Compare American Family vs. Erie: Quotes, Discounts (2023)

American Family vs. Erie: A Summary

If you’re looking to compare car insurance policies, two companies you might consider with great coverage options are American Family and Erie. Neither insurer is available in all states, but residents of some states have a choice between the two companies. Here’s how these insurance providers compare in terms of cost and Insurify Composite Score.

ICS Score Explanation:

The Insurify Composite Score (ICS) is a proprietary rating calculated by a team of data scientists at Insurify, weighing multiple factors that reflect the quality, reliability, and health of an insurance company.

Inputs to the score include financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch; J.D. Power ratings; Consumer Reports customer satisfaction surveys and customer complaints; mobile app reviews; and user-generated company reviews.

American Family

American Family was founded in 1927 and offers several insurance products, including auto and homeowners insurance, in 19 states. American Family was the top-ranked midsize auto insurance company for customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study. The company also had fewer complaints with the NAIC than average in 2022.

In addition to standard coverage options, American Family Insurance also offers roadside assistance, accident forgiveness, gap coverage, rental reimbursement coverage, gap insurance, and accidental death and dismemberment coverage. They offer a variety of discounts to make your car insurance policy more affordable, including a multi-policy discount.

You can even get a usage-based discount with the company’s telematics program, KnowYourDrive. American Family offers affordable insurance rates and has excellent financial strength ratings from A.M. Best and S&P. The insurer has a feature-packed mobile app you can use to start the claims process or manage your policy.

Erie

Since opening in 1925, Erie Insurance has provided residents of 12 states and the District of Columbia with auto insurance, home insurance, life insurance, renters insurance, and more. Erie offers some of the lowest insurance costs in the industry. Erie’s insurance coverage comes with unique built-in features like first accident forgiveness and pet injury coverage.

Erie also offers several add-ons to its standard full-coverage policy, including new car replacement coverage, rideshare coverage, and a roadside and rentals bundle. The company has superior financial strength ratings and high rankings in both the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study and the 2022 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study.

Your Erie insurance agent can help you determine what discounts you’re eligible for, such as a multi-policy discount. You can even get a discount for being a safe driver with the usage-based program YourTurn. However, complaints with the NAIC were higher than expected given the insurer’s size.

The Best Car Insurance Companies in 2022

American Family and Erie are both highly reputable insurance companies with excellent financial strength and customer satisfaction ratings. While they aren’t the best insurance companies we reviewed based on a variety of data, customers will find great rates and unique coverage options at both companies.

Compare American Family vs. Erie: Which Is Cheaper?

Erie is cheaper than American Family Insurance by about $10 per month on average. Policyholders in each age group and with each type of infraction on their driving record pay less at Erie. However, American Family offers slightly cheaper insurance rates to drivers with poor credit.

The Cheapest Car Insurance Companies in 2022

Erie and American Family are two of the cheapest insurance companies we reviewed, with Erie leading the way. Erie offers especially low rates to drivers with excellent credit and drivers in their teens. However, both USAA and GEICO offer cheaper rates on average than either AmFam or Erie.

Compare American Family vs. Erie Car Insurance by Age

As you age, you gain more experience on the road, which makes you less likely to be in an at-fault accident. Young drivers pay the most for car insurance since teen drivers are more likely to be in a crash than any other age group. Drivers in their 50s and 60s, on the other hand, tend to pay the lowest rates. Every insurer assesses age a little differently.

Here are the average rates you can expect from American Family and Erie Insurance based on your age group.

Erie offers cheaper car insurance premiums than American Family for drivers of all ages. Erie was also the cheapest insurer we reviewed for teen drivers. For most other age groups, USAA had the lowest rates.

Compare American Family vs. Erie Car Insurance by Gender

Most car insurance companies use your gender when underwriting your car insurance policy. Women tend to pay just slightly less than men, with more noticeable differences in premiums occurring at younger ages. That’s because teen males are more than twice as likely to die in a crash than teen females, according to the CDC.

Here’s what you can expect, on average, from American Family and Erie based on your gender.

