American Family Insurance vs. USAA Car Insurance: Expert Recommended (2023)
If you are comparing American Family vs. USAA, look at more than just price. Always inquire as to any and all discounts you can receive that are applicable to your life. With that being said, we're going to compare not just these two companies' prices, but also their discounts and how well-reviewed they are. Before you buy auto insurance from one of these or any other companies, compare quotes for the best deal.
Free Auto Insurance Comparison
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Leslie Kasperowicz
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insuranc...
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
UPDATED: Jun 17, 2022
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different insurance companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by insurance experts.
UPDATED: Jun 17, 2022
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different insurance companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
- Both companies are well-reviewed by A.M. Best.
- USAA offers more competitive pricing in most states.
- Both companies offer discounts.
If you’re here, you’ve probably begun the process of finding your first, or next, insurer. To help simplify matters today, we’ll be comparing USAA Insurance and American Family Insurance. We’ll get into more details about American Family vs. USAA.
For instance, you may be wondering, “What does USAA stand for?” Well, to answer that question, it stands for United Services Automobile Association. If you’d like to learn more about this company in particular, read our USAA Insurance Review.
Before we get into the details, feel free to use our easy and helpful tool above simply by typing in your ZIP code to find affordable auto insurance quotes in your area. That way, you’ll be a happy customer, finding insurance policies that fit within your budget. And while financial stability is one thing, make sure you’re also paying attention to customer satisfaction ratings. There’s no harm in wanting a company to be able to give you an excellent customer experience as well as an affordable rate.
What can USAA do for you?
Let’s start with something that’s probably pretty important to you: pricing structure. Let’s take a look at a table that shows rates for the 10 main insurers in the country in each and every state.
State | Allstate Average Monthly Rates | American Family Average Monthly Rates | Farmers Average Monthly Rates | Geico Average Monthly Rates | Liberty Mutual Average Monthly Rates | Nationwide Average Monthly Rates | Progressive Average Monthly Rates | State Farm Average Monthly Rates | Travelers Average Monthly Rates |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alaska | 262.11 | 346.09 | - | 240.00 | 441.30 | - | 255.24 | 185.68 | - |
Alabama | 275.96 | - | 348.82 | 238.88 | 333.79 | 221.89 | 370.88 | 399.85 | 308.15 |
Arkansas | 429.17 | - | 354.82 | 290.39 | - | 321.82 | 442.67 | 232.42 | 497.78 |
Arizona | 408.68 | - | 416.67 | 188.73 | - | 291.34 | 298.13 | 396.35 | 257.06 |
California | 377.75 | - | 416.57 | 240.47 | 252.87 | 387.77 | 237.47 | 350.19 | 279.13 |
Colorado | 461.43 | 311.09 | 440.85 | 257.64 | 233.15 | 311.62 | 352.66 | 272.56 | - |
Connecticut | 485.97 | - | - | 256.14 | 606.91 | 306.03 | 410.03 | 248.02 | 500.36 |
District of Columbia | 539.08 | - | - | 307.73 | - | 404.08 | 414.19 | 339.50 | - |
Delaware | 526.34 | - | - | 310.61 | 1530.00 | 360.85 | 348.49 | 372.24 | 348.53 |
Florida | 620.04 | - | - | 315.30 | 447.35 | 361.63 | 465.28 | 283.14 | - |
Georgia | 350.89 | - | - | 248.10 | 837.79 | 540.41 | 374.94 | 282.07 | - |
