With 15 years of immersion in the world of personal finance, Ashley Kilroy simplifies financial concepts for individuals striving toward financial security. Her expertise has been showcased in reputable publications including Rolling Stone, SmartAsse.
Ashley Kilroy Insurance WriterWith 15 years of immersion in the world of personal finance, Ashley Kilroy simplifies financial concepts for individuals striving toward financial security. Her expertise has been showcased in reputable publications including Rolling Stone, SmartAsse.
Written By Ashley Kilroy Insurance WriterWith 15 years of immersion in the world of personal finance, Ashley Kilroy simplifies financial concepts for individuals striving toward financial security. Her expertise has been showcased in reputable publications including Rolling Stone, SmartAsse.
Ashley Kilroy Insurance WriterWith 15 years of immersion in the world of personal finance, Ashley Kilroy simplifies financial concepts for individuals striving toward financial security. Her expertise has been showcased in reputable publications including Rolling Stone, SmartAsse.
Insurance Writer Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
| Insurance Writer and Analyst
Updated: Jun 10, 2024, 8:42am
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American Family has competitive rates and a robust lineup of optional car insurance coverage, such as accident forgiveness, gap insurance and a vanishing deductible. It also has a very low level of complaints made against it, making it worth a look if you’re shopping for an auto policy.
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We analyzed car insurance costs, coverage options, complaint data and collision repair claims service. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate insurance companies so all companies are measured equally. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and the methodology for the ratings below.
American Family has relatively good rates for a variety of driver profiles.
American Family has decent car insurance prices for good drivers. Its national average cost for good drivers is a tad below the average of $2,026 per year among the car insurance companies we analyzed. Consider taking a look at Forbes Advisor’s list of best car insurance companies.
American Family has about average rates for drivers with a speeding ticket. If you have a ticket or two on your record, it’s wise to compare car insurance quotes due to the large range of rates from auto insurance companies.
American Family auto insurance rates are pretty good for drivers who caused an accident with injury to someone else, coming in at over $700 cheaper than the national average of $3,009 per year
American Family has relatively reasonable car insurance rates for drivers with a DUI conviction. Its average cost for drivers with a DUI is nearly $950 below the national average of $3,363 per year among the companies we analyzed.
American Family offers excellent rates for drivers with poor credit. Its average cost is over $1,000 below the national average of $3,847 per year, among the insurers we evaluated.
All states except California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan allow car insurance companies to use a credit when calculating rates. Insurance companies say that a person’s credit correlates with the chances the person will make a future insurance claim. This correlation leads to higher auto insurance rates.
American Family car insurance costs for drivers ages 65 to 80 are average compared to top competitors. The national average is $2,150 a year, based on our analysis of large insurers.
American Family has a very low level of auto insurance complaints compared to many large insurers, based on complaints made to state insurance departments across the country. American Family complaints are substantially below the industry average.
American Family’s top auto insurance complaints are related to claim delays, unsatisfactory claim settlement offers and handling of claims by adjusters.
In a survey of collision repair professionals by the CRASH Network, American Family earned a C+ grade.
The opinions of auto body specialists are valuable because they see how insurers compare in the use of quality repair parts, whether insurers support the use of repair procedures recommended by car makers, and whether insurance companies have claims processes that lead to fast and acceptable claims for customers.
Yes, American Family offers accident forgiveness, which can be beneficial because it prevents your insurance from increasing after an accident and lets you keep a good driver discount.
You can buy accident forgiveness coverage from American Family If you haven’t had any at-fault accidents or violations in the last 12 months and had no more than one at-fault accident in the last three years.
If you haven’t had any at-fault accidents in the last five years, American Family rewards you with accident forgiveness at no extra cost.
Yes, safe drivers may want to consider American Family’s diminishing deductible feature, which is an add-on feature you can buy. If you have a collision or comprehensive claim, a deductible is the amount subtracted from your payout. With a diminishing deductible, the amount deducted gets lower over time.
With American Family’s diminishing deductible, you earn a $100 credit from the start, reducing a $500 deductible to $400. Each year you’re without an accident claim, the deductible goes down by $100 until it’s zero in the fifth year.
If you make a claim and use your deductible credit, you reset back to year one with $100 off the deductible. It’s helpful if you want to pay less out of pocket for claims as the years progress.
Yes, American Family offers gap insurance. For drivers who have a car loan or lease, gap insurance pays the difference (the “gap”) between the value of your vehicle at the time it’s totaled and what you owe on a loan or lease. This coverage is most helpful for those who owe much more on a car than the vehicle is worth.
