insurance policy can vary depending on where you live. States set their own minimum car insurance requirements and laws.^[2]

Here’s how much you can expect to pay per month, on average, for a full-coverage policy in some of the states where American Family Insurance operates:

American Family auto insurance rates by driving history

When you purchase an insurance policy, the company may check with state officials to see if you have any recent violations.^[3] If you already have violations on your driving record, insurers may view you as more risky and more likely to file a claim.^[2] For that reason, companies typically charge higher rates or may even deny coverage.

Here’s how much having certain negative marks on your driving record might affect the rates you pay for a full-coverage car insurance policy through American Family Insurance:

American Family car insurance cost by age

Similarly, insurers consider your age when determining your auto insurance premiums. Young and new drivers are at a higher risk of car accidents,^[4] so insurers tend to price coverage options higher for people with less experience behind the wheel.^[2]

Learn More: Compare Car Insurance by Age and Gender

American Family car insurance discounts

American Family Insurance provides 16 different discount options that you might qualify for to reduce your car insurance costs. These can broadly make up four different categories.

General discounts available through American Family Insurance include:

• Loyalty: The longer you stay with American Family Insurance, the higher discount you earn.

• Steer Into Savings: The amount of this discount varies depending on what state you live in and rewards you for switching to American Family from another insurer.

• Early bird: This discount also varies by state and is easy to earn if you switch to American Family from another insurer and request a quote at least seven days before your new policy starts. 

American Family Insurance also offers three discounts if you sign up for services that streamline your billing:

• Paperless: Sign up to receive e-statements to earn this quick discount. 

• Autopay: Forget the hassle of remembering to make payments and get a discount if you sign up for automatic electronic payments. 

• Pay in full: If you pay your entire premium up front, rather than in monthly installments, you’ll get another discount.

As the company name might imply, American Family Insurance also offers several discounts that families might appreciate:

• Generational: If your parents are current American Family customers and you buy a policy too, you get a reduced rate on your insurance.

• Away at school: People younger than 25 who leave their car parked at home (with parents) while they’re more than 100 miles away attending school can also qualify for a discount.

• Young volunteer: If you’re younger than 25 and can document more than 40 hours of volunteer service per year for a nonprofit, American Family will reward you with a discount.

• Teen Safe Driver: If your teen driver uses the American Family Teen Safe Driver app, it’ll record their driving, give them tips on how to improve, show you where they’ve gone, and give you a discount of up to 10% off your policy.

• Good student: If you’re a student between the ages of 16 and 25, American Family provides a discount if you can show that you maintain a 3.0 GPA.

Finally, American Family Insurance also offers several safety-related discounts:

• Low mileage: If you drive 7,500 miles or less per year, American Family offers a discount since you’re not using your car very much. 

• Defensive driver: If you’re older than 55 and finish an approved defensive driver training class, you may qualify for another discount.

• Good driving: If you drive safely and don’t file any claims for a certain period of time, you’ll qualify for another discount (and avoid paying any deductible or dealing with an increase in your insurance rate, too).

• Auto safety equipment: American Family Insurance also offers discounts if your car comes equipped with certain safety features, like factory-installed airbags.

• Pay-How-You-Drive program: This app-based program records your driving habits and offers discounts depending on how safely you drive.

Learn More: Car Insurance Discount Guide

American Family Insurance bundling options

One of the easiest ways to save money is to buy all your insurance policies from the same company and earn a bundling discount. American Family Insurance offers two different bundling discounts:

• Multi-product: If you purchase other types of insurance through American Family, such as homeowners insurance, you may qualify for a discount of up to 23%.

• Multi-car: If you insure more than one car through American Family, you could qualify for yet another discount.

Check Out: Bundle Home and Auto Insurance: Save With Discounts

American Family Insurance reviews and ratings

Standardized reviews of American Family Insurance are generally very positive. Some of the most comprehensive come from J.D. Power’s 2022 surveys, which ranked American Family Insurance (or its derivative, CONNECT) highly on several fronts:

• Overall customer satisfaction: American Family Insurance ranked average or near the top for each region it was located in.^[5]

• Auto claims satisfaction: American Family ranked just above average in terms of how happy people were with the company’s claims process.^[6]

• Shopping satisfaction: American Family Insurance ranked exactly average in how well people rated their satisfaction in purchasing a policy.^[7]

The only thing that J.D. Power rated American Family Insurance poorly on was its digital offerings — specifically, how well the company handled service through its online platforms and how easy it was to shop for a policy online. American Family Insurance ranked slightly below average in these areas.^[8]

American Family Insurance customer reviews

As with any company, people have both positive and negative things to say about working with American Family Insurance. 

American Family Insurance ratings

Ratings can change over time. As of February 2023, here’s how actual customers rated American Family Insurance on different platforms:

• Google Play store: 4.2 out of five stars, based on 8,840 reviews

• Apple App store: 4.8 out of five stars, based on 68,400 reviews

• Trustpilot: 2.3 out of five stars, based on 11 reviews

• Better Business Bureau: 1.16 out of five stars, based on 63 reviews

In addition, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners calculated a complaint index score for American Family Insurance of 0.61 in 2021, which indicates that this company has far fewer official complaints on record than average.

American Family Insurance vs. other insurance providers

In most cases, there’s no shortage of car insurance companies willing to sell you a policy. Here’s how American Family Insurance stacks up against some of its competitors.

American Family Insurance vs. GEICO

GEICO started roughly around the same time as American Family, in 1936. The company originally focused on government employees, but today GEICO is generally available for anyone in any state.

GEICO’s claim to fame is its affordable rates, so it’s well worth your time to get a quote from this company if price is important to you. It offers the same number of discounts as American Family Insurance. 

The types of coverage are essentially the same, except GEICO doesn’t offer gap coverage or accidental death and dismemberment insurance. It does, however, offer mechanical breakdown insurance, which American Family Insurance doesn’t offer.

American Family Insurance vs. Progressive

Progressive is also available in all states and is just a tad more expensive, on average, than American Family Insurance for a full-coverage policy ($238 versus $227 per month). Progressive also began insuring car owners in 1937 and was the third-largest car insurance provider in 2021, behind State Farm and GEICO.

Progressive offers all the same coverage options as American Family Insurance, minus accidental death and dismemberment coverage. It also offers one type of coverage option that American Family doesn’t: coverage for custom parts, which car-customization enthusiasts might appreciate.

Progressive does offer a few extra ways to save money that American Family Insurance doesn’t, including accident forgiveness. It also offers an optional deductible savings bank that costs a small amount of money, but it slowly reduces your deductible by $50 for each policy period you go without filing a claim.

American Family Insurance vs. State Farm

In 2021, State Farm was the largest car insurance company in the country, writing about 16% of all policies. This insurance company has been around since 1922, initially serving rural auto owners, although it’s now available nationwide.

J.D. Power also highly rates State Farm’s auto insurance. In its 2022 survey of overall customer satisfaction, State Farm ranked above average — if not on top — in just about every U.S. region. State Farm is also generally cheaper than American Family Insurance, costing an average of $175 per month for a full-coverage policy.

State Farm doesn’t offer accidental death and dismemberment coverage or gap insurance (unless you finance a car through State Farm’s banking department). Discounts are also a bit more sparse with State Farm, with only 10 publicly advertised options.

See Also: Cheap Car Insurance

More about American Family Insurance Insurance

In addition to the 2022 J.D. Power rankings, American Family Insurance has won several other awards too:

• In 2020, the Association of National Advertisers presented three Multicultural Excellence Awards to American Family Insurance for its inclusivity in its commercials. 

• In 2021, J.D. Power ranked American Family Insurance highest in shopping satisfaction for midsize insurers. 

• In 2022, American Family Insurance was recognized for its efforts to include diverse suppliers by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the National Minority Supplier Development Council. 

• In 2022, the company was given a four-star (out of five) rating for its support of military veteran employees by the VETS Indexes.

American Family auto insurance pros and cons

Before settling on an American Family auto insurance policy, here are some pros and cons to consider:

Filing an auto insurance claim with American Family Insurance

If something damages your car or you get in a covered accident, you can file a claim with American Family Insurance. It’s pretty easy to get the process started. Although its app hasn’t received the highest ratings, you can use it to file a claim directly from your phone, which makes it handy to include photos of the damage.

Alternatively, you can log into your account on a desktop browser and get started. You can also call the company at 1-800-692-6326. In addition to photos of the accident, you also need to briefly describe what happened, who else was involved, their contact info, and the date and time that the accident occurred.

After that, American Family will get to work on processing your claim and reach out to you if it needs more information from you. 

Read More: Why Do Car Insurance Companies Deny Claims?

American Family Insurance FAQs