Hawaii | 181.12 | - | 396.99 | 279.91 | 265.80 | 212.65 | 181.49 | 86.69 | - |
Iowa | 247.16 | 251.82 | 202.98 | 191.35 | 367.94 | 227.95 | 199.63 | 185.38 | 452.45 |
Idaho | 340.73 | 310.73 | 264.02 | 230.89 | 191.79 | 252.68 | - | 155.66 | 268.86 |
Illinois | 433.70 | 317.94 | 383.77 | 231.60 | 189.80 | 225.98 | 294.72 | 195.41 | 208.31 |
Indiana | 331.57 | 306.64 | 286.46 | 188.42 | 481.78 | - | 324.83 | 200.75 | 282.81 |
Kansas | 334.19 | 178.87 | 308.65 | 268.39 | 398.70 | 206.30 | 345.37 | 226.67 | 361.79 |
Kentucky | 595.33 | - | - | 386.13 | 494.25 | 458.60 | 462.30 | 279.53 | 545.97 |
Louisiana | 499.90 | - | - | 512.88 | - | - | 622.59 | 381.59 | - |
Maine | 306.30 | - | 230.85 | 235.25 | 360.95 | - | 303.63 | 183.22 | 187.75 |
Maryland | 436.10 | - | - | 319.39 | 774.80 | 242.97 | 341.24 | 330.07 | - |
Massachusetts | 225.71 | - | - | 125.85 | 361.61 | - | 319.59 | 113.49 | 294.83 |
Michigan | 1908.55 | - | 708.63 | 535.84 | 1666.67 | 527.28 | 447.05 | 1047.13 | 731.16 |
Minnesota | 377.67 | 293.44 | 261.45 | 291.55 | 1130.30 | 243.87 | - | 172.25 | - |
Missouri | 341.35 | 273.91 | 359.35 | 240.44 | 376.56 | 188.78 | 284.93 | 224.41 | - |
Mississippi | 411.84 | - | - | 340.60 | 371.33 | 229.71 | 359.07 | 248.37 | 310.78 |
Montana | 389.34 | - | 325.63 | 300.20 | 110.51 | 289.86 | 360.90 | 201.48 | - |
North Carolina | 599.20 | - | - | 244.72 | 181.89 | 237.34 | 198.55 | 256.55 | 261.06 |
North Dakota | 389.11 | 317.70 | 257.71 | 222.35 | 1071.07 | 213.36 | 301.92 | 213.38 | - |
Nebraska | 266.57 | 184.59 | 333.11 | 319.79 | 520.13 | 217.00 | 313.17 | 203.23 | - |
New Hampshire | 227.08 | - | - | 134.59 | 703.70 | 207.59 | 224.54 | 182.12 | - |
New Jersey | 476.13 | - | 634.75 | 229.58 | 563.89 | - | 331.06 | 627.26 | 354.54 |
New Mexico | 350.05 | - | 359.63 | 371.53 | - | 292.87 | 259.93 | 195.06 | - |
Nevada | 447.64 | 453.43 | 466.30 | 305.17 | 516.80 | 289.76 | 338.55 | 483.03 | 446.70 |
New York | 395.08 | - | - | 202.35 | 545.06 | 334.41 | 314.26 | 373.72 | 381.57 |
Ohio | 266.44 | 126.26 | 285.25 | 155.60 | 369.15 | 275.07 | 286.41 | 208.99 | 261.26 |
Oklahoma | 309.89 | - | 345.20 | 286.45 | 572.89 | - | 402.70 | 234.73 | - |
Oregon | 397.16 | 293.94 | 312.79 | 268.34 | 361.21 | 264.74 | 302.43 | 227.62 | 241.02 |
Pennsylvania | 332.01 | - | - | 217.10 | 504.60 | 233.36 | 370.92 | 228.69 | 653.54 |
Rhode Island | 413.29 | - | - | 466.89 | 515.34 | 367.47 | 435.92 | 200.54 | 575.79 |
South Carolina | 325.29 | - | 390.99 | 264.83 | - | 302.12 | 381.09 | 255.95 | - |
South Dakota | 393.64 | 337.29 | 314.07 | 245.02 | 626.33 | 228.14 | 312.73 | 192.19 | - |
Tennessee | 402.40 | - | 285.84 | 273.62 | 517.22 | 285.41 | 304.74 | 219.94 | 228.21 |
Texas | 457.12 | 404.06 | - | 271.94 | - | 322.30 | 388.72 | 240.00 | - |
Utah | 297.20 | 308.23 | 325.67 | 247.13 | 360.65 | 248.88 | 319.18 | 387.15 | - |
Virginia | 282.23 | - | - | 171.79 | - | 172.75 | 208.22 | 189.08 | - |
Vermont | 265.87 | - | - | 182.98 | 301.76 | 177.35 | 434.76 | 365.24 | - |
Washington | 295.04 | 309.42 | 246.83 | 214.05 | 332.89 | 177.49 | 267.46 | 208.32 | - |
West Virginia | 318.39 | - | - | 176.73 | 243.70 | - | - | 177.19 | - |
Wisconsin | 404.53 | 126.11 | 314.79 | 327.18 | 563.24 | 435.42 | 260.74 | 198.96 | - |
Wyoming | 364.49 | - | 255.78 | 291.38 | 165.78 | 265.60 | 366.76 | 191.96 | - |
Take note of the difference between American Family’s prices and USAA’s. Occasionally, USAA is more expensive than American Family, like in Kansas.
However, the vast majority of the states show that USAA is substantially cheaper than American Family as well as numerous other shown companies. For instance, look at Idaho, where USAA is about a whopping 50 percent cheaper than American Family.