Yes, American Family offers new car replacement coverage, which you can add to a policy. New car replacement coverage with American Family is only available for brand new vehicles and helps replace your new car with the same make and model if it’s totaled. The coverage is automatically removed after one year of being in force.
Yes, rideshare insurance is available from American Family. It may be helpful for drivers of rideshare companies such as Lyft and Uber.
Rideshare insurance fills the gap in coverage between a driver’s personal auto insurance policy and the insurance provided by the rideshare company. Rideshare insurance from American Family covers the period of time when a driver is logged into the rideshare company’s app and waiting for rider requests.
Customers can get the same coverage with American Family’s rideshare insurance as they have on their personal auto policies. This includes property damage and bodily injury liability, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, collision and comprehensive coverage, and personal injury protection.
American Family offers SR-22 insurance. SR-22s are sometimes required by states for high-risk drivers, such as those with DUI convictions or who caused multiple accidents. An SR-22 provides the state proof that you have car insurance coverage. SR-22 rules vary by state, but most states demand the driver retain the certificate for about three years.
American Family has an option usage-based auto insurance program called KnowYourDrive. It monitors and scores your driving habits. You’ll get a 10% discount for signing up and logging into the smartphone app. Based on your driving score, you could earn a discount of up to 20%.
Drivers of all ages are eligible, but all drivers on your policy don’t have to participate. The app monitors braking, speeding, hours driven, distractions (using a phone while driving) and length of trips. KnowYourDrive data isn’t used to raise your rates, so you can try it and opt-out if you don’t score very well.
One other perk: The “Travel Peace of Mind Package” is included with enrollment in the KnowYourDrive program.
Yes, American Family offers a mileage-based insurance plan called MilesMyWay. It’s only available in Arizona and Oregon. Customers get a 5% discount for enrolling and then your savings is calculated by how many miles you drive. People who don’t drive frequently can benefit from this kind of auto insurance plan.
American Family Insurance offers many discounts, especially for drivers who practice safe driving habits. If you have a young driver in your family, look for discounts for “young volunteers” and good students.
J.D. Power, a market research company, surveys consumers to gauge how auto insurance companies are performing on a variety of issues.
The 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Study measures customer satisfaction. It analyzes car insurance customer satisfaction based on five factors: billing process and policy information, claims, interaction, policy offerings and price. The study reviews car insurance companies in 11 regions in the U.S. Four states—California, Florida, New York and Texas—are considered regions.
American Family was the second highest-ranking auto insurer in the Central region (with a score of 837 out of 1,000) and the Southwest region (scoring 828). Connect by American Family ranked second for California (scoring 839).
The 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study surveys consumers who settled an auto insurance claim within the last nine months. The survey reveals customers’ perceptions of the entire claim filing process. American Family obtained ninth place, scoring 882 (on a 1,000-point scale). Amica took first place with a score of 909.
The 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Insurance Shopping Study gathered insights from consumers shopping for car insurance through each stage of the buying process. American Family ranked the fourth highest among midsize auto insurers, scoring 867 out of a 1,000-point scale.
American Family offers commercial and business insurance for business owners of all kinds. For those who want to see the sights of the world, American Family Insurance offers travel insurance.
American Family also sells:
In addition to the KnowYourDrive app, American Family Insurance offers customers the MyAmFam app. This app helps users manage their insurance policies. Some features of the MyAmFam app include:
Your teen driver can download the TeenSafeDriver app to monitor their driving habits. The app is meant to help teens become better drivers. It monitors and scores each drive to show where the teen can improve. It detects factors such as distracted driving, high speeds and hard braking. The app also lets parents see the teen’s location.
After the teen drives 3,000 miles or has been in the program one year, a 10% discount is applied to the auto insurance policy. Rates will not go up, no matter the teen’s driving score. American Family will automatically apply the discount until your teen turns 21 unless the teen has any of the following:
American Family Insurance was founded in 1927 by salesman Herman Wittwer. Originally named Farmers Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., it opened its doors selling only auto insurance to farmers. Over the years, Farmers Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. expanded its product and service offering to cater to a broader array of customers.
In 1963, the company changed its name to American Family Insurance to represent its more extensive customer base.
American Family auto insurance is available in 19 states:
Rates are based on a 40-year-old female driver with a clean record insuring a new Toyota RAV4 with $100,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per person, $300,000 per accident and $100,000 in property damage liability (known as 100/300/100), uninsured motorist coverage and any other coverage required in the state unless otherwise noted. Rates also include collision and comprehensive insurance with a $500 deductible. Source: Quadrant Information Services.
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