Auto-Owners car insurance review: Affordable & accessible
Auto-Owners Insurance offers a variety of car insurance coverage types at lower-than-average rates, but it isn’t available in every state.
By
Rachael BrennanRachael BrennanSenior Editor & Licensed Insurance ExpertRachael Brennan is a licensed auto insurance expert and a former senior editor at Policygenius. Her work has also been featured in MoneyGeek, Clearsurance, Adweek, Boston Globe, The Ladders, and AutoInsurance.com.
Edited by
Anna SwartzAnna SwartzSenior Managing EditorAnna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.
Our proprietary ratings methodology takes multiple factors into account, including customer satisfaction, cost, financial strength, and policy offerings. See the “Ratings methodology” section for more details.
4.7
AM Best rating
AM Best is a global credit rating agency that scores the financial strength of insurance companies on a scale from A++ (Superior) to D (Poor).
A++
Cost
Using a mix of internal and external rate data, we grade the cost of each insurance company's premiums on a scale from least expensive ($) to most expensive ($$$$$).
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The bottom line
Established in 1916, the Michigan-based Auto-Owners Insurance Group is a good option for relatively cheap car insurance. Like its pricier competitors, Auto-Owners offers a variety of coverage types and discounts, including all the basic car insurance coverage most drivers need, like liability coverage, comprehensive, and collision coverage.
Auto-Owners also offers some unique additional coverages, like personal diminished value coverage and gap insurance.
Auto-Owners is rated A++ by A.M. Best and has solid-to-high customer satisfaction ratings with trusted third party J.D. Power. And since Auto-Owners only offers auto insurance policies through independent agents, customers can easily compare quotes from multiple companies to make sure they are getting the best possible coverage at the lowest rates before settling on an Auto-Owners policy.
The biggest downside to Auto-Owners auto insurance is that it isn’t available everywhere; Auto-Owners coverage is only available in 26 states, and isn’t available in California or New York.
Liability coverage: Covers the cost of bodily injuries or property damage you cause to someone else in an at fault accident. Liability coverage is required in almost every state.
Personal injury protection: Also referred to as PIP or no-fault insurance, personal injury protection covers medical expenses (and other costs, like lost wages and funeral benefits) if you or your passengers are hurt in an accident, no matter who was at fault. PIP coverage is required in some states.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: Also known as UM/UIM, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage pays for damages if you’re hit by a driver who doesn’t have insurance, or doesn’t have enough insurance to cover all the damage they caused. UM/UIM is required coverage in some states.
Collision coverage: Covers damage to your vehicle after a car accident, whether or not you were at fault.
Comprehensive coverage: Covers non-collision damage to your car. This includes damage caused by extreme weather (like hail or flooding), fire, falling objects, vandalism and theft.
Medical payments: Also known as MedPay, this covers medical costs if you get into a covered accident, but the benefit is usually less than $10,000.
Additional coverages offered
Accident forgiveness: If your driving record is clean, this allows you to file an accident claim without seeing an increase in your premiums for your first at-fault accident.
Collision coverage advantage: Your collision deductible will be waived if you’re involved in an accident with another vehicle insured by Auto-Owners.
Common loss deductible: If both your home and cars are insured with Auto-Owners and you have a loss that involves damage to both, your auto deductible will be reduced by the amount of the personal property deductible.
Rental car coverage: Pays for the cost of a rental car (up to the limits of your policy) in the case of an accident.
Additional expense: Helps pay for a rental car, food, lodging and other incidental expenses after a covered accident.
Loan or lease gap: Also known as gap coverage, this covers the difference between the actual cash value (ACV) and the amount still owed on your car loan.
Diminished value: Covers you for a reduction in value in your vehicle in the event of a covered accident.
Rental auto gap: Covers the amount you are liable for under the terms of a rental agreement in the event of a covered accident.
Road trouble service: Also known as roadside assistance, this covers towing, battery jumpstart, fuel delivery, winching, and locksmith services if your car breaks down.