Speaking of price, always accumulate as many special car insurance discounts as you can. In the age of COVID-19, you may be working from home. Inform your insurance agent of this and see if they have a program to lower your rates since you’ll be on the road less. Does USAA offer auto insurance discounts like this?
They do! USAA will give a discount on premiums based on the number of miles the insured drives in a given year. All you have to do is be age 29 or above and plug a USAA-provided device into your vehicle.
Are you looking for free insurance quotes?
Your one-stop online insurance guide. Get free quotes now!
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What can American Family Insurance do for you?
Another way to analyze a company’s pricing structure is to compare its rates to the state average. Let’s take a look at a table to see if American Family Insurance’s rates are better than your state’s average.
State | American Family Average Monthly Rates | State Average Monthly Rates | Higher/Lower ($) Than State Average Monthly Rates | Higher/Lower (%) Than State Average Monthly Rates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alaska | $346.09 | $285.13 | $60.96 | 1.47% |
Colorado | $311.09 | $323.03 | -$11.95 | -0.32% |
Iowa | $251.82 | $248.44 | $3.38 | 0.11% |
Idaho | $310.73 | $248.26 | $62.48 | 1.68% |
Illinois | $317.94 | $275.46 | $42.49 | 1.11% |
Indiana | $306.64 | $284.58 | $22.06 | 0.60% |
Kansas | $178.87 | $273.30 | -$94.44 | -4.40% |
Minnesota | $293.44 | $366.94 | -$73.50 | -2.09% |
Missouri | $273.91 | $277.41 | -$3.50 | -0.11% |
North Dakota | $317.70 | $347.15 | -$29.45 | -0.77% |
Nebraska | $184.59 | $273.64 | -$89.05 | -4.02% |
Nevada | $453.43 | $405.14 | $48.29 | 0.89% |
Ohio | $126.26 | $225.81 | -$99.55 | -6.57% |
Oregon | $293.94 | $288.98 | $4.96 | 0.14% |
South Dakota | $337.29 | $331.86 | $5.43 | 0.13% |
Texas | $404.06 | $336.94 | $67.12 | 1.38% |
Utah | $308.23 | $300.99 | $7.24 | 0.20% |
Washington | $309.42 | $254.94 | $54.48 | 1.47% |
Wisconsin | $126.11 | $300.51 | -$174.40 | -11.53% |
All in all, it’s pretty hit or miss. On the plus side, however, in the states where American Family is cheaper than the state average, it can be much cheaper. Take a look at Wisconsin, where American Family is a staggering 138% cheaper than the state average.
Remember how we discussed accumulating discounts? One such discount from American Family is the Dreams Restored Program.
This program finds the cheapest auto body shop located within your area, should the need arise.
How are USAA and American Family rated?
When you’re trying to decide if a company is right for you, you want to know that they’re going to be around for the long haul.
A good way to know this is to look at the reviews given by A.M. Best and the Better Business Bureau. Let’s take a look at a table showing these ratings for American Family, including some consumer complaint data.
Ratings Agency | American Family Ratings |
---|---|
A.M. Best | A |
Better Business Bureau | A |
Moody's | N/A |
S&P | N/A |
NAIC Complaint Index | 0.69 |
JD Power | Claims Satisfaction 3/5 Shopping Study 4/5 |
Consumer Reports | 89 |
As you can see, both A.M. Best and the BBB gave American Family an A rating. Not too shabby, right? Let’s see how USAA measures up.
Agency | Ratings |
---|---|
AM Best | A++ |
Better Business Bureau (San Antonio Headquarters) | B- |
Moody's | Aaa |
S&P | AA+ |
NAIC Complaint Index (2017) | 0.75 (below the national average of 1.0) |
JD Power | 5 out of 5 stars for overall claims satisfaction |
Consumer Reports | 95 out of 100 |
Consumer Affairs | 1 1/2 out of 5 stars based on 266 ratings |
As you can see, USAA scored a terrific A++ rating from A.M. Best. This is highly encouraging. However, the Better Business Bureau gave them a suboptimal rating of B-.
This all goes to show that you need to be thorough when comparing and contrasting companies. And, again, we want to stress how important it is that you ask questions about discounts. Any discount you think could apply to you, get.
Get a start on finding appealing auto insurance rates by typing your ZIP code into our free and helpful tool below. Which auto insurance company is for you? Find out now.
Are you looking for free insurance quotes?
Your one-stop online insurance guide. Get free quotes now!
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Leslie Kasperowicz
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insuranc...
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by insurance experts.