American Family Car Insurance Review 2024

American Family is best for families with teen drivers, as the company gives discounts for having multiple cars as well as multiple policies, like home and auto bundles. It is also a good option for a safe driver, as they can save with American Family’s DriveMyWay usage-based program. American Family is also worth checking out if you have an at-fault accident or DUI on your record.

However, it’s not as good an option if you want minimum coverage instead of full coverage, as on average, costs were higher than normal. It’s also available to customers out of these 19 states, which I list below.

American Family costs an average of $1,785 per year for full coverage car insurance, about 8 percent lower than the national average. However, when it comes to minimum coverage, American Family is slightly higher than average, costing $713 a year compared to the national average of $547.

Rates by Driver Profile

If you have a less-than-perfect driving record, you may find lower rates with American Family. In particular, its rates for drivers with DUIs and at-fault accidents are lower than the national average, by 27 percent and 13 percent respectively.

Because I’m a pretty good driver, I’d want to save by enrolling in DriveMyWay, American Family’s usage-based insurance (UBI). Not only would I get a 10 percent discount just for enrolling, but based on how safely I drive, I could save another 5 to 20 percent, more than a decent chunk.

Because I’m from Pennsylvania, when I entered my zip code, I was told that American Family doesn’t offer coverage in my state. Instead, it gave me a few options, including The General, a subsidiary of American Family. However, had I been within American Family’s territory, I could have continued my quote either online, or called a phone number. There was also an option of meeting an insurance agent locally. To find a local agent, all I had to do was enter my zip code.

In addition to the standard auto insurance coverages, including liability, collision, comprehensive, medical payments coverage, personal injury protection, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, American Family offers a slew of add-ons such as:

• Accidental death and dismemberment: For accidents involving deaths or severe injuries like losing a limb, this coverage will pay for more medical costs, regardless of who caused the accident.
• Gap insurance: Gap insurance is required for cars purchased with loans, or cars leased instead of purchased. If you total your car, it ensures that you won’t have to keep making payments on it.
• Rental reimbursement: While your car is in the shop for a covered claim, this coverage will pay for a rental car up to a daily maximum.
• Roadside assistance: When you’re stuck on the side of the road, roadside assistance can provide towing, battery jump starting, tire servicing, delivering of fuel, locksmithing, and even roadside repairs.

Generally, American Family is ranked highly when it comes to financial strength and customer satisfaction, with the exception of a negative outlook from Moody’s and customer reviews from the Better Business Bureau. That being said, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissions, American Family only received 93 percent of the complaints it should have for a company of its size, which is not the case with many of its competitors. Combine that with the excellent J.D. Power rating and I’d say people are pretty satisfied with AmFam’s customer service.

To file a claim with American Family, I could either do it on the website, on the app, over the phone, or in person with a local insurance agent. However, the company makes it clear that the fastest way is to file a claim online or in the app. For vehicle repairs, you can receive payments in as little as one to two days, but accidents with serious injuries will take longer.

In J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction study, American Family got a score above the national average, 882, demonstrating its timeliness in responding to claims. However, on the CRASH Network’s 2024 report on claims satisfaction, it ranked 52 out of 88 with a C+ letter grade.⁷ This report differs from J.D. Power because instead of asking customers for their experiences with companies’ claim processing, it asks repair shops.

I found the American Family website to be really easy to use. I could find whatever information I was looking for, for example on discounts and coverages, very quickly. I also had few issues testing out the company’s apps, both the main American Family app as well as the DriveMyWay app, which, confusingly, is called MyAmFamDrive (it just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?).

That being said, I think the iPhone apps are better than the Android apps across the board. For example, with the MyAmFamDrive Android app, some users complained that it was overly-sensitive to detecting hard braking, which could raise rates even higher than before. This is a problem I see with many UBI apps. The technology is fairly new, so it often comes with some hiccups. However, I like that AmFam’s customer support responded to the bad reviews, offering customers their assistance.

When I review car insurance companies, I’m keeping the following factors in mind:

• Average prices: I use national data to compare average annual costs of car insurance for full and minimum coverage. I also take into account driver profiles like people who have been convicted of driving under the influence, people with at-fault accidents on their records, and people with low credit scores, which can increase rates in most states. I look for companies priced at below the national average, but keep in mind that since car insurance isn’t one-size-fits-all, even a company with high average prices could be affordable for you.
• Discounts: Along with pricing comes discounts, which are available based on both the driver and the vehicle. For example, some companies offer discounts for parents of students with good grades, or seniors who have taken a defensive driving class. On the other end, companies offer discounts to vehicles with certain safety features or anti-theft technology, as it lowers the frequency and the size of claims.
• Coverages: Aside from the basic coverages that every car insurance company offers (bodily injury and property damage liability, collision and comprehensive coverage, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, and medical payments coverage/personal injury protection), I also look for add-ons like roadside assistance, rental car reimbursement, and gap insurance, at a minimum. Some companies go above and beyond with coverages for classic cars, driving to Mexico, or replacing a car with a new car after it’s been totaled.
• Customer satisfaction: While I take my own experience dealing with a company into account, I also look at third-party ratings from real customers on the Better Business Bureau, J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction surveys, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which measures the amount of complaints it receives to the company’s size.
• Financial strength: Car insurance companies need to be financially strong and creditworthy in order to pay out claims. For that reason, I analyze data from Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s, and AM Best, seeing which companies are viewed as financially stable.
• Claims: Most companies let you submit claims online, over the phone, and in person. I also see how long companies take to respond to claims, and incorporate third-party data from the CRASH Network’s 2024 report as well as J.D. Power’s Claims Satisfaction study.
• Mobile apps and websites: Last but not least, I test out a company’s website and apps, which may include a main app for paying bills, submitting claims, and viewing your insurance ID card, as well as a separate app for usage-based insurance. I make sure these apps are easy-to-use, and I read customer reviews on the Apple and Google Play stores, looking for apps with average ratings of at least three stars or above.