Ratings methodology
Price
4.6/5
We used data provided by Quadrant to compare the average cost of a full coverage policy from Auto-Owners (50/100/50 coverage limits and $500 deductibles for comprehensive and collision coverage) to competitor rates for the same coverage with the same driver profile (single drivers aged 30, 35, and 45 driving a 2017 Toyota Camry LE about 10,000 miles per year).
Customer experience
4.0/5
Auto-Owners scored 865 out of 1,000 on J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, which is about average for the industry. In J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study, which looks at customer satisfaction with a company’s digital offerings, Auto-Owners received a 703, which is a higher-than-average score. And according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) National Complaint Index Report, Auto-Owners also had fewer customer complaints than average in 2021.
Coverage options
3.2/5
Auto-Owners offers 14 different types of auto insurance coverage, giving it a good score when it comes to coverage options. Beyond the standard auto insurance coverage types, including liability, comprehensive, and collision coverage, Auto-Owners offers add-ons like roadside assistance and gap coverage.
Financial strength
4.9/5
Auto-Owners has excellent financial ratings, scoring an A++ with AM Best. However, Auto-Owners doesn’t have a rating with S&P or Moody’s. This means Auto-Owners is in a good financial position to pay out its customers’ claims.
How much does Auto-Owners auto insurance cost?
Auto-Owners auto insurance costs an average of $97 a month, or $1,165 a year. That makes Auto-Owners car insurance less expensive than many of its competitors for a full-coverage policy with bodily injury liability limits of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident.
Average cost per month
Average cost per year
Auto-Owners average
$97
$1,165
National average
$136
$1,638
What discounts does Auto-Owners offer?
Multi-policy discount: Save money by bundling multiple policies with Auto-Owners, including home, renters, auto, and life insurance.
Payment history: Pay your premiums on time every month for 36 months and you could earn a discount on your Auto-Owners auto insurance policy.
Paid-in-full discount: Pay your premium in full at the beginning of your Auto-Owners policy and save money on your car insurance.
Green discount: Get a discount when you enroll in paperless billing and pay your policy premiums online.
Advance quote: Get an Auto-Owners car insurance quote before the date you need your policy to start and you can earn a discount.
Multi-car discount: Insure two or more vehicles on the same Auto-Owners policy to earn a discount.
Safety feature discounts: If your vehicle is equipped with certain safety features, such as anti-lock brake systems (ABS), airbags or anti-theft devices, you could qualify for a discount.
Good student discount: Students may be eligible for up to a 20% discount if they maintain a "B" average or higher.
Student away at school discount: Students who are attending school more than 100 miles from home without a vehicle may be eligible for a discount.
Teen driver monitoring discount: Teens with a permanently installed GPS within the vehicle or who are enrolled into an eligible app on their smartphone are eligible for a discount.
How to get a quote: Drivers will need to get an Auto-Owners quote from an agent; you can find an agent online through the Auto-Owners website.
Customer service options: Auto-Owners customers can access their policies online through the Auto-Owners customer center, and do things like paying a bill or viewing policy information. Customers with more complex issues (or who just want to speak with a person) can call 800-346-0346.
How to file a claim: Your Auto-Owners agent can help you file a claim, or you can call the company directly at 888-252-4626 for assistance.
How to cancel your policy: Auto-Owners customers can cancel their policy by reaching out to their agent or calling 800-346-0346.
Auto-Owners scored an 865 out of 1,000 on the J.D. Powers Claims Satisfaction survey, which measures how happy customers are with their claims experience. This is an average score, which indicates that Auto-Owners customers are generally satisfied with their claims experience.
What is Auto-Owners’ rating?
We rated multiple auto insurance companies using a variety of factors, including cost, coverage options, customer service, and financial stability. Based on those factors, we rated Auto-Owners 4.7 out of 5, which is an excellent score. But that doesn’t mean Auto-Owners is necessarily right for you; compare quotes from multiple companies to make sure you are getting the best possible coverage.
What company owns Auto-Owners?
Auto-Owners is a mutual company, which means the policyholders are the owners of the company.
Rachael Brennan is a licensed auto insurance expert and a former senior editor at Policygenius. Her work has also been featured in MoneyGeek, Clearsurance, Adweek, Boston Globe, The Ladders, and AutoInsurance.com.
Anna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.