Which is cheapest for men?

Erie is cheaper than American Family for men, but both companies offer premiums that beat the nationwide average rate for men.

Which is cheapest for women?

Erie is cheaper than American Family for women, but both insurers charge less than the industry average rate for women drivers.

Compare American Family vs. Erie Car Insurance by Mileage

Most auto insurance companies ask for your estimated annual mileage when you apply. They use this information to adjust your premium slightly. Typically, the difference is minimal, but low-mileage drivers tend to pay slightly less. Here’s what you can expect from each company, on average, based on your estimated annual mileage.

Note that at both companies, you might realize greater savings for being a low-mileage driver if you enroll in a safe driving telematics program. Depending on your driving behavior, this can result in significant savings.

Which is cheapest for drivers with high mileage?

Erie is slightly cheaper than American Family for high-mileage drivers, and both companies charge less than the industry average rate.

Which is cheapest for drivers with low mileage?

Erie offers slightly cheaper premiums than American Family for low-mileage drivers, and both companies’ rates beat the industry average.

Compare American Family vs. Erie Car Insurance by Credit Score

Car insurance companies in many states use your credit-based insurance score when setting your premium. This score is based on information in your credit report. Drivers with excellent credit pay the lowest premiums, while drivers with poor credit pay higher rates. That’s because several studies found a link between poor credit and higher claims-filing.

Some states, such as California, prohibit the use of credit scores in underwriting. But in most places, you can expect your credit score to impact your premium. Here’s what American Family and Erie charge, on average, to drivers in each credit tier.

Which is cheapest for good credit?

Erie offers very low rates to drivers with excellent credit, beating American Family and the industry average. The only other company offering a lower rate on average is State Farm, by a matter of cents.

Which is cheapest for bad credit?

For average credit drivers, Erie charges cheaper rates than American Family. But Erie raises rates for drivers with poor credit, so American Family is cheaper for drivers in the poor credit tier. Both insurers beat the industry average rate for bad credit drivers.

Compare American Family vs. Erie Car Insurance by Driving Record

Your driving record can have a large impact on the price of your monthly car insurance payment. If you have infractions like speeding tickets and DUIs in your driving history, you’re likely to pay more due to higher risk assessments.

Every insurance company will evaluate your driving record a little differently, though. Here’s what American Family and Erie charge on average to drivers with each type of violation.

Which is cheapest for good drivers?

Erie offers very low monthly rates to drivers without any infractions in their history, beating out both American Family and the industry average.

Which is cheapest after a speeding ticket?

Erie offers generous rates to drivers with speeding tickets, beating both American Family and the industry average rate.

Which is cheapest after an accident?

Erie offers significantly lower rates than American Family for drivers who have caused crashes. Both companies beat the industry average rate.

Which is cheapest after a DUI?

A DUI can significantly raise your car insurance rates, but American Family and Erie both charge DUI drivers less than the industry average. Erie offers especially cheap insurance coverage to drivers with DUIs—only USAA was able to provide a lower rate.

American Family vs. Erie Car Insurance: What discounts does each offer?

Our Methodology and How We Compared American Family and Erie

The car insurance quotes provided in Insurify’s insurance company comparison guides are based on the analysis of over 50 thousand insurance quotes from 500 ZIP codes nationwide. Insurify’s data science team performs a comprehensive analysis of factors car insurance providers weigh to calculate rates, including driver demographics, driving record, credit score, desired coverage level, and more to give representative samples.

Insurify’s analysis also incorporates the Insurify Composite Score (ICS) assigned to each insurance provider. The ICS is a proprietary rating calculated by weighing multiple factors that reflect the quality, reliability, and health of an insurance company.

Ratings used to calculate the ICS include Financial Strength Ratings from A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch; J.D. Power ratings; Consumer Reports customer satisfaction surveys and customer complaints; mobile app reviews; and user-generated company reviews.

With the above insights and ranking methods, Insurify is able to offer car insurance shoppers a window into how insurance providers compare to one another in terms of both cost and quality.

Frequently Asked Questions