Auto-Owners Car Insurance Review 2024

Basic coverage

Full coverage is typically required if you’re financing or leasing your car.

Additional coverage

These policies are required in some states in addition to liability insurance.

• Personal injury protection: Also known as no-fault insurance, PIP covers medical bills, lost wages, child care, funeral costs and more, regardless of fault.
• Medical payments insurance: Less comprehensive than PIP, MedPay covers medical bills for you, your passengers and any pedestrians.
• Gap insurance: Pays the difference between the amount remaining on your car loan owed and the vehicle’s depreciated value.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance: Covers repairs and medical bills if you are in an accident with a driver with little or no insurance.

Endorsements

Auto-Owners offers a variety of optional add-ons.

• Accident forgiveness: Waives rate change for the first at-fault accident for drivers with no at-fault claims for three years.
• Additional expense: Cover the cost of a rental car, lodging, food and other expenses if you’re involved in an accident away from home.
• Rental auto gap: Covers additional coverage for amounts you’re liable for under a rental agreement.
• Rental car coverage: Covers the cost of a rental if your vehicle is being repaired after a collision and provides coverage if a rental car is damaged.
• Road trouble service: 24-hour assistance with common issues like flat tires and dead batteries
• Diminished value coverage: Compensates you for a reduction in the value of your car after an accident.
• Collision coverage advantage: Waives deductible if you’re involved in an accident with another Auto-Owners policyholder
• Common loss deductible: Waives or reduces deductible after events that damage your home and car if both your homeowners and auto policies are with Auto-Owners.

• Multi-policy discount: Save if you bundle auto with homeowners, renters, condo or life insurance
• Multi-car discount: Insure two or more vehicles on one policy and save money.
• Payment history: Discount available if you’ve paid premiums on time for three years.
• Paid-in-full discount: You can save if you pay your premium in full upfront.
• Green discount: Rate reduction for enrolling in paperless billing and online payments.
• Advance quote discount: Save by getting a quote and enrolling before your current policy expires.
• Good student discount: Students maintaining a B or better GPA can get up to 20% off.
• Student away at school discount: Available to customers with a student on their policy who is attending school at least 100 miles away without a car.
• Teen monitoring discount: 5% rate reduction available to customers using an installed GPS or app to track young driver on policy.

It also rated highly in the Central and Southwest U.S. but scored below average in the Southeast and North Central regions.

In a separate J.D. Power survey about the claims experience, the company ranked above average.

Auto-Owners earned an A+ from the Better Business Bureau and it receives fewer complaints about auto insurance than expected for an insurer its size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

You can’t get rate quotes or buy a policy online, although the Auto-Owners website will direct you to a local insurance agent. The mobile app allows you to pay your bill, view your insurance ID and request roadside assistance, but you must call an agent to file a claim.

Customer service is not available evenings or weekends and there is no online chat feature.

Both companies have positive customer satisfaction ratings, although Erie was ranked No 1. in both of the regions of J.D. Power’s Auto Insurance Study it was eligible for, while Auto-Owner’s rankings were more mixed.

Erie was rated No. 2 out of 24 for the claims process, compared to No. 7 for Auto-Owners.

Be prepared to provide your location, age, driving history, number of miles driven annually and other personal data.

You’ll also need to know the make, model and year for any vehicles you’re insuring.

It could also be right for you if you’re looking for extensive coverage options or superior customer service.

However, its lack of availability in many states and the limited online access mean Auto-Owners may not be a good fit for everyone.

In addition, we incorporate results from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint index, Better Business Bureau ratings, A.M. Best’s financial strength scores and other independent sources, including J.D. Power surveys on insurance shopping, the claims process, the digital consumer experiences and overall customer satisfaction.

Auto insurance rates may come from various sources, including the provider and state insurance departments.