Certainly Auto Insurance Review: Ratings and Quotes (2024)

Certainly offers a convenient and modern approach to car insurance.

Jacqueline DeMarco
Jacqueline DeMarco
  • 13+ years writing insurance and personal finance content

  • Insurance, lending, and retirement expert

Jacqueline has contributed content, and her personal finance passion, to dozens of noteworthy financial brands, including Credit Karma, Bankrate, and MagnifyMoney.

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Courtney Mikulski
Courtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
  • 3+ years producing insurance and personal finance content

  • Main architect of the Insurify Quality Score

Courtney’s deep personal finance knowledge extends beyond insurance to credit cards, consumer lending, and banking. She thrives on creating actionable content.

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Updated November 19, 2024

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Advertiser Disclosure

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Certainly is an online-only insurance company that offers a straightforward approach to insurance pricing. While Certainly is a relatively new auto insurer, Liberty Mutual’s century of experience in the industry backs it. 

If you’re considering Certainly for your auto insurance needs, here’s what you need to know about this digital-first car insurance company, its coverage options, and its average costs.

Quick Facts
  • The average cost of Certainly car insurance is $82 a month for liability only and $132 a month for full coverage.

  • Certainly car insurance is only available in a handful of states: Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

  • Liberty Mutual financially backs Certainly, but Liberty Mutual representatives don’t have access to policyholder accounts and claims.

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What is Certainly auto insurance?

Certainly logo
User ReviewsNR
IQ Score
The Insurify Quality (IQ) Score uses more than 15 criteria to objectively rate insurance companies on a one-to-ten scale. The Insurify editorial team researches insurer data to determine the final scores.
NR
JD Power
J.D. Power data measures overall customer satisfaction and claims satisfaction based on a 1,000-point scale.
NR
NAIC Index
Average amount of customer complaints relative to competitors on a 0-5 scale. A lower score represents fewer complaints.
NR
A.M. Best
A.M. Best analyzes an insurer’s financials, operating performance, business profile, and other factors to generate an opinion-based rating of a company’s financial and credit strength. Ratings range from A++ (exceptional) to D (poor).
NR
Why we picked this company

Certainly is an online insurance company that offers renters, small business, workers’ compensation, and auto insurance. You can manage your entire policy online, from application to claims. Certainly leans on Liberty Mutual’s long history to back insurance policies.

While Certainly doesn’t have any major awards to brag about, Liberty Mutual is acknowledged in the industry as a reliable insurance company. It earned an AM Best rating of A (Excellent), which indicates the company is financially stable and likely able to pay out future claims.[1]

Pros
  • 24/7 online claim support: Certainly makes it easy for policyholders to file claims online.

  • Online quotes: Drivers can get a Certainly car insurance quote quickly with its online form.

  • Customizable coverage: You can customize your coverage to meet your needs and budget.

Cons
  • Doesn’t offer specialty coverages: Certainly doesn’t offer rideshare insurance, accident forgiveness, or gap insurance for its auto policies.

  • No advertised discounts: Certainly doesn’t appear to offer any discounts for auto insurance policies.

  • Not available nationwide: Certainly car insurance is only available in Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

Average cost of Certainly auto insurance

If you want to save money on your auto insurance policy, Certainly may help. The average monthly cost for Certainly car insurance is $132 for full-coverage policies and $82 for liability-only policies. While that may seem expensive at first glance, it’s cheaper than the national average cost of auto insurance of $198 a month for full coverage and $107 a month for a liability-only policy.

Certainly car insurance coverage

Certainly offers customizable coverage options when building your quote. Here are some of the coverages you can choose from to personalize your policy:

  • illustration card https://a.storyblok.com/f/162273/100x100/24f1697280/car-key.svg

    Rental car or rideshare reimbursement

    This coverage pays for a rental car or rideshare costs while your car is in the shop for repairs after a covered claim.

  • illustration card https://a.storyblok.com/f/162273/100x100/9997698e9e/emergency-roadside-service.svg

    Towing and labor

    With this option, Certainly covers the cost of roadside assistance services, like towing your car to a shop or fixing a flat tire.

  • illustration card https://a.storyblok.com/f/162273/x/665da91bf7/comprehensive-coverage.svg

    Comprehensive

    Comprehensive coverage pays for vehicle damage from events not related to collisions, such as fire, theft, vandalism, severe weather, and falling objects.

  • illustration card https://a.storyblok.com/f/162273/x/169fdfde11/liability-coverage.svg

    Collision

    Collision insurance pays for damages to your car when you hit an object or another vehicle, even if you’re at fault.

How Much Car Insurance Do You Need?

How Much Car Insurance Do You Need?

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Certainly car insurance costs by state

Car insurance requirements and prices fluctuate among states because of differences in insurance requirements, weather patterns, and crime rates. Urban areas tend to have more instances of vandalism, theft, and accidents, which contributes to higher insurance costs compared to rural regions.[2]

The following table shows the average cost of Certainly car insurance in the states where it’s available.

State
Average Quote: Full Coverage
Average Quote: Liability Only
Arizona$145$78
Illinois$137$77
Ohio$120$85
Tennessee$134$80
Wisconsin$127$90
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Certainly auto insurance rates by driving history

Your driving record greatly influences your car insurance costs, as past driving incidents signal to insurers your likelihood of filing a claim.

A clean record, free from accidents and serious traffic violations, typically leads to cheaper premiums. Insurance companies view safe drivers as lower risks. Conversely, drivers with a history of accidents or violations usually pay higher premiums due to the increased risk they pose to insurance companies.[2]

Here are the average costs of Certainly car insurance based on driving history.

Driving History
Average Quote: Full Coverage
Average Quote: Liability Only
Clean Record$123$76
With Speeding Ticket$165$102
With At-Fault Accident$176$109
With DUI$191$118
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Certainly car insurance cost by age

Your age plays a big role in how much you pay for car insurance. Mature drivers, typically those older than 25, have a lower likelihood of accidents compared to younger, less experienced drivers — especially teenagers.[2] As drivers gain more experience and age, their insurance costs generally decrease.

Here’s the average cost of Certainly car insurance, based on driver age.

Age Group
Average Monthly Quote
Teen$222
20–29$158
30–39$124
40–49$118
50–59$103
60–69$97
70–79$98
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

How to get a Certainly car insurance quote from Insurify

Follow these steps to submit a quote request with Insurify and compare Certainly with other insurance companies:

  1. Visit the Insurify website or mobile app. On the homepage, enter your ZIP code to receive quotes relevant to your location.

  2. Answer a few quick questions. After entering your ZIP code, answer a series of basic questions about your insurance needs and personal information.

  3. Provide identifying information. Following the initial questions, you’ll need to provide identifying information, such as your name, date of birth, and driver’s license status. You also need to submit information about your credit score, employment, and education. If you currently have car insurance coverage, provide details about your current insurer.

  4. Receive a quote. After you provide all the necessary information, Insurify will generate real-time quotes from top insurance companies. You’ll be able to view these quotes and compare Certainly with other insurance companies.

Certainly car insurance discounts

Many car insurance companies offer discounts on their policies, including savings for bundling multiple insurance products or for having safe driving habits. Certainly doesn’t appear to offer any discounts. But it claims to keep prices low by using an efficient online-only insurance experience that allows it to pass savings to customers.

Certainly insurance bundling options

When an insurance company has a handful of different insurance products available, it often offers discounts to customers who sign up for multiple policies. For example, if you use the same insurance company for your auto and home insurance policy, you can usually get a discount on both policies. While Certainly offers renters, small business, workers’ compensation, and auto insurance policies, it doesn’t offer any bundling discounts — even though this is a common discount other insurance companies offer.

Certainly insurance ratings

When you’re on the hunt for a new auto insurance policy, it helps to review a variety of insurance companies to see which can offer you the best coverage for the right price.

One of the most important factors you want to keep in mind when researching insurance companies for any type of insurance product is how stable and reliable the company is. Since Liberty Mutual financially backs Certainly, the following third-party industry ratings are for Liberty Mutual.

  • AM Best: A

  • Standard & Poor’s: A

  • Moody’s: A2

Certainly vs. other insurance companies

The car insurance market is highly saturated, which means you have a lot of choices when it comes to auto insurance coverage. However, having this many choices can be overwhelming. Here’s how Certainly compares to some other car insurance companies.

Insurance Company
Average Quote: Liability Only
Average Quote: Full Coverage
IQ Score
The Insurify Quality (IQ) Score uses more than 15 criteria to objectively rate insurance companies on a one-to-ten scale. The Insurify editorial team researches insurer data to determine the final scores.
Certainly$82$132N/A
Safeco$62$1113.6
GEICO$52$1114.2
EsuranceN/AN/AN/A
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.
  • Our editorial team spent more than 350 hours developing the Insurify Quality (IQ) Score and scoring insurance companies. The IQ Score objectively analyzes and calculates a score for insurers using more than 15 crucial criteria. The team weighted criteria by importance to the consumer — factors such as customer reviews and affordability influence the score more than availability and third-party ratings.

    We rate each company on a 1 to 10 scale based on five categories: financial ratings, customer satisfaction, affordability, customer support and transparency, and availability. Insurify updates ratings once a year or as more recent information becomes available.

    • Third-party financial ratings: Insurify uses data from AM Best, S&P, Moody’s, and more to compare insurance companies’ credit and ability to pay out future claims.
    • Customer satisfaction: To calculate this score, Insurify analyzed more than 28,000 customer reviews across 155 car insurance companies. We also consider third-party ratings from J.D. Power, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and Trustpilot.
    • Affordability: Our data scientists analyzed more than 90 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partners across the U.S., as well as available discounts, to calculate an affordability score.
    • Customer support and transparency: This measures coverage options, ease of claims filing, and the insurer's transparency surrounding discounts, coverages, and claims process.
    • Availability and reach: Insurify scores availability and reach by identifying the number of states in which insurers offer coverage and company size by market share.

Certainly vs. Safeco

Safeco is a subsidiary of Liberty Mutual but offers much more than Certainly due to Safeco’s emphasis on discounts and unique features. Safeco is particularly well-suited for cost-conscious drivers, as it offers various discount options, while Certainly advertises none. Notably, Safeco offers accident forgiveness, a feature unavailable with Certainly, which prevents your rate from increasing after your first at-fault accident in a set time frame.

Additionally, Safeco incentivizes safe driving with its claims-free cash back program with which policyholders receive a check equivalent to 2.5% of their premium if they remain claims-free over a six-month period, potentially accumulating up to 5% annually. Furthermore, Safeco’s diminishing deductible feature reduces collision deductibles with each renewal in the absence of claims, offering long-term financial benefits.

Certainly vs. GEICO

GEICO has 85 years of industry experience, which can give you plenty of confidence as a policyholder. GEICO car insurance costs an average of $111 per month for full-coverage policies, which is slightly cheaper than Certainly. But GEICO offers plenty of coverage options and many more years of experience selling and managing policies than Certainly.

GEICO is a great option for drivers who want to save as much as possible thanks to its various discounts. While Certainly doesn’t advertise any discounts, it doesn’t mean you’ll spend more with Certainly. You need to get a quote with GEICO that accounts for all discounts you qualify for and compare it to a quote from Certainly to see which one is the best fit.

Certainly vs. Esurance

Esurance stands out if you work as a rideshare driver. Esurance’s ShareSmart helps cover the gap between the rideshare company’s insurance and your personal auto insurance policy to make sure you’re protected. Currently, this feature is only available in California, Illinois, and New Jersey, but Esurance plans to expand this offering to more states soon. 

Where Esurance is similar to Certainly is a commitment to helpful online tools. You can use the Esurance mobile app to file claims and pay bills.

How to file an auto insurance claim with Certainly

An auto insurance claim is a formal request to an insurer for financial compensation following a covered event, like an accident or theft. It helps policyholders recover costs for vehicle repair, replacement, injuries, or liabilities.

Follow these steps to file a Certainly insurance claim:

  1. Access the claim submission form. Visit Certainly’s website or the Certainly insurance app and click “File a claim” in the main menu.

  2. Log in. Certainly customers select “I have a Certainly policy” and log in.

  3. Provide basic information. Fill in policy details, contact info, and a brief incident description.

  4. Submit your claim. Review your info and submit.

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Certainly insurance FAQs

Still on the fence about whether Certainly is the right fit for you? Insurify addresses common questions below.

  • Is Certainly legitimate?

    Yes, Certainly is a legitimate car insurance company. It’s backed by Liberty Mutual, which started in 1912 and ranks 71 on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S., based on 2020 revenue. An AM Best score of A indicates Liberty Mutual is a stable insurance company.

  • Is Certainly car insurance worth it?

    If you want an entirely online, modern insurance experience, Certainly may be the right fit for you — especially if you’re looking for a simple, online-only insurance product that makes it easy to manage your policy and file claims digitally.

  • What is the average cost of Certainly car insurance?

    The average cost of Certainly car insurance is $132 a month for full-coverage policies and $82 a month for liability-only policies.

  • Who owns Certainly insurance?

    Liberty Mutual backs Certainly’s insurance products and owns the company.

  • Who should get Certainly insurance?

    Anyone looking for a customizable quote process and an online-only experience will likely find that Certainly can offer them what they’re looking for.

  • Is Certainly good at paying claims?

    Liberty Mutual, the insurance company that backs Certainly, has an AM Best rating of A (Excellent). An AM Best rating of Excellent signifies strong financial performance and stability, indicating a high level of confidence in an insurer’s ability to meet its financial obligations.

Sources

  1. AM Best. "AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc. and Subsidiaries."
  2. III. "What determines the price of an auto insurance policy?."
Jacqueline DeMarco
Jacqueline DeMarco

During college, Jacqueline DeMarco interned at a retirement plan advisory firm and was tasked with creating a presentation on the importance of financial wellness. During her research into how money can affect our health, relationships and career, Jacqueline realized just how important financial education is. Jacqueline is a contributor for Insurify and has worked with more than a dozen financial brands, including LendingTree, Capital One, Credit Karma, Fundera, Chime, Bankrate, Student Loan Hero, ValuePenguin, SoFi, and Northwestern Mutual, providing thoughtful content to give readers insight into complex topics that they likely didn’t learn in school.

Courtney Mikulski
Edited byCourtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
Courtney Mikulski
Courtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
  • 3+ years producing insurance and personal finance content

  • Main architect of the Insurify Quality Score

Courtney’s deep personal finance knowledge extends beyond insurance to credit cards, consumer lending, and banking. She thrives on creating actionable content.

Featured in